{"nrhp_refnum":"77000304","name":"Bailey, Jonathan, House","other_names":["Jonathan Bailey House and Park"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"13421 E. Camilla St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Whittier","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":33.98485232400003,"lon":-118.03231525299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-08-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A simple frame ranch house at 13421 E. Camilla St. in Whittier, Los Angeles County, California, begun as a redwood homestead cabin in the 1860s and enlarged over time. It is now a city-owned museum and park.","why_significant":"The house was the first building in Whittier and the first home of Jonathan and Rebecca Bailey, the town's first residents, who moved in on May 11, 1887. The first Quaker Meeting in the new town was held on its porch, and the Pickering Land and Water Company elected officers in the barn behind it. It served as the center of the town's business, social and religious activity in its early years.","narrative":"Begun as a 20-by-24-foot redwood cabin built before 1868 on a Homestead Law claim by Jacob F. Gerkens, this frame house in Whittier grew into a six-room ranch house with a fireplace and a covered front porch. Later owners, including sheep rancher John M. Thomas, added rooms and wings, and the pepper-tree-ringed property became known as the Mustard Ranch, a landmark visible from Los Angeles. In 1887 the Pickering Land and Water Company bought the surrounding acreage for a Quaker community named Whittier. Jonathan and Rebecca Bailey moved into the ranch house on May 11, 1887, making it the town's first building and first residence. The first Quaker Meeting was held on its porch four days later, and company officers were elected in the barn. The Bailey family stayed until 1973. Local residents then bought and restored it, and it was deeded to the city in 1975 as a park and museum.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"unknown","architectural_style":"Simple frame ranch house, described as reminiscent of a midwest farmhouse","criteria":[],"status_note":"Restored and in excellent condition; owned by the City of Whittier and used as a museum and park.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.560199-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/77000304.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000304/529cd7c834-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000304/529cd7c834-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Los Angeles","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jonathan_Bailey_House,_Whittier.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Los Angeles</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jonathan_Bailey_House,_Whittier.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858939","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Bailey_House_(Whittier,_California)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6272494"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/bailey-jonathan-house-77000304/"}