Garden Grove Historians Act to Bring Back Past

The barber shop, post office and smithy on Strawberry Lane are closed now. But someday, Margie Stirrat hopes, they will join a collection of other quaint old buildings in restored stately splendor.

Stirrat, president of the Garden Grove Historical Society, and others in the group are working to raise money to restore the structures and open them to the public. The project began in 1969, when the society opened the Stanley House, at 12174 Euclid St., along with an old tank house and another historic residence owned by Emerson Stanley.

Built in 1891 by walnut and orange grower Edward G. Ware, the Stanley House was later taken over by his daughter, Agnes, and son-in-law, Arthur Stanley. When the family sold the 40-acre homestead, they donated two acres of the property to the Historical Society, which moved the farmhouse to its present site and opened Heritage Park.

The name “Heritage Park” has since been dropped to avoid confusion with other county sites bearing the same name. It is now known simply as the “Garden Grove Historical Society at Stanley Ranch.”

Along the way, other buildings have been added. The Fire Department built a replica of the city’s first fire station, joined by the city’s first fire engine, a 1926 La France, which has been completely restored. The society has a host of trophies for the engine’s participation in parades and other events.

Soon, Stirrat said, the society plans to open the barber shop. In front, old-time shoe repair and barber equipment will be displayed. In a back room will be dental equipment and old saddlebags.

Other buildings include three homes, a bungalow believed to be the first wooden building at Garden Grove High School, and a replica of the city’s original blacksmith shop. A big red barn owned by Ware was used for plays when the park first opened but now is used for storage and the society’s biannual fund-raising sales, its main source of income.

One of the buildings on the lot has nothing to do with Garden Grove’s history, but the society decided that the city was close enough to Disneyland to jump at the chance to acquire Walt Disney’s old garage in 1984. Disney used the tiny building as his studio for a while after coming to Hollywood in 1923.

In all, 16 buildings now sit along Strawberry Lane, but the primary focus is the Stanley House, which has been completely refurbished and furnished with antiques, some owned by the family and some donated by group members and others.

“We have a lot of work to do, but we are concentrating on the front right now and as soon as we finish that, we will move back and finish the rest,” Stirrat said. Although the group sometimes gets mail addressed to the Stanley Museum, she said she won’t consider it a museum until all the work is done.

The Stanley House is open to the public on Sundays from 1:30 to 4 p.m. or by appointment. Admission is free, but donations are welcome.