Estudillo Mansion
San Jacinto, California


 
 
The Estudillo Mansion Restoration Committee
  The Estudillo Restoration Committee is composed of civic-minded citizens who believe that the history of the San Jacinto Valley in California must be preserved for future generations.  Operating as  a San Jacinto City Committee and under the guidance of the San Jacinto Valley Museum Association, the funds raised for this purpose are restricted specifically for the restoration of the Estudillo Mansion. The Mansion will provide a link to our past and serve as a focal point for future community activities.  The Mansion will house many artifacts now found in the San Jacinto Valley Museum and will provide the capability to display them in a meaningful context. The grounds are sufficient for cultural and entertainment uses and will be an excellent asset to tourism as well as local school children's use.   The proposed plan for the site includes living history sites; Native American, Spanish, Mexican and European that can be used to educate the populace of our varied history. A blacksmith shop and other crafts areas are also being considered.  This site, across from the rail line terminus, has excellent potential for visitors  to the valley arriving by commuter rail.
  Contents     Meet Francisco Estudillo    About the Mansion    Current Projects    Future Projects    City Commission Members
     Contact Information    Links
     Misc. Meet Francisco Estudillo



This is one of the few photographs of Francisco Estudillo.  More about him can be read in the Mansion section below.
 
 


                            This is the Francisco Estudillo Home in 1895.
 
 

   Family Reunion Pictures

 More Family Reunion Pictures
  Back to top
 
  About the Mansion
 
 
   The 1885 Francisco Estudillo Mansion located at Main and Seventh Streets in San Jacinto, California is without question the most significant historical building in the San Jacinto Valley and certainly one of the most significant in all of Riverside County.  The history of the Mansion links our valleys present to the Mission Era of Spanish rule in California, through the Mexican Californio era, up through the settlement of the San Jacinto Valley by American and European settlers. Both the cities of Hemet and San Jacinto are situated on land that once was the Estudillo family's 35,500 acre Rancho San Jacinto Viejo land grant.  Francisco's father, Jose Antonio, had been appointed administrator of the former San Luis Rey Mission in 1835 and was granted a portion of the old mission lands by the Mexican government in 1842. Jose Antonio died in 1852 and his heirs began selling off property in the late 1860's.  Francisco built his stately brick home in 1885.  In 1886 he sold 3,000 acres to the original Hemet Valley Water Company, and in the following year an additional 1,100 to another developer west of San Jacinto, keeping for himself the six-acre triangle which surrounds the Mansion to this day.  He left the mansion permanently in 1901. After a succession of owners, San Jacinto grocer Louis Miller bought the Mansion property in 1928 and restored it to its former elegance.  Later owners, the Norman MacLeods and Bernice Elliott also cared lovingly for the Mansion.  It was seriously damaged in the 1992 Landers earthquake and was purchased by Riverside County for the purpose of restoration and preservation in 1994.  The ownership was transferred to the City of San Jacinto in 1998.    Pictures of the Mansion The grounds More Grounds pictures Back to top
  Contact Information Electronic mail address: pat1@pe.net or contact the:
San Jacinto Valley Museum

San Jacinto, CA 92583 Office phone:(909) 654-4952
Donations The Estudillo Restoration Fund is a separately maintained fund of the San Jacinto Valley Museum Association for the expressed purpose of restoring and maintaining the mansion.
Please make checks payable to the
Estudillo Restoration Fund
and mail to
PO Box 1672, San Jacinto, CA 92581 Back to top
  Current Projects
  The committees major effort is in getting the Mansion stabilized and repaired from the Landers Earthquake.  The plans have been submitted to the planning department for approval.  We hope to have the retrofit done by the end of 1999.  Then we can begin on the interior of the building and the landscaping.

Estimated Costs:

Estimated costs for the house are:
          Seismic Stabilization     $200,000
          Grounds Restoration       100,000
          Inside Restoration           150,000
 Carriage House:
          The cost has not yet been estimated
 
  Back to top
  Future Projects
 
  It is hoped that this property will become a focal point for the city. Proposed plans include a meeting room that could be used for receptions and a museum complex to house collections now in storage. Once the grounds are landscaped both the house and gardens would be ideal spots for weddings, reunions and picnics. Should the rail line become active again, the Mansion would be an excellent designation and gathering point. Tours of the mansion and out buildings are also in the plans for development.

Carriage House
 

                         The wooden carriage house on the property needs to be repaired
                        and would be an excellent place to view the implements of the past.     This will be done once the Mansion is restored.

                   Blacksmith's Shop

 
     We hope to begin our living history exhibits with a blacksmith's
      shop.  This along with tours of the Mansion should make the site an
      interesting and educational experience for both tourists and school
      children. Back to top
  Committee Members
   Del Kroker,  Chairperson Betty Jo Dunham                          Jeannette Hofman

Diana Tavenner                            Sharon Terrancciano
 
 

 Please sign our guestbook Back to top
 
 

Links
 

 City of San Jacinto

 Mount San Jacinto Junior College

 San Jacinto Valley Chamber of Commerce

 Misc
 
  Last Revised: 5/22/99
 
 
 
 


 
 

For more information or comments about this site contact:
Webmistress   :pat1@pe.net http://www.main.nc.us/~maries/bkgds/