Linking the Present to the Past
Carpinteria’s heritage properties include the historically significant Chumash village site of Mishopshnow, the landmark x, the mid-20th-century Villa Calafia estate, and the Black Opal Ranch with its historic agricultural elements. These sites reflect the area’s rich history, from indigenous settlements and the early Spanish naming of the area to agrarian development and notable architectural estates. Our community’s built heritage includes parks, playgrounds, bike paths, community gardens, historic buildings, historic sites, monuments, markers, and more.
Historical Indigenous Sites
Mishopshnow: The site of a Chumash village named Mishopshnow, later called La Carpinteria by Gaspar de Portolá’s expedition in 1769 due to the natives’ skill in building wooden canoes. Mishopshnow is California State Historical Landmark #535. This residential area, including the Concha Loma tract, was built on the site of the Chumash Village, which was once the largest, most populous of the Chumash settlements. It was a regional center for trade with the interior and the Channel Islands. The name Concha Loma is Spanish for “Shell Hill”, referring to the abundance of shellfish remains in the soil. Known to anthropologists as “kitchen middens”, these sites provide valuable data on the Chumash and their way of life. This landmark is located one-fourth mile southwest of the monument and is marked with a plaque at the Carpinteria Valley Museum of History.
Location: Arbol Verde & Carpinteria Avenue
Historic Estates and Residential Architecture
Villa Calafia: A 1930s Tuscan-inspired estate designed by renowned architect Gordon Kaufmann, featuring a main house and three guest residences.
Black Opal Ranch: A historic 21-acre property in the Rancho Monte Alegre community that preserves original agricultural features, including a barn, bunkhouse, and a lemon packing house converted into a home.
Heath Adobe: It is the earliest known structure in the Carpinteria Valley. It was built by Russel Heath in 1858 and later incorporated into the west wing of Heath’s large Victorian mansion. When the mansion was demolished in 1972, remnants of the old adobe were found and preserved by the Carpinteria Historical Society.
Location: Eucalyptus Street off of El Carro Lane
Carpinteria Historical Landmark #2.
Tobey House: Built in the 1880s on the Russel Ranch by G.E. Thurmond, it was moved to this property by H.J. Laughlin in 1894 after the White Sulphur Well Hotel burned. The small house next door was the servant quarters and laundry. Mrs. N.R. West purchased the entire block in 1903, selling off half of it for the construction of the Palms Hotel. Her daughter, May West Tobey, inherited the home. Her husband’s mother, “Grandmother Tobey”, was postmistress for 25 years.
Location: Linden Avenue at 8th Street
Andrews/Tubbs/Sears Home: Built by the Andrews Family in 1889 at Maple & Old Coast Highway (Carpinteria Avenue), the house was modeled after their eastern home. When Seaside Oil Company purchased the property for a gas station in 1940, the Hebel family relocated it to its present location. Later, owner Dr. Warren Sears reinstated the gingerbread trim and painted it a brilliant yellow.
Location: 8th Street & Oak Avenue (Do not disturb tenants)
Higgins House Site: The beautiful home that once occupied this site was completed at the turn of the century. Three generations of Higgins lived here, introducing new commercial crops, most notably lemons, to the Valley. Standard Oil bought the property in the 1960s and demolished the house in 1965. The Historical Society was able to salvage valuable woodwork and artifacts, which have been incorporated into the Carpinteria Historical Museum and can be seen there today.
Commercial and Religious Buildings
Airport Site & Old Hangar: The Bauhaus brothers, Frank, Jack, Louis, and Will, pioneered aviation in the Carpinteria Valley in 1919. Perfecting a new fuselage design fashioned after barrel staves, their 8-3 “Flying Keg” biplane was lighter and faster than its popular contemporary, the “Flying Jenny.” On this site, an airport established by Jack Shadbourne and Bob Donze became the largest on the South Coast, operating from 1928 to 1935. Among notables who landed here were Howard Hughes, Will Rogers, and Charles Lindbergh.
Location: 5665 Carpinteria Avenue
Fish Seed/Bean Company Packing House Site: Robert McAlister and Henry Lewis planted the first crop of lima beans in Carpinteria in 1872. Henry Fish experimented with the beans on his ranch. He included them in the seed catalogs when the Fordhook Bush Bean, a variety of the Carpinteria bean, was patented and introduced to the market. Built around 1910 by Mr. Fish, the packing house was once the largest seed/bean packing house west of Chicago, shipping more than 50 train carloads of beans per season.
Location: 410 Palm Avenue
Old Methodist Church (Now Carpinteria Valley Baptist): First known as the Eastside Methodist Church, it was built in 1888 in Santa Barbara. In 1893, the building was sold to the Methodists in Carpinteria for $600. It was dismantled, loaded onto specially built horse-drawn wagons, and hauled 12 miles from Santa Barbara to Carpinteria, making twenty-four trips. The beautiful stained glass windows are all original. In 1971, the building was purchased by the local Baptists and continues to serve an active congregation today.
Location: 800 Maple Avenue
California’s First Branch Library Site: In 1910, the first branch library in California was opened here, where a local library founded by the Carpinteria Women’s Club had been functioning. In 1915, the building burned, taking the town hall and the library collection with it. The current building showcases the “World’s Safest Beach” mural by local artist John Wullbrandt.
Location: 892 Linden Avenue
Carpinteria Historical Landmark #4.
The Palms & Palms Hotel: The original palm trees, desert fan palms (Washingtonia filifera), were planted in the 1890s around the White Sulphur Well Hotel. The “new” hotel, built in 1912, was named for them. The second-floor rooms received water from natural artesian wells on the property.
Location: Linden Avenue at 7th Street
Carpinteria Historical Landmark #3 (1977)
Carpinteria Valley Museum of History: Built in 1969, the adobe-style museum’s exhibits reflect the three primary cultures to have settled the Valley: the Chumash, the Spanish/Mexican period, and the American pioneers, whose farms and businesses laid the foundation for today’s community. Museum exhibits are open Tuesday through Saturday from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Location: 956 Maple Avenue