ABOUT US The Monterey County Agricultural & Rural Life Museum (MCARLM) is located within San Lorenzo Park, 1160 Broadway, King City. The park is a county facility. MCARLM’s interpretive period is the last quarter of the 19th century through World War II. The collections are principally agricultural related implements, house museum furnishings, and historical objects related to specific local history. The museum complex has 6 buildings: the Exhibit Barn, Blacksmith Shop, and the Water Education Building, plus the historic structures Spreckels House (1898), La Gloria Schoolhouse (1887), and the King City Depot (1903). All are completely furnished with turn-of-the-century artifacts. There are outside exhibits of antique farm equipment dating from the late 1800s into the 1940s. The main Exhibit Barn has displays following the development of Salinas Valley agriculture and rural life from the late 1700s to 1910 King City. Do you have items of interest to donate? We are actively seeking photographs, documents, newspapers and memorabilia from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Call the museum office for information. MISSION STATEMENT The Monterey County Agricultural and Rural Life Museum’s (MCARLM) specific and primary purposes are: the discovery, acquisition and preservation of artifacts; interpretation of museum exhibits, collections and historic structures; dissemination of knowledge about the history of farming, agriculture, and related cultural services in the Salinas Valley and adjacent areas; to promote interest through programs of public interest and education; and to coordinate fundraising campaigns for the support of the above purposes. HOURS & FEES The Exhibit Barn is open 10 AM to 4 PM daily, closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, New Years Day, Thanksgiving Day and the day after. The Spreckels House and Schoolhouse are open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, April through October from 12:30 PM to 3:30 PM. All buildings are available to group and private tours year round by appointment. We are completely ADA compliant. There is no fee to enter the museum. There is a day use fee for the park. $4 per car Monday through Friday, $5 Saturday and Sunday. Seniors and walk-ins are free. HOW TO CONTACT US The museum office is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 AM to 2 PM. Telephone: (831) 385-8020 Fax: (831) 386-0178 email: info@mcarlm.org Snail mail: MCARLM, P.O. Box 644, King City, CA 93930. The museum is located in San Lorenzo Park, King City, forty-five minutes south of Salinas and one hour north of Paso Robles on Hwy 101. Take the Broadway exit to the stop light and turn left.

ARCHIVE ROOM MCARLM’s archive room is state of the art with a temperature and humidity controlled environment. In addition to the museum’s archives, the complete collection of the San Antonio Valley Historical Association is also housed here. Copies of the museum’s photographic collection are available for sale. There is a one-time use fee of $30 per photo for private individuals and businesses, $10 per photo for students and schools (plus reproduction costs). Click here for a PDF of the Union Catalog listing of contents. The archive is available to researchers on an appointment basis. Please call the museum office at 831-385-8020 for more information.

SCHOOL TOURS Rural life at the turn-of-the-century is the interpretive focus at MCARLM. Tours are geared to third and fourth grade classes and teachers can chose among three fieldtrip experiences. Each tour is centered around one of the museum’s historic structures. Older elementary grades can be accommodated; let us suggest the best tour for your age group. Tours are available from March through June, September and October.

MAKE BYGONE DAYS COME ALIVE!

MEMBERSHIP Become a member! Support your local museum! As a member of MCARLM your special benefits include: •Invitations to preview receptions for special exhibitions •Subscription to our quarterly newsletter •A 10% discount at the Museum Store •Spring and fall luncheon lectures Click here to download a membership application form.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

MCARLM has many opportunities for volunteers. The docent program enables our historic buildings to be open to the public. Do you enjoy history and sharing it with others? This is a wonderful way to bring the past to the next generation. The Old Gasoline Engine and Tractor Committee works to restore and maintain the antique tractors and trucks in the museum’s collection. Members help keep these venerable old machines in running condition for parades and demonstrations

