Relics Under the Oaks

The history of the Leonis Adobe in Calabasas is well-documented, but most people don’t realize it’s still a great place to spend an afternoon relaxing in a peaceful farm setting that includes shaded benches under lush oaks.

The Monterey-style house was built in 1844 and was home to a Basque immigrant, Miguel Leonis, and his Indian wife, Espiritu.

Leonis, who was also known as the “King of Calabasas,” was one of the earliest and most colorful settlers of the San Fernando Valley. In the late 1800s, he controlled much of the west end of the San Fernando Valley and part of what is now adjoining Ventura County.

The adobe he left behind was opened to the public in 1966 and nine years later was entered on the National Register of Historic Places.

The picturesque grounds include a rose garden, fruit trees and other plants as you enter through the wrought-iron gate to get to the visitors center and gift shop.

The center isn’t just any building. It’s called the Plummer House, also known as “The Oldest House in Hollywood,” and is itself a historical landmark. The house belonged to a Leonis family friend and was moved to Calabasas from West Hollywood in 1983.

Inside is a display with clothes worn by Miguel and Espiritu, including a brown silk dress, and an array of photos illustrating the evolution of the adobe. One of the rooms serves as a gift shop, selling a variety of California history books, including several about area tribes.

The shop’s back door leads to the grounds, where a 600-year-old oak tree provides ample shade for benches and the nearby barn. Behind the barn, which also served as a blacksmith shop, is an interesting collection of wagons from the 1800s.

There are horses, cattle and five breeds of sheep grazing in their corrals. Turkeys, ducks, geese and chickens run freely throughout the grounds.

“They’re all representative of what was here in the 1880s,” said Leonis Adobe director Phyllis Power. “We have a full-time caretaker who lives here and cares for all the animals.”

After a leisurely stroll through the yard and perhaps a few peaceful moments under a massive oak, it’s time to enter the nearby adobe through a back door.

The first room is a pantry where the family stored meat and other food. Up the stairs is an old Chinese trunk, made of camphor wood and covered in leather, that belonged to Espiritu. It was brought to the U.S. by Yankee trading ships in the 1820s.

A few steps away is the bathroom, which did not exist until the 1920s because there was no indoor plumbing. That’s why there’s also a wood outhouse in the courtyard where the family also bathed.

Throughout the house you can hear the creaking of the old wood floors as you walk. Down the hall is the Leonis’ bedroom, which contains a large canopy bed with red velvet drapes and tassels. There are leather-covered trunks instead of closets and a window that faces an open porch.

The top floor also has a workroom that contains a desk, saddles and a variety of rusty tools. The living room, dining room and kitchen are downstairs.

The kitchen has a wood-burning stove and an array of thick, heavy pots and pans. There is no sink or running water, and there’s a great reproduction of a large Mexican beehive oven and a 1898 butter churn.

Power, who led the effort to save the adobe from becoming a grocery store parking lot in the 1960s, says about 10,000 people visit it yearly, but most are children on school field trips.

“I think a lot of people just don’t know this is here,” she said. “It’s the best-kept secret in Calabasas.”

Another well-kept secret is the nearby Calabasas Creek Park, which was built by the Leonis Adobe Assn. about two years ago to preserve its creek.

“The creek is the only year-round, free-flowing body of water in L.A.,” Power said. “It’s a source of the L.A. River and it comes down from the Santa Monica Mountains.”

The surrounding scenic garden--with scattered benches and tables--is a great place for a picnic after strolling through the adobe. A tall white fountain decorates the entrance, and purple, yellow and orange flowers offer a colorful contrast. Ducks waddle freely among the large oak trees or float on the creek. The highlight, though, is a Victorian rose garden.

In one corner is a replica of an old Calabasas jail with a dummy dressed in western attire inside. So even the park has history lesson.

BE THERE

Leonis Adobe, 23537 Calabasas Road, Calabasas. Wednesday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m. $2 for adults and 50 cents for children. Calabasas Creek Park is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily; entrance is free, but there is a fee to hold events such as weddings. (818) 222-6511.