Susanna Bixby Bryant Ranch House and Museum (Yorba Linda, California)

USA / California / Yorba Linda / Yorba Linda, California / Susanna Bryant Drive, 5700
 ranch, botanical garden, historic landmark
5700 Susanna Bryant Drive
Yorba Linda, CA 92887
(714) 694-0235
www.ylpl.lib.ca.us/sbb.php

In 1875, John Bixby, one of he founders of Long Beach, purchased nearly 6000 acres of land in what is now eastern Yorba Linda from the widow of Bernardo Yorba. Mr. Bixby raised cattle and sheep on the rolling hills and named his property Rancho Santa Ana after the river that flowed adjacent to his property.

John passed away in 1887, leaving the ranch to his business partners and widow. Around 1913, Susanna built the Bryant Ranch house. In 1927, she decided to create a special 200-acre garden as a memorial to her father. She collected and planted shrubs, bushes and trees that were native to California. She also planted the first commercial pomegranate grove in the state.

After Susanna passed away, the ranch was sold; her garden was move to Claremont College and the house left unoccupied. In 1978, the property was purchased by a land developer for residential homes.

The city of Yorba Linda decided to restore the Bryant home into a local history museum with a small replica of her botanic garden. The museum houses old artifacts that tell the history of Yorba Linda from the Gabrielino Indians to items that belonged to the Yorba family. Throughout the year special exhibits are displayed at the museum.

The Yorba Linda Heritage Museum and Historical Society volunteers operate the museum for the city. The ranch house has been placed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places and 2001 the museum received the annual Governor's Historic Preservation Award.


www.yorbalindachamber.org/index.php?customernumber=5036...
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Coordinates:   33°52'29"N   117°42'30"W

Comments

  • John William Bixby was born May 25,1849 in Anson, Maine. He died in Long Beach on May 6,1887. At the time of his death, his property was divided among his business partners and his widow, Susan Hathaway Bixby (1845-1906). At the time of John Bixby's death, his daughter, Susanna Patterson Bixby(1880-1946)was seven years old and definitely unmarried. (She married Dr. Ernest A. Bryant in 1904.) Upon the death of Susan Bixby, her real property was inherited by her son, Fred H. Bixby (1875-1951) and her daughter, Susanna. The property was managed jointly for several years, but the siblings decided to divide their assets in 1912.
  • Correction: Fred H. Bixby (1875-1952)
  • The above 1938 aerial view shows the ranch house (outlined; now the museum) surrounded by the original Bixby ranch buildings.
This article was last modified 12 years ago