Chaffey-Garcia House History

On Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1881, George Chaffey, Jr. and his brother William rode by horseback from Riverside to a lone house at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains. There they met retired Portuguese Sea Captain Joseph Garcia and his wife Elizabeth and negotiated the purchase of their 560-acre sheep ranch for $30,000. The Garcia house was situated on an alluvial fan that meant the area had fertile soil and ample water. The Chaffeys named the area Etiwanda, after an Indian friend from their native Ontario, Canada.

Captain Joseph Garcia

George moved his family, wife Annette, oldest son Andrew and second son Benjamin into the home. He set about "modernizing" the structure, adding the windowed alcoves in the parlors. In 1883 youngest son John was born.

It was here George Chaffey built a tower and mounted an arc light, the first electric light in Southern California and the first hydroelectricity powered light west of the Rocky Mountains. He installed a telephone in this humble home and connected it with San Bernardino, Colton, Redlands, and Lugonia. This remained the longest telephone line in California for years to come.

When they had completed the development of Etiwanda, George and William went on to lay out the Ontario Model Colony. The northern part of this Ontario later was called Upland, as it remains today.

By 1886 the brothers had moved to Mildura, Australia to embark on an even bigger project. Their widowed mother Ann and unmarried sister Emma accompanied them. Younger brother Charles remained behind to see to their business interests, not going to Australia for some time to come. Meanwhile, brother Elswood Chaffey had become the first doctor in Ontario and set his own course.

The Chaffey-Garcia House, built in 1874, was the first house in Etiwanda. It was originally located about one mile north and a quarter of a mile east of its present site. The House has been restored by the Etiwanda Historical Society. Please ask a docent for assistance with any questions you may have. We hope you enjoy your visit.

FRONT PARLOR In the Victorian era a front parlor was maintained for visitors. It was here you would find the family's best furnishings and it was here that guests were entertained. Tea was served. Perhaps there would be a concert on the organ or pictures would be viewed through the stereoscope.

Wyvern Tea Kettle

The bay windows in this and the family parlor were added by George Chaffey, Jr. We like to think that coming from the East to this barren land and this simple, sheep ranch house, George and Annette Chaffey felt the need to add a little style.

The front parlor and the family parlor are divided by a sliding door that would have been kept closed most of the time to keep the children out of this formal room.

The black marble clock, needlepoint pillow, linen tray-cloth, Crown Derby cup and saucer, silver teaspoons, book of postcards, brass candlesticks, daguerreotypes, and the wyvern tea kettle are all Chaffey family donations. A portrait on the north wall depicts the George Chaffey family in Australia ten years after they lived in this house. Standing are Andrew and Benjamin. Seated are George, John (born during the Etiwanda years) and Annette.

Chaffey Family in 1890

FAMILY PARLOR The family parlor in Victorian times was similar to our faily rooms of today. Here the family read, played games and sewed.

The back to back fireplaces is an unusual feature. Early newspaper accounts indicate the bricks to build the fireplaces were brought from San Francisco by ship and from San Pedro by mule.

On the west wall hangs a Canadian bank note from 1870 and Etiwanda plat map as drawn according to George Chaffey's design and perhaps drawn in this room. The Chaffey seal for letters is on the desk.

On the south wall is a painting by Emma Chaffey's daughter, Isobel. George's wife Annette paid for Isobel's painting lessons.

On the mantle are Chaffey family Bibles, a pitcher from Mildura, and a china keepsake Elswood Chaffey brought back from his medical studies in Edinburg, Scotland.

DINING ROOM The dining room in this sheep house was not a formal room. The outside door indicates one could come and go from the fields for a midday meal without walking through any other part of the house. We have furnished the room more formally than the Garcia’s probably lived, to compliment the many fine Chaffey serving items that have been donated by Emma Chaffey’s granddaughter.

The dining table is set with Emma’s silver plate on her tablecloth with matching napkins. The side table displays cut and pressed glass and china plates belonging to various Chaffey family members. On the south wall is the christening spoon of Ann Ayton, George Chaffey’s grandmother. The brass cache-pot has been in the Chaffey family since 1850.

Kitchen Early kitchens were in a separate building, away from the house because of the danger of fire. When kitchens were made a part of the house, they were added on to the back as this one is. Mrs. Garcia worked on a wood stove that shared a chimney with the dining room. Her indoor plumbing was a hand water pump.

The small pine chest was a storage place for spices. It came from England to Canada in 1813 when Ann Ayton married Christopher Leggo (George Chaffey’s maternal grandparents). On the work cabinet are bottles, ale mugs and a bean pot from the Chaffey family kitchens.

The repaired syrup pitcher was a wedding present to Emma Chaffey from her brother William. The bread tray on the table was brought back from Australia.

HALLWAY The sepia photograph printed on handmade paper is a picture of the palms in Palm Canyon, Palm Springs. It has been in the Chaffey family since the 1880’s.

MASTER BEDROOM The master bedroom was heated with a wood burning stove. The chimney passing up between the front and back bedroom created space for shallow closets, a very modern convenience in a home in 1874. We assume the "pass through" closet once only opened to the master bedroom.

Chaffey heirlooms in this room are displayed on the dresser. Annette Chaffey’s perfume bottles and Emma Chaffey’s wedding hankie are on the right. The WWI government issued shaving kit of Colonel John Burton Chaffey is on the left. (John Burton Chaffey was the baby born during the Etiwanda years.) The rose painting is another work by niece Isobel. Painted for an ill Annette Chaffey, it is inscribed on the back "to Aunt Annie, hoping her health will improve."

GUEST BEDROOM The Garcia’s had no children and we assume used the bedroom at the back of the house. Likewise, we assume George and Annette used the larger master bedroom behind this room. When George Chaffey moved into the house, his home was the overnight accommodations for the many prospects he invited to the area to buy land.

There was no hotel or even any other houses in Etiwanda. We assume this was a guest bedroom and have furnished the room as it might have appeared if a guest were in the home. Donations are from the Dr. Aaron Shepherd family, early Etiwanda pioneers from Ohio.

UPSTAIRS CHILDREN’S ROOM The upstairs was an unfinished room that the two older Chaffey boys, Andrew and Benjamin, may have used for their bedroom. The boys schooling would have been done at home, probably by their mother. Our children’s support group, Emma’s Friends, has taken on the project of furnishing this room. They have obtained loans of furniture and toys and purchased the Victorian commode with proceeds from their fundraising efforts.

Emma Chaffey’s doll plates have been set at a tea party. John Burton Chaffey’s storybook Chatterbox is on the desk. Two other Chaffey books are on the window ledge.

THE BARN

Chaffey Garcia barn today.
The barn is a reconstruction. The east facing façade duplicates, except for the addition of windows, the original Chaffey Garcia barn.
Inside are displayed 1930’s wine equipment from the Colombero winery and a pre-1900 press, crusher, and cask from the Brookside Winery.

The "George Chaffey Expert"
Other small tools typically used in the vineyards and groves can also be viewed.
Our George Chaffey expert usually mans a case of George Chaffey documents and memorabilia.

THE GROUNDS

The grounds of the Chaffey-Garcia House have been landscaped with the help of many volunteers. Fifty grade students from Summit Elementary School paid for and planted all of our trees and vines. The rose gardens have been funded with memorial donations. The herb garden is maintained and harvested by Emma’s Friends, our children’s support group.

Bill and Dorothy White of Etiwanda primarily donated the farm equipment. The permanent display will be set up with funds donated to the William Pearson Memorial Fund. The collection includes hay rakes, a seeder, manure spreader, grain wagon, chuck wagon, and numerous tillers and cultivators. Plows used in Etiwanda by the pioneer Jones and Henderson families rest near the rose garden. A train baggage wagon, as might have been used at the railroad station up the street, sits with a trunk ready for boarding.