Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Good ol' fashioned barn savin' in Santa Ysabel

Structure next to historic store built in 1890s

Restoration expected to cost $100,000
Restoration expected to cost $100,000

The Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO) is in the midst of restoring one of the largest barns in San Diego. In spring 2015, the group bought the land the barn sits on for $30,000 from the county. The Dutch-style structure sits next to the circa-1884 Santa Ysabel Store property that the organization purchased in 2011.

In fact, it was a week after the latter purchase that a lifelong Santa Ysabel resident, Bob McDaniel, showed SOHO executive director Bruce Coons a letter from the county informing Santa Ysabel residents that the barn was considered a nuisance and would be burned down in just weeks.

According to Coons, once his group alerted the county to the barn's historic significance, they stopped plans to burn it and funded the study that confirmed the barn's age and importance.

Gig Conaughton from the county said on April 7, “We searched our records but haven’t been able to find anything saying we had planned to burn the barn down."

Sponsored
Sponsored
Last year, before restoration began

Conaughton also said the county used the barn to store and mix pesticides for 60 years but it has stood vacant for some time. "Before the county sold it," Conaughton said, "we conducted a study for pesticide contamination and performed a cleanup to make the property available for limited public uses, like a museum.”

Last week Coons said, ”The restoration started about six months ago and we are about half done. We still need to do the electrical, carpentry of the outside, the roof, and to paint the barn. We hope to have it all done by mid-summer." Coons expects the full restoration to cost $100,000.

The Hoovers' barn in 1896, when the town was first surveyed

"It's one of the largest barns in San Diego," said Coons. "It's also the biggest landmark in the area; you can't miss it off in the distance. There are only a handful of 19th-century barns left in San Diego. In 1800s San Diego, barns were very common, even in town with carriage barns. Most residents of any good-sized home had some kind of barn. Of course, the Whaley House that we oversee [in Old Town] has a barn."

Was the barn and store the first structures on this site? "No, Santa Ysabel is a very old place," said Coons. "There were Indian villages there before the Spaniards came. Then there was an 1818 mission where archaeological evidence are all that remain. The land was obtained through a Mexican land grant in the 1840s. The town of Santa Ysabel wasn't laid out until 1896, years after the store was built."

Circa 1890s

The H-frame barn sits on Washington Street — the original street name when David Leonard Hoover built the barn out of Douglas fir and redwood imported from Northern California. Hoover worked as the store's druggist and also as a rancher, according to a 2011 county historic report.

Coons said that Hoover's descendants have made historic photos available to help in the restoration. After the restoration, Coons said that the barn will house a recently donated turn-of-the-century carriage as well as other historic vehicles in the barn's former horse stalls.

When asked if anything special has been found in the barn during restoration, Coons replied, "The barn is the special thing. The most unusual thing is the split-level loft area. It still has the original tack room. The horse stalls are gone but you can see where they had the windows for the horses to look out."

Coons said SOHO is working on registering both the barn and the store on the National Register of Historic Places.

As far as the process, Coons said, "While public sentiment matters, the structure has to meet stringent criteria first. Once the application is accepted, it goes to a hearing at the state historic preservation commission. If it gets national recognition, then the state and local registrations are mostly a formality. The categories are important — why matters as much as what. Whether it be to the community or person or for an architecture or events. Also, the structure has to have sufficient integrity."

Coons said his organization is grateful to McDaniel for getting the ball rolling. McDaniel died in February 2016 at the age of 86, but not before knowing he had helped save the barn.

It was personal for McDaniel, as his family managed the store next to the barn for decades. McDaniel even worked at the store as a little boy. Coons said the McDaniel family has donated historic items from the store's past that will be on display once the restoration is finished.

Anyone who would like to donate to the restoration fund for the barn can do so through SOHO.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Temperature inversions bring smoggy weather, "ankle biters" still biting

Near-new moon will lead to a dark Halloween
Restoration expected to cost $100,000
Restoration expected to cost $100,000

The Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO) is in the midst of restoring one of the largest barns in San Diego. In spring 2015, the group bought the land the barn sits on for $30,000 from the county. The Dutch-style structure sits next to the circa-1884 Santa Ysabel Store property that the organization purchased in 2011.

In fact, it was a week after the latter purchase that a lifelong Santa Ysabel resident, Bob McDaniel, showed SOHO executive director Bruce Coons a letter from the county informing Santa Ysabel residents that the barn was considered a nuisance and would be burned down in just weeks.

According to Coons, once his group alerted the county to the barn's historic significance, they stopped plans to burn it and funded the study that confirmed the barn's age and importance.

Gig Conaughton from the county said on April 7, “We searched our records but haven’t been able to find anything saying we had planned to burn the barn down."

Sponsored
Sponsored
Last year, before restoration began

Conaughton also said the county used the barn to store and mix pesticides for 60 years but it has stood vacant for some time. "Before the county sold it," Conaughton said, "we conducted a study for pesticide contamination and performed a cleanup to make the property available for limited public uses, like a museum.”

Last week Coons said, ”The restoration started about six months ago and we are about half done. We still need to do the electrical, carpentry of the outside, the roof, and to paint the barn. We hope to have it all done by mid-summer." Coons expects the full restoration to cost $100,000.

The Hoovers' barn in 1896, when the town was first surveyed

"It's one of the largest barns in San Diego," said Coons. "It's also the biggest landmark in the area; you can't miss it off in the distance. There are only a handful of 19th-century barns left in San Diego. In 1800s San Diego, barns were very common, even in town with carriage barns. Most residents of any good-sized home had some kind of barn. Of course, the Whaley House that we oversee [in Old Town] has a barn."

Was the barn and store the first structures on this site? "No, Santa Ysabel is a very old place," said Coons. "There were Indian villages there before the Spaniards came. Then there was an 1818 mission where archaeological evidence are all that remain. The land was obtained through a Mexican land grant in the 1840s. The town of Santa Ysabel wasn't laid out until 1896, years after the store was built."

Circa 1890s

The H-frame barn sits on Washington Street — the original street name when David Leonard Hoover built the barn out of Douglas fir and redwood imported from Northern California. Hoover worked as the store's druggist and also as a rancher, according to a 2011 county historic report.

Coons said that Hoover's descendants have made historic photos available to help in the restoration. After the restoration, Coons said that the barn will house a recently donated turn-of-the-century carriage as well as other historic vehicles in the barn's former horse stalls.

When asked if anything special has been found in the barn during restoration, Coons replied, "The barn is the special thing. The most unusual thing is the split-level loft area. It still has the original tack room. The horse stalls are gone but you can see where they had the windows for the horses to look out."

Coons said SOHO is working on registering both the barn and the store on the National Register of Historic Places.

As far as the process, Coons said, "While public sentiment matters, the structure has to meet stringent criteria first. Once the application is accepted, it goes to a hearing at the state historic preservation commission. If it gets national recognition, then the state and local registrations are mostly a formality. The categories are important — why matters as much as what. Whether it be to the community or person or for an architecture or events. Also, the structure has to have sufficient integrity."

Coons said his organization is grateful to McDaniel for getting the ball rolling. McDaniel died in February 2016 at the age of 86, but not before knowing he had helped save the barn.

It was personal for McDaniel, as his family managed the store next to the barn for decades. McDaniel even worked at the store as a little boy. Coons said the McDaniel family has donated historic items from the store's past that will be on display once the restoration is finished.

Anyone who would like to donate to the restoration fund for the barn can do so through SOHO.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

WAV College Church reminds kids that time is short

College is a formational time for decisions about belief
Next Article

Extended family dynamics

Many of our neighbors live in the house they grew up in
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader