El Molino Viejo
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El Molino Viejo, also known as The Old Mill, is a former
grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...
in the
San Rafael Hills The San Rafael Hills are a mountain range in Los Angeles County, California. They are one of the lower Transverse Ranges, and are parallel to and below the San Gabriel Mountains, adjacent to the San Gabriel Valley overlooking the Los Angeles Bas ...
of present-day
San Marino, California San Marino is a residential city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It was incorporated on April 25, 1913. At the 2010 census the population was 13,147. The city is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of househol ...
, United States, and was built in 1816 by Father
José María de Zalvidea José María de Zalvidea (2 March 1780 – 1846) was a Spanish Franciscan missionary.Historic Kern County: An Illustrated History of Bakersfield p. 8 Chris Brewer, Kern County Museum Foundation, Kern County Museum – 2001 "The work of his diaris ...
from the
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel Mission San Gabriel Arcángel ( es, Misión de San Gabriel Arcángel) is a Californian mission and historic landmark in San Gabriel, California. It was founded by Spaniards of the Franciscan order on "The Feast of the Birth of Mary," September ...
(San Gabriel Mission). It is the oldest commercial building in
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
, and was one of the first ten sites in
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
to be listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
, receiving the recognition in 1971. The Old Mill has also been designated as a
California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
.


Construction and operation as a grist mill

Though there are varying accounts of the exact date, San Gabriel Mission records indicate it was built in 1816. ("''While several dates between 1810 and 1820 have been suggested as the actual year of construction for El Molino Viejo, 1816 seems the most probable. The records of Mission San Gabriel for this year state that a mill for grinding grain was built with measurements corresponding closely to those of El Molino Viejo."'') The mill was built on land owned by the San Gabriel Mission, and was designed by Franciscan Father José Maria de Zalvidea, then in charge of the mission. It was built by
Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . Some descendants of the people prefer Kizh as an endonym that, they argue, is more historically ...
n
Mission Indian Mission Indians are the indigenous peoples of California who lived in Southern California and were forcibly relocated from their traditional dwellings, villages, and homelands to live and work at 15 Franciscan missions in Southern California and ...
laborers under the supervision of Father Zalvidea. The mill was built like a fortress. Its lower walls are nearly five feet thick at the base, and are made of brick and volcanic tuff. Some have written that the thick fortress-like walls were intended to allow the padres to barricade themselves in the event of "a disturbance among their somewhat uncertain converts." The upper walls are made of sun-dried
adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...
slabs, and the building's surface is covered with a
lime mortar Lime mortar or torching is composed of lime and an aggregate such as sand, mixed with water. The ancient Egyptians were the first to use lime mortars, which they used to plaster their temples. In addition, the Egyptians also incorporated various ...
made from burnt sea shells. The
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
and
sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry". Species of trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplata ...
beams are tied with leather thongs, and the structure is also supported by large
buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...
es which can still be seen on building's exterior corners. Water was brought to the mill in an open ditch (''zanja'') from Los Robles and Kewen Canyons, and stored in a large
cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...
. For the mill itself, Father Zalvidea designed an unusual horizontal, direct impulse water wheel. There were three vaulted water chambers on the ground floor and a single horizontal water wheel. The
water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets ...
was attached to a vertical shaft that went up to the second level (the current entrance room) where the grinding stones were located. One of the grinding stones was attached to the shaft, and rotated along with the water wheel. A second stone was placed above the rotating stone, with corn and grain between the stones. It is suspected that the force of the water from the cistern was not sufficient to start the wheel turning with the required force, and that a leather thong was wrapped around the shaft and pulled by Indians to start the wheel. The upper-most room, used now as an art gallery, was used for storage of the final product. After the water flowed out of the mill, it was channeled into a lake down hill from the mill. The lake has since dried up and is now the site of San Marino's
Lacy Park Lacy Park is a public park located in the city of San Marino, California. It is located in the San Rafael Hills, at 1485 Virginia Road. The park features lush vegetation, open grass space, a rose garden, walking loops, tennis courts, and many other ...
. It was the first water-powered grist mill in Southern California, and some have called it the first grist mill in California. While some have called Father Zalvidea's horizontal design a "mechanical marvel, evolved and constructed by a mastermind," others considered the design flawed as it splashed moisture up the shaft, leaving the flour damp. The mill was operational for only seven years, during which time it provided food for the missionaries and Indian neophytes, there were 1,644 Tongva-Gabrieleños in 1816 (''
Population of Native California The population of Native California refers to the population of Indigenous peoples of California. Estimates prior to and after European contact have varied substantially. Pre-contact estimates range from 133,000 to 705,000 with some recent schol ...
'') in the mission community. In 1823, a
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
-style mill with a vertical waterwheel was built adjacent to the mission. The new mill resulted in a superior product, and the old mill ceased operation.


