A Bit of San Juan Capistrano Is Rescued : * Hankey / Rouse Cottage Provides a Valuable Link to South County’s Rich History

Rescuing even one small corner of history from demolition or alteration in South County is a considerable victory.

Last month, the historic Hankey / Rouse cottage, which was on San Juan Capistrano’s list of historic landmarks, was spared destruction in the name of progress when a local contractor purchased it and moved it a mere 100 feet to await restoration. May it stand proudly 100 feet from disaster as a symbol of the county’s rich history.

Preserving such reminders of the past provides a needed sense of place at a time when change on the suburban landscape is often overpowering and driven by short-sighted motivation. The house is closely linked with historic land use in Orange County, and Carl Hankey, a prominent rancher, citrus grower and school board member, played a prominent role in the construction of Ortega Highway. Over its long history beginning in 1883, the house served as the center of a walnut ranch and as a citrus farm. Later it doubled as a landing area for foreign exchange students getting away from campuses on weekends.

The house might have gone the way of too many historic vestiges of Orange County’s past were it not for the 11th-hour intervention of contractor Michael Palmer, who bought an adjacent parcel of land and moved the house so that it could be restored. Even as a crew of workers lifted and moved the house to its new location, Palmer observed, correctly, “We’ve got to preserve our history for our children and our children’s children.”

This dilemma was brought on when the City Council on appeal had agreed to the demolition as requested by the Hankey descendants. Since they had all grown up and moved on, they understandably sought to subdivide their family parcel, but were originally denied by the city’s Cultural Heritage Commission. The purchase by Palmer was a happy resolution.