Wildomar Historic Society begins recording old buildings

By: LAURA MITCHELL - Staff Writer | Saturday, November 26, 2005 9:56 PM PST ∞

WILDOMAR ---- With the future bearing down on them in the form of big development and shrinking open spaces, a group of residents in this growing, but still mostly rural community are determined to preserve what's left of Wildomar's past.

The 119-year-old community was formed as a result of the Butterfield Stage Trail and settled when the railroad ran through Wildomar.

William Collier, the "Wil" in Wildomar and one of the community's founders, was an early passenger on the Butterfield Stage Trail, which carried mail and passengers from 1858 to 1861 through the towns now known as Temecula, Murrieta, Wildomar and Lake Elsinore. The Pacific railroad line was built in the 1880s and brought settlers to the area, but the tracks flooded out and were eventually abandoned.

Some of the early settlers' homes still stand, as well as other historic places or items, such as the Wildomar Cemetery or the old school house bell at Wildomar Elementary School, Wildomar Historic Society President Bob Cashman said.

The historic society recently began touring historic sites in Wildomar, Cashman said.

This month they photographed and collected information on seven historic buildings in Wildomar. Next month they are planning to record headstones at the 107-year-old Wildomar Cemetery, society member Vicki Long said.

"It's like a little treasure hunt," Long said of the tour earlier this month.

The society is recording old buildings with photos and the known history of those who lived or worked there, Long said. In addition, the group is also looking for community members who have stories of the past, old photos or other artifacts that can be added to the collection, she said.

The group so far has identified 32 buildings it wants to record and catalogue as possible historic structures, Cashman said. It's important for the society to identify all of Wildomar's potentially historic sites now because of all of the development that is happening in and planned for Wildomar, he said.

One of the buildings the group is trying to preserve is the 119-year-old Rudolph Brown House. The Brown family was involved with community service work and in helping to build Wildomar's early infrastructure, including roads, community buildings and the schoolhouse.

Dr. Oscar Brown was a farmer and surgeon who served the whole region from Wildomar to Arizona. His son, Rudolph Brown, was a rancher and farmer, and from 1924 to 1926, was a trustee with the Wildomar School District, while his wife, Vita, was a trustee from 1933 to 1936, according to the society.

Rudolph's son, David A. Brown, was a county flood control commissioner who died in 1993. David A. Brown Middle School in Wildomar is named for him.

"I feel bad that we lost Dave before he was able to share his history with us," society member Gerry Stevenson said. Stevenson was a friend of David A. Brown, who went to schools in Wildomar and lived much of its history.

"We have captured quite a bit about his history but it doesn't replace having him share it with us," she said.

The Board of Supervisors this month granted the society permission to move the Brown house and a historic water tower from the property as part of a deal with a developer who wants to build homes on the property.

The group is looking for places to move the house and the water tower to, with plans to eventually turn the Brown House into a museum, a meeting place and to store historic artifacts, historic society member Sheryl Ade said.

To help with that effort, the society is beginning the process of incorporating as a nonprofit organization, Ade said. As a nonprofit, the historic society would be eligible for grants, she said.

In 1999, Cashman led an effort to restore the historic building the Wildomar Chamber of Commerce uses as its home at the corner of Mission Trail Avenue and Corydon Street. The former schoolhouse was first used in the 1880s and later as a station for the nearby railroad tracks, Cashman said.

In addition to the 32 buildings the society is planning to tour, Ade said she found more than 100 buildings dating from 1950 and earlier that she hopes the society will document. A building may be only 50 years old but it may have historic significance or architecture that makes it worth preserving, she said.

"We don't want to overlook the buildings that may be gone before our children are grown," Ade said.

Contact staff writer Laura Mitchell at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2621, or lmitchell@californian.com.