SAN LORENZO PARK San Lorenzo Park offers a shaded campground with tent camping, RV hook-ups and pull-through sites. Amentities include laundry facilities, a putting green, three group buildings and an internet access kiosk. Immaculate day-use facilities include picnic areas, a gazebo, playgrounds, horseshoe pits, volleyball courts, softball areas and a walking trail along the banks of the Salinas River. A live-on volunteer program is available. For camping reservations or more information regarding the volunteer program, call the park office at 831-385-5964. The Monterey County Tourist Information Center is located in the museum’s exhibit barn and provides information on all the wonderful things to do and see throughout Monterey County. It is open daily, 10AM to 4PM or phone 831-385-1484

The gazebo is a favorite for weddings

EXHIBITS The Main Exhibit Barn has many exhibits tracing the development of agriculture and rural life from the Mission Days to the present.

Outdoor exhibits show how crops were sown and harvested 100 years ago.

SPRECKELS HOUSE Built in 1898, the Monterey County Agricultural & Rural Life Museum’s Spreckels House was originally located on the Spreckels Sugar Company’s Ranch Number One. In addition to Building Number 91, as the house was called, a blacksmith shop, outhouse, barn, windmill and two water troughs were on the property located on Harkins Road. The house was constructed at a cost of $1,960. The outhouse cost $25 to build.

The Spreckels Sugar Company built four distinct types of housing for its employees. Building 91 represents type A, the simplest form. Measuring 24’ X 26’, the house originally sat on a mud sill foundation. The roof was shingled and the siding was redwood. The interior walls were covered with cloth and paper. The houses built in town were distinguished by a small window in the front gable. Those built on outlying ranches were adorned with the “wooden sugar beet” as seen on Building 91. The Spreckels House was moved to San Lorenzo Regional Park in 1980. Through generous donations of time, money and artifacts, the house has been renovated to represent a typical Salinas Valley farmhouse.

LA GLORIA SCHOOL La Gloria School was first organized in 1873. Located 5 miles southeast of Gonzales, the schoolhouse was built by local people. The desks were handmade and “the house was plain and not well finished”. In 1887 a tax was voted to build the present school. The schoolhouse, outhouses and fences were built for a total of $1,325. Each year the school was improved with new books, furniture, pictures and a horse shed. Among the improvements was an Estey Organ, purchased by the Trustees in 1895 for $90. Pepper trees lined the schoolyard and three garden plots provided flowers for the schoolroom. A flag pole, built in 1898, stood in the center of the yard.

Like all country schools, La Gloria was the entertainment center for the community. Dinners, exhibitions, and “patriotic entertainment” was often held at the school. In East of Eden John Steinbeck described the role of the country school: “In the country the repository of art and science was the school, and the schoolteacher shielded and carried the torch of learning and beauty. The schoolhouse was the meeting place for music, for debate. The polls were set in the schoolhouse for elections. Social life whether it was the crowning of a May Queen, the eulogy to a dead president, or an all-night dance, could be held nowhere else.” La Gloria School was closed in the early 1960s. It remained vacant until it was moved to San Lorenzo Park in 1980 to become part of the museum complex.

KING CITY DEPOT

In 1884, millionaire lumberman Charles H. King purchased 13,000 acres of San Lorenzo Rancho. King had the crazy notion that grain could be grown on the “Salinas Desert.” Neighbors scoffed as he plowed up 6,000 acres and planted wheat. At that time, no farming was done on a large scale, and skeptics declared he would never succeed. Not only that, wheat could never be marketed for the only transportation available were eight mule teams that hauled crops to Soledad, then the terminus of the Southern Pacific Railroad. King surprised everyone with an amazingly successful crop. Other farmers clamored to lease tracts of land. Then King’s old friend, Collis P. Huntington, the railroad magnate, took notice and proposed the extension of the Southern Pacific down the valley from Soledad. Land owners wanted the route to follow the Salinas River which meant expensive construction plus many windings. King realized what the railroad could do for the Valley. He gave Southern Pacific the right-of-way across his ranch with the only condition, “protect my cattle.” Today the line runs for eight straight miles over the old King ranch lands. In May 1886, 1500 Chinese laborers began laying track south from Soledad. On Saturday, July 3, 1886, the first locomotive rolled in to “King’s” City. The following year the Southern Pacific Milling Company constructed a grain warehouse with J. Ernst Steinbeck, father of novelist John Steinbeck, its first agent. More buildings, including a flour mill materialized. Lots were subdivided in 1887 and the depot was built in 1903. Within no time, King’s Station was South County’s commercial center. The depot remained in operation until the 1980s when many of the Southern Pacific depots were sold or destroyed. On June 2, 1989, the depot was moved to its present location and the restoration begun. The Southern Pacific Railroad played a key role in opening the Salinas Valley to settlement and agricultural development. Over 20 depots were scattered along its route through Monterey County but most had disappeared except for King City’s station. In 1989, this building, too, was threatened by demolition. Thanks to dozens of concerned citizens, funds were raised to move the depot to its present home, San Lorenzo Park. The Harden Foundation contributed over $50,000 towards the restoration of the building. The California Department of Forestry crew, the King City Lions Club and many other volunteers worked countless hours to restore the building. On July 4, 1991, the building opened to the public for their use and enjoyment.

