Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum facts for kids
Replica of Martin Murphy House
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| Established | September 27, 2008 |
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| Location | 570 E. Remington Drive, Sunnyvale, California, USA |
| Type | Historical museum |
The Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum is a special place in Sunnyvale, California. It's a museum that looks exactly like the very first wooden house built in Sunnyvale! This house was called the Martin Murphy House.
Contents
The Original Murphy House
Building a Home in the 1850s
The Martin Murphy family were the people who helped start the city of Sunnyvale. They built their house way back in the 1850s. Building a house then was very different from today! There were no sawmills nearby to cut wood. So, the Murphy family had a clever idea.
They had all the wood for their house cut and shaped in Bangor, Maine, which is very far away on the East Coast of the United States. The house was even put together there first, just to make sure everything fit!
A Long Journey by Sea
Once the house was ready, it was taken apart into pieces. These pieces were then shipped all the way around Cape Horn. This is the very southern tip of South America, a long and often stormy sea route. After its long journey, the house arrived in Sunnyvale.
Workers then put the house back together. It was held together with strong wooden pegs and leather straps instead of nails. This made it the very first wood-frame house in Sunnyvale!
A Landmark and Its Fate
The original Martin Murphy House was very important to Sunnyvale's history. In 1958, the Sunnyvale Historical Society helped it become a California State Historical Landmark. This meant it was recognized as a special historical place.
Sadly, the original house was badly damaged by a fire. Because of this, the city had to take it down in 1961.
The Museum Today
A New Beginning for History
Even though the original house was gone, people wanted to remember its history. So, a new museum was built to look just like the Martin Murphy House. This new building is called the Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum. It stands in Sunnyvale Heritage Park, right next to the Sunnyvale Community Center.
The museum officially opened in September 2008. It was built to celebrate Sunnyvale's history and the important things the Martin Murphy family did to help found the city. Many people helped pay for the museum, including donations from the public, the State of California, and the City of Sunnyvale.
Exploring Sunnyvale's Past
Inside the main exhibit room, you can see a huge mural. This mural is 60 feet long and shows many important moments from Sunnyvale's history. It's like a giant timeline on the wall!
The Heritage Park also has other cool features. There's a Heritage Orchard filled with apricot trees. This reminds visitors of the many fruit orchards that used to cover the Santa Clara Valley. There's also a barn with outdoor exhibits. These exhibits teach you about the farming history of the area. In December 2018, a new front entrance was added to the museum, along with more outdoor exhibits to explore.
