Hubert H. Bancroft Ranch House facts for kids
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Hubert H. Bancroft Ranchhouse
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The house in 2007
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 Location in California
Location in the United States
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| Location | 9050 Memory Lane, Spring Valley, California |
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1856 |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000227 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | December 29, 1962 |
The Hubert H. Bancroft Ranch House is a special old house in Spring Valley, California. It's now a historic house museum, which means you can visit it to learn about history! This house was built in 1856. It is the oldest building in Spring Valley made by Anglo-Americans.
From 1885 until 1918, this house was the home of Hubert Howe Bancroft. He was a very important historian. He wrote many books about the history of the western United States, Mexico, and Central America. Today, a local historical group takes care of the house. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1962. This was because of its connection to Hubert Bancroft. It was also named a California Historical Landmark in 1958.
About the Ranch House
The Bancroft Ranch House is in western Spring Valley. You can find it near Bancroft County Park. The house is made of adobe, which is a type of sun-dried brick. A wooden part was added to the house later. Both parts have a roof with wooden shingles.
The adobe part of the roof extends over a porch area. This porch is supported by square wooden posts. Some of the oldest adobe walls have curved wooden pieces inside them. These pieces came from a ship called the Clarissa Andrews. This ship was wrecked in San Diego Bay.
The property also has a natural spring. The Spanish named it El aguaje de San Jorge, which means St. George's Spring. The community of Spring Valley got its name from this very spring!
History of the House and Its Owners
The house was first built in 1856 by a man named Augustus Ensworth. After he passed away, the property was sold in 1865. The new owner was Rufus King Porter. He was the son of the person who started Scientific American magazine.
Rufus Porter added more rooms to the house. He built a kitchen, a dining room, and two bedrooms. Later, in 1885, he sold the property to the famous historian Hubert Howe Bancroft. Bancroft bought even more land around the house. He eventually owned over 500 acres. He used this large property as a gentleman's farm. This means he ran a farm, but mostly for pleasure and income, not as his main job.
After Bancroft died in 1918, his family divided the large estate. In 1940, the Spring Valley Chamber of Commerce bought the part with the house. The house was fixed up in 1962. It opened as a museum the next year, in 1963.
There is also a special rock building nearby in the park. Bancroft built this in the 1880s. He used it as a schoolhouse. It was also a safe place to store his important historical papers. This building was designed to protect his valuable research materials from fire.
Hubert Bancroft's Work
Hubert Bancroft is most famous for his huge history project. He wrote a massive 39-volume history book series. These books were published between 1882 and 1890. His history covered all of western North America. This included areas from coastal Alaska all the way down to Mexico and Central America.
Bancroft collected an enormous library for his research. It had more than 60,000 books! This amazing collection is now at the University of California, Berkeley.
See also
In Spanish: Rancho Hubert H. Bancroft para niños