OLSON BLACKSMITH SHOP On countless farms throughout the Salinas Valley, the remnants of old blacksmith shops can be found. The farmer-smith was practically self sufficient. He made his chains and hinges, sharpened his plows, steeled his axes and repaired his farm machinery. The Olson blacksmith is a typical example of a farmer’s shop during the first quarter of the 20th century. Originally located on the Olson Ranch at Paraiso Springs, the entire shop was moved to San Lorenzo Park in 1981. It was installed and returned to working condition by the King City Lions Club.

WATER EDUCATION BUILDING

The newest addition to the museum complex is the Water Education Building which also houses a meeting room and the archive room. The interior exhibit being designed will trace the history of irrigation from the dams and open ditches of the mission era to the highly sophisticated systems of today. A highlight of the exhibit will be a topographical map of the entire Salinas River drainage. Also featured will be a twenty-two seat theater and lots of hands-on displays. We hope to have the exhibit open in early 2003.

EVENTS The Monterey County Agricultural & Rural Life Museum is supported by donations, membership dues and fund-raising events. Three events are held yearly to raise money for further development of programs and events, exhibition preparation, agricultural equipment restoration, and many little “behind the scenes” costs. The Board of Directors and a corps of dedicated volunteers must raise over $50,000 a year to operate the museum. Over 1500 people enjoy the Clam Chowder Dinner, held early in the year in the Orradre Building at the Salinas Valley Fairgrounds. Featuring the famous Lloyd Atwater clam chowder recipe, diners get all-you-can-eat clam chowder, rolls, fresh salad and homemade pie for dessert. A wine and soda bar is available. Dinner guests get to place bids at the silent auction featuring a variety of antiques, photo replicas from the museum’s collection and homebaked pies and cakes. The Clam Chowder Dinner has become a community favorite.

The Ag Tour which is held annually visits a variety of agricultural enterprises around the valley. The tour provides an up-close look at modern agribusiness in action. After a continental breakfast at San Lorenzo Park, participants board luxury buses and visit sites around the Salinas Valley. Places visited in past years include a winery (with wine tasting), carrot harvesting operation, seedling nursery, duck farm, packing shed, cattle ranch with working stock dog demonstration, a fertilizer operation and much more. Tours include all meals plus refreshments on the buses.

Valley Heritage Day celebrates the 4th of July the old-fashioned way at San Lorenzo Park. Starting with a parade down Broadway in King City, the day is filled with games, entertainment, crafts, antique tractor and equipment displays, the Classic Car Show and MCARLM’s famous rib BBQ dinner.

Each of these events are run entirely by volunteers and could not be held without the generosity and support of so many people from the community.

PHOTO GALLERY Frank Corda milkers, Soledad, c1920 Remember, copies of our archival photographs are available for sale. See our Archives section for details

LINKS TO OTHER SITES OF INTEREST Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau Monterey County Parks Department King City Monterey County Historical Association National Steinbeck Center California Views Heidrick Ag History Center Hayes Antique Truck Museum