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 cool place in Sunnyvale, California, where you can learn about history! It's a special museum that looks just like the old Martin Murphy House, which was a very important building in Sunnyvale's past.
Contents
The Museum's Story
Building a Special House
The Martin Murphy House was built by the Martin Murphy family in the 1850s. This family helped start the city of Sunnyvale. Back then, there were no sawmills nearby to cut wood for houses. So, the Murphy family had their house built far away in Bangor, Maine.
The house was put together in Maine, then taken apart. All the pieces were shipped by boat all the way around Cape Horn. This long journey brought the house pieces to Sunnyvale. Once they arrived, the house was put back together. It was held together with wooden pegs and leather straps. This was the very first wood-frame house in Sunnyvale!
A Landmark and a New Beginning
In 1958, the Sunnyvale Historical Society helped make the original Murphy House a California State Historical Landmark. This meant it was a very important historical site. Sadly, a fire badly damaged the house. Because of the damage, the city had to tear it down in 1961.
But the story didn't end there! The Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum was built to look exactly like the original Martin Murphy House. It stands in Sunnyvale Heritage Park, right next to the Sunnyvale Community Center. The museum officially opened in September 2008. It was built to remember Sunnyvale's history and how much the Martin Murphy family helped create the city.
Money for the museum came from many people and groups. Public donations, the State of California, and the City of Sunnyvale all helped pay for it. Inside the main exhibit room, you can see a huge 60-foot mural. This mural shows many important moments from Sunnyvale's history.
Exploring Heritage Park
Heritage Park is more than just the museum building. It also has a special Heritage Orchard. This orchard is full of apricot trees, reminding everyone of the area's farming past. There's also a barn with an outdoor exhibit. This exhibit teaches visitors about the farming history of the Santa Clara Valley. In December 2018, a new front entrance was added to the museum. This new entrance also has more outdoor exhibits to explore!
