The
Yorba and Slaughter Families Adobe
California State Historical Landmark No. 191 and National
Register site.
17127 Pomona Rincon Road, Chino CA 91710. (909) 597-8332.
(Take
Highway 71 (the Corona Expressway) to Euclid Avenue; turn north
on Pomona-Rincon Road). Directions
Open: Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.. Closed Thanksgiving
Day, Christmas Day, New Years Day. Group tours by special
appointment.
The Yorba-Slaughter Adobe, built in 1852-53, is one of the
oldest standing adobe residences in San Bernardino County.
The Yorbas
The Yorba family was among the most influential in the early
history of the Prado Basin. José Antonio Yorba was granted the
Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, 60,000 acres between present-day
San Diego and Santa Ana, in 1801. His son, Bernardo Yorba, added
to the family holdings with the purchase of 18,000 acres in the
Rincon area from Juan Bandini. Bernardo's son, Raymundo (also
spelled Raimundo) built the first house at the Yorba-Slaughter
Adobe site in 1851. The structure burned and was replaced by the
present structure in 1852-53. The adobe, built by Indian laborers
from a rancheria east of the property, was known as "Buena
Vista." The road at the foot of the hill was a regularly
used part of the Fort Yuma to Los Angeles Road, and the Yorba
Adobe was an optional stage stop for the Butterfield Overland
Mail from 1858 to the start of the Civil War. The rancho was prosperous,
and Raymundo Yorba was the most affluent of the land owners in
the Prado Basin.
The Slaughters
The property was purchased in 1868 by Fenton M. Slaughter, an
American born in Virginia in 1826, a veteran of the Mexican War
of 1846, and later a blacksmith, surveyor, and sheep and cattle
broker in the Los Angeles area. Following his purchase of the
property, Slaughter vastly increased his wealth and influence.
He raised cattle, introduced merino sheep to California, bred
fine race horses and mules, and raised grain and grapes. The adobe
became the center of a small settlement called "Rincon".
A post office was established in 1870 (probably in the adobe itself),
and there were a general store, a saloon, a blacksmith shop, a
dairy, and the Vine Slope winery by 1879. Fenton Slaughter was
an active and influential political force, serving in the state
legislature in the early 1870s and as a San Bernardino County
Supervisor from 1885-1890. He died at the adobe in 1897, leaving
9 children.
The Adobe
The adobe residence was originally one story with a sleeping
loft: the four rooms on the main floor and 3 in the loft were
arranged side-by-side. Nearly every room had an exterior door.
Wide porches were built on all four sides; porches on the east
and south sides were later enclosed.
Next door, the ornamental concrete block house was built between
1906 and 1909. It, too, had porches that were later framed to
create more rooms. It was to become the principal residence
at Buena Vista; the adobe was apparently unoccupied between 1916
and 1929 and was for a time used to grow mushrooms.
Restoration of the adobe was started in 1928 by Julia Slaughter
Fuqua, the third child of Fenton and Dolores Slaughter. The adobe
was designated California State Historical Landmark No. 191 in
1934, and the property was purchased by the County of San Bernardino
in 1971. Major restoration and seismic retrofitting of the adobe
was completed in September, 2000.
One of the fascinating aspects of this site is the presence of
original furnishings from the 19th century occupation of the Slaughter
family.
The combination post office and general store, which also contains
an exhibit of agriculture and animal husbandry, was opened in
September 2002. Step inside to experience an 1890s store complete
with advertising and artifacts.
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