ENCINO : Docents Create Fund-Raiser to Restore Rancho

In 1849, it was one of the first homes in the San Fernando Valley that could be visited by weary travelers heading west.

Today, it is not even fit for tourists.

Because the Northridge earthquake caused more than $1.5 million in structural damages, the ancient rancho that once housed Valley families and cattle ranchers is barely standing in what is now Los Encinos State Historic Park, 16756 Moorpark St.

Docents who once conducted tours in the rancho’s two ancient structures are planning a fund-raiser to restore the buildings and replace the artifacts that were lost during the temblor.

The fund-raising event, called “Fandango,” will be held Saturday in the park near the corner of Balboa and Ventura boulevards from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Donations are requested. Highlights include a Wild West stunt show, melodrama, food, music and costumes from the 1870s.

“It’s our history,” said Lil Bauer, 69, of Encino, one of the 50 docents who are helping to stage the event. “We really want to get back in there and contribute what we can to the community there.”

Originally the home of a family of cattle ranchers in 1849, the de la Ossa adobe lost its northern wall and suffered cosmetic damage from falling plaster, said state park Ranger Russell Kimura. Repairs are possible by replacing the adobe bricks.

But the Garnier building was not so lucky. Built in 1872 of limestone to house workers who helped herd sheep, the structure is barely standing, supported by only two steel beams that could give way in an aftershock.

In addition, the rooms of each structure had individual themes for the families that lived in them from 1849 until 1927, complete with unique artifacts. Many of these items, such as china, furniture, picture frames and antiques, were lost in the earthquake, Kimura said. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has offered an unspecified amount of assistance, Kimura said, but the aid will “help us out so we can get the building structurally safe again and OK to walk through, but what they cannot help is replace the antiques and other interpretive artifacts.”

Kimura hopes the funds can be used to buy enough replicas of the artifacts and finance enough repairs to allow indoor tours to proceed again. Although the park has been open since the earthquake, only tours of the grounds have been allowed.

“For tourism, we’re very, very valuable,” Kimura said. “Very little history was saved in the San Fernando Valley. We are one of the very few historical sites in the Valley to tour people who come from out of town. What the valley has lost is tremendous historically.”