Page 40 - carey-bunse_habs_ca2712

HARRY CAREY RANCH,
Ranch House (Building 5)
HABS No. CA- 2712-A (Page 2) -
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) PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION

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A: Physical History:
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1. Dat_e ~f erection: Ca. 1932-1933. Harry and Olive Carey directed the
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construction of this house after their first residence on this prqperty burned
down on September 2, 1932. Harry Carey, Jr. recalls that the new house
) was constructed immediately after the fire. Although the local newspaper
reported on the fire that destroyed the original structure, a review of the
newspaper from that date through the end of 1933 did not reveal any
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further articles about the construction of the new dwelling. The Los
Angeles County assessment records include an estimated date of
construction only. 2 -

2. Architect: Unknown; the design concept is attributed to Harry and Olive
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Carey who were both directly involved in its construction.

3. Original and Subsequent Owners: Harry and Olive Carey; John F.
Blanchard II and Irene T. Blanchard; Laura Madeline Wagnon and
Catherine McCaleb; the Clougherty Packing Company; !vfontalvo
· Properties LLC.
Although he and his family appear to have lived on the property from
C) about 1916 through the early 1940s, Harry Carey established legal
--, ownership of the main ranch complex in 1925 when he purchased 160
(
'<) acres of federal land via a "sale entry.'' The following year, he expanded