Subsequent uses as a residence and golfing clubhouse


Disputes over title

After the new mill was opened in 1823, the Old Mill reportedly sat idle for 30 years, during which time it was victimized by vandals and the weather. In 1846,
Pío Pico Don Pío de Jesús Pico (May 5, 1801 – September 11, 1894) was a Californio politician, ranchero, and entrepreneur, famous for serving as the last governor of California (present-day U.S. state of California) under Mexican rule. A member of ...
– last Mexican governor of
Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...
– sold , including the mill, to Julian Workman and
Hugo Reid Hugo Reid (April 18, 1811 – December 12, 1852), a Scottish immigrant, was an early resident of Los Angeles County who became known for writing a series of newspaper articles, or "letters," that described the culture, language, and contemporary c ...
(co-grantee of the adjacent
Rancho Huerta de Cuati Rancho Huerta de Cuati was a Mexican land grant in the San Rafael Hills area of present-day Los Angeles County, California given in 1838 by governor Juan Alvarado to Victoria Reid. The name means "Cuati Garden" in Spanish. The rancho included p ...
). However, after the
Mexican Cession The Mexican Cession ( es, Cesión mexicana) is the region in the modern-day southwestern United States that Mexico originally controlled, then ceded to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 after the Mexican–American War ...
of California to the U.S. in 1848,
John C. Fremont John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
refused to accept the validity of the transaction. With title to the land in a state of uncertainty, James S. Waite (publisher of ''The Star'' newspaper) established
squatter's rights Adverse possession, sometimes colloquially described as "squatter's rights", is a legal principle in the Anglo-American common law under which a person who does not have legal title to a piece of property—usually land ( real property)—may ...
over , including the Old Mill.


Occupancy by the Kewens

The property was subsequently sold to Dr. Thomas White for $500. In 1858, Dr. White conveyed the "Old Mill Site" to his daughter Fannie Kewen; she and her husband, Col. E. J. C. Kewen, both lived there for 20 years. The Kewens added onto the building, installing French windows, a front portico, and a small plaza. Col. Kewen has been described as "old-time Southern gentleman" and "one of the most courteous and politely-polished men California has ever seen." There are many accounts of parties hosted by the Kewens at the Old Mill and of their "prodigal hospitality" and "gracious style of living". It was said that "the gallant and gay gathered from miles 'round, listened to the twanging of the guitar and the jolly click of the castenets, and through it all danced gay dances on the floors that once had echoed the quiet footfall of the priest." In 1879, the Kewens defaulted on a mortgage, and the property was foreclosed on by J. Edward Hollenbeck. Hollenbeck sold the property to Edward Mayberry in 1881, who used the structure as housing for his ranch superintendent.


Rediscovery in the late 19th century

In 1898, ''Los Angeles Times'' reporter Topsy Tinkle wrote a lengthy article following a visit to El Molino Viejo. At that time, the mill was being used to store wine, causing the smell of wine to permeate the building, and as a sleeping place for hired men. Tinkle described the condition of the mill as follows:
The grinding-stones have gone, and also the machinery that in the romantic time of the old mission padres and their Indian neophytes, was wont to turn their corn into meal, and yet, in the material of the building itself, no sign of decay. The large oak beams, only ten inches apart, as sound as in the day the original trees lifted their leafy tops high in air. The cement of which the structure is made apparently defies time ... There are three wheel-houses, the arches of which have been bricked up, and the old millstones are at San Marino, J. De Barth Shorb's noted ranch near by, where they are used as stepping-stones. ... Padre and Indian have long gone to their rest, and the old mill is absolutely lifeless and deserted save many tiny chameleons that bask and sun themselves in the heated air ...


Acquisition and use by the Huntingtons

In 1903, the mill site was purchased by the Huntington Land and Improvement Company. When the Huntington Hotel opened in 1914 on the nearby hill, the land around the mill was turned into a golf course, with El Molino Viejo as the clubhouse. The land was later subdivided, leaving the Old Mill vacant.


