Exploring California's past: a visit to Strathearn Historical Park and museum

Simi Store at the Strathearn Historic ParkPhoto byTracy Carbone

Simi Valley’s population is roughly 126,000 but it feels more like a small town than a city. This is largely due to the vast amount of green space. Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District (RSPD) is a separate government agency from the City of Simi Valley, technically its own district. Formed in 1961, RSPD specifically set out to provide parks and recreation activities to the community. Since that time, it’s “established 50 parks and preserved over 5,600 acres of open space that is now used for hiking, biking, horseback riding and wildlife preservation.”

One especially nice, free place to visit in Simi Valley is Strathearn Historical Park and Museum. Per the Conejo Valley Guide, the park is located at 137 Strathearn Place off Tierra Rejada Road and “operated jointly by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District and the Simi Valley Historical Society.”

1902 St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church at Strathearn ParkPhoto byTracy Carbone

The park sits on six acres and houses several historic buildings, most of which were moved from another location. The park is named after Robert P. and Mary Gray Lamb Strathearn of Scotland. They purchased 15,000 acres and built their Victorian-style farmhouse onto the front of the Simi Adobe in 1892.

Per Wikipedia, the historic “Simi Adobe–Strathearn House served as the headquarters of Rancho Simi, also known as Rancho San José de Nuestra Senora de Altagracia y Simi, one of the land grants in Alta California by the Spanish government.” Simi is derived from “Shimiji, the name of the Chumash village before the Spanish. Rancho Simi was the earliest Spanish colonial land grant within Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. At 113,000 acres, Rancho Simi was one of the state's largest land grants.”

Strathearn House in Strathearn Historical Park and Museum, Simi Valley, CAPhoto byTracy Carbone

The headquarters were the home of the Strathearns until 1969, when their home and almost six acres were donated to the Simi Valley Recreation and Park District.

Beyond the Strathearn House, the park features various other buildings which were moved from their original locations. These include “the 1924 Montgomery children's playhouse, the 1902 St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, the original Simi Valley Library, a Colony House built in 1888, the Banaga Barber Shop, the Currier pitting shed, and two barns with farm tools and equipment.” The Colony House, was a pre-fabricated house shipped by train from Illinois in 1888.

Strathearn Park, Simi Valley CAPhoto byTracy Carbone

The visitor center offers rotating exhibits, and conducts tours where visitors can enter the buildings. Outside of the tours though, visitors can walk through the grounds and peek in the windows, or sit at tables behind the old church. Like other places in Simi Valley, this was “designated a California Historical Landmark (#979) and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.”

Park hours are 9 am to 3 pm Monday through Friday and 1-4 pm Saturday/Sunday. Hour and a half long docent-led tours inside of the buildings take place, for a $3 donation, on Fridays at 1pm and Saturdays/Sundays at 1:30pm. The Visitor Center and park grounds are open for self-guided tours.