Aug 30 10
Touring through literature: the sites of Ramona
In Helen Maria Hunt Jackson’s novel Ramona, she dramatized the life of a Scottish-Native American girl growing up in Southern California. The book was designed to illustrate the prejudices Native Americans faced in America in the late 19th century, but it also brought many Americans their first vision of the Mexican colonial life of Old Town. Several sites from the town are featured in the book, all of which are now National Historic Landmarks. If you’re interested in seeing the same sights that inspired this early activist work, read on.Casa de Estudillo: Although never mentioned by name in the novel, the Estudillo House is known as the marriage-place of the main character, Ramona. Constructed in 1827 by the father-and-son team of Jose Maria Estudillo and Jose Antonio Estudillo, the house once epitomized the glamour of early San Diego life. The house was restored in 1968, and today visitors can see replicas of the luxurious beds and dining areas that the Estudillos themselves would have enjoyed.Rancho Camulos: Jackson based Ramona’s home in the novel off of a two-hour visit to this site. In reality, it served as the home of Ygnacio del Valle, a magistrate of the Pueblo de Los Angeles. It is both an early example of the California rancho style, and the site of the first commercially grown oranges in Ventura County. Camulos still grows oranges today, along with lemons, grapefruit, and avocados, while also serving as a museum.Rancho Guajome: Guajome was an early alternative suggestion for Ramona’s “house.” Jackson visited this site as well, but Camulos became the preferred spot due to its location and proximity to the Southern Pacific Railroad’s main line, which made tourism easy. In contrast, Guajome is further from the railway, and the owners were less hospitable to tourists, but the stately hacienda is now considered a National Historic Landmark in its own right.