Reconversion to residential use

In 1927, Leslie Huntington Brehm, the widow of Henry Huntington's son, and her husband took over the property, intending to preserve it. They hired Frederick H. Ruppel, a contractor who had restored the
Mission San Juan Capistrano Mission San Juan Capistrano ( es, Misión San Juan Capistrano) is a Spanish mission in San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, California. Founded November 1, 1776 in colonial ''Las Californias'' by Spanish Catholic missionaries of the Franciscan O ...
. Ruppel turned the mill into a home with modern amenities, but he made no structural change to the original walls. Ruppel also preserved and restored the old features, and where new materials were needed, he sought to maintain the old Mission-style appearance. The Brehms never moved into the Old Mill, instead renting it to a series of tenants, including the Doerr, McDuffy and Washburn families. From 1954-1963, the mill was leased to the Connell family who were its last occupants.


Current use as a museum and art gallery

When Mrs. Brehm died in 1962, the Old Mill was willed to the City of San Marino. The city has preserved the building and opened it to the public as a museum and art gallery (
California Art Club The California Art Club (CAC) is one of the oldest and most active arts organizations in California. Founded in December 1909, it celebrated its centennial in 2009 and into the spring of 2010. The California Art Club originally evolved out of The ...
Gallery), operated first by the
California Historical Society The California Historical Society (CHS) is the official historical society of California. It was founded in 1871, by a group of prominent Californian intellectuals at Santa Clara University. It was officially designated as the Californian state hi ...
and later by the Old Mill Foundation. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. A model showing how the mill operated is located on the ground floor of the museum. While nothing remains of the waterwheel, two of the millstones (''pictured above'') are displayed in the garden area. The millstones were found more than a century after the mill closed on the grounds of the
Huntington Library The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) in San Mar ...
by General
George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...
, who grew up in the area and recalled seeing them used as blocks for mounting horses. There is also a 16th-century volcanic rock fountain in the patio to the east of the mill. The fountain was acquired in Mexico by Mrs. Brehm's daughter, Mrs. Albert Doerr.


Legend of Catalina

In his 1898 publication, Topsy Tinkle recounted a story that the Indians told about a natural spring located on the site of the Old Mill. The story told of a 16-year-old Indian named Catalina with "thick, jet-black hair" and "big, melting black eyes." Catalina lived in the time of the San Gabriel Mission and gave roses to the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
in hopes that she could win the heart of the handsome José, even hoping that "something dreadful" would happen to another girl of whom José was fond. When José left for two years serving on a ship, Catalina turned her back on the Virgin, and Catalina began praying to the old "Mexican god", described as a "hideous clay image". Catalina died of sorrow when José did not return, and her body was buried on the spot where the mill was later built, a spot from which a natural flow of spring water "slowly oozes". According to the legend, oozing spring water is "only the tears from a loving woman's broken heart."


Historic designations

As the oldest commercial building in
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
, El Molino Viejo has been recognized as a historic site at the state and national levels. In 1937, it was documented by the
Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...
. It was one of the first ten sites in Los Angeles County to be listed in the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
, receiving the recognition in 1971. It has also been designated as a
California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
(#302) that reads:. *''NO. 302 OLD MILL - The Old Mill, El Molino Viejo, was designed by Father José María Zalvidea and built of fired bricks and adobe about 1816 to serve Mission San Gabriel. Another grist mill was built in 1823 near the mission and the old mill was gradually abandoned - it passed from mission control in 1846. The property remained in private hands until 1903, when Henry E. Huntington bought the building and used it for a golf clubhouse. Later owners, Mr. and Mrs. James Brehm, had the mill restored in 1928 by Frederick Rupple.''


See also

*
List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles County, California __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Los Angeles County, California. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles Cou ...
* List of California Historical Landmarks in Los Angeles County * José Maria de Zalvidea


References


External links

* *
California Office of Historic Preservation Listed Resources listing
* {{Registered Historic Places Adobe buildings and structures in California San Marino, California Grinding mills in California Museums in Los Angeles County, California History museums in California Open-air museums in California California Historical Landmarks Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles County, California Historic American Buildings Survey in California Grinding mills on the National Register of Historic Places in California Industrial buildings completed in 1816 1810s in Alta California Buildings and structures in Los Angeles County, California Spanish missions in California San Gabriel Valley 1816 establishments in New Spain