On the Stagecoach Trail

Long before Jungleland, DuPar’s, The Oaks mall and the Civic Arts Plaza, there was the Stagecoach Inn in Newbury Park.

The Grand Union Hotel was built in 1876 by James Hammell near the present-day intersection of Ventu Park Road and the Ventura Freeway. Hammell, a Santa Barbara businessman, built the structure out of redwood imported from Northern California at a cost of about $7,200.

The building was constructed in the Monterey style featuring two stories, a wraparound porch and a balcony. The name probably reflected the owner’s sentiments about the Civil War.

Originally touted as a resort, the hotel was the topic of a newspaper fluff piece of the day promising that “Shooting, fishing and bathing and a first-rate table are among the good things on hand for visitors.”

The owner first hoped the site would become a permanent stop on the coastal stagecoach route, but it was decided that the main line should run through Simi Valley instead, due to the Conejo Grade,which even then was a pain for travelers.

Hammell sold the hotel after the drought of 1877-78, and it passed through a succession of owners until it was purchased by Englishman Cecil Haigh, whose descendants owned the site until it was converted to a museum. Over the years, the hotel has been used for a variety of things, including a post office, a tearoom, a military school for boys, a restaurant and a gift shop. It was even the site for a Hoot Gibson western in the ‘30s.

In the ‘60s, as the Conejo Valley continued to grow, the bumpy section of freeway through Newbury Park needed to be widened, directly threatening the existence of the building itself. The Conejo Valley Historical Society was formed to save the structure, long since known as the Stagecoach Inn. The effort was a success; the site was granted historical landmark status by the state in 1965. For the numerologically inclined, it’s also Ventura County Cultural Landmark No. 30 and Thousand Oaks site No. 1.

H. Allen Hays, grandson of Cecil Haigh, donated the building and four acres of land where the building has stood since 1966 to the society. The society, in turn, donated the site to the Conejo Recreation and Parks District in return for a 50-year renewable lease in order to operate the facility for cultural and educational purposes.

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In 1970, a fire of undetermined origin destroyed the building and most of the contents. Fortunately, someone had taken good notes, and the building was rebuilt using insurance money and community donations. The reconstructed museum was dedicated and reopened in 1976, but the second floor was not completed until four years later.

These days the Stagecoach Inn stands as a window to the good ol’ days of late 19th century living. The downstairs has a gift shop where a sign warns that “shoplifters will be shot.” It offers the usual assortment of baubles, plus a collection of books on local history.

The main attraction, however, is an immaculately preserved communal dining room, lacking nothing but the hungry guests. Among the displays is a tea set, one of the few survivors of the blaze. The old-time kitchen stands as mute testimony to dinners made from scratch.

A number of smaller rooms are upstairs, originally built to house hotel guests. One of them, “A Sense of Place,” is dedicated to the past owners and local pioneer families. Of interest to Civil War buffs is the rather large discharge paper, once owned by Egbert Newbury, a veteran of Company A, 44th Iowa Infantry. It’s signed by President Lincoln and Secretary of War Stanton.

Another smaller room is dedicated to the local ghost, Pierre. Rumor has it that Pierre was gunned down in the saloon, which is now the gift shop. Perhaps Pierre was the first shoplifter.

Another room is full of Indian artifacts, some of which were donated by movie stuntwoman and Inn booster Donna Fargo. The scariest room, one that could give Suzie Homemaker nightmares for weeks, is a bizarre exhibit dedicated to no one’s favorite pastime, ironing. The room is filled with examples of irons from the past, including conclusive proof that everyone has a plan that will not work: One of the irons is gasoline-powered.

Outside the hotel and adjacent to the parking lot, artifacts hark to the days of horsepower, the four-legged variety. Lots of rusty farm equipment is lying about under the shade of the coastal oaks, equipment that could make your current alleged ball-and-chain career seem like a dream job.

Near the freight wagon, which has seen better days, lies a gang plow, the Fresno, a variety of a drag used for grading. Then there are the harrows--a whole herd of harrows, actually--including the spring-tooth harrow, the rigid harrow and the drag harrow, all used for cultivation long before agriculture sprouted shopping malls.

There are also a nature trail, a rose garden, a replica of the Timber School (the first school in Newbury Park) and lots of shady scenic picnic areas. And a trio of dwellings is worth checking out, examples of what came before, according to Sandy Hildebrandt, the Stagecoach Inn’s director.

“It’s like going back in time,” Hildebrandt said. “The pioneer house is a replica of the Newbury House. The adobe house represents the old Mexican-Spanish inhabitants, and the hut made out of tules represents the Chumash. These are the three groups that inhabited the Conejo Valley.”

The Newbury House is a pioneer house featuring wooden floors and pretty much wooden everything. The adobe house seems solid enough to withstand any earthquake or Big Bad Wolf. The reed hut is an air-conditioned marvel, reminiscent of the Chumash.

Docent-led tours are available five days a week, and the site offers a School Days program that enables area youngsters to learn about the history of their area.

DETAILS

Stagecoach Inn Museum Complex, 51 S. Ventu Park Road, Newbury Park, 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday for docent-led tours. Cost: $3 adults, $2 seniors or $1 children. Call: 498-9441.

Bill Locey can be reached by e-mail at blocey@pacbell.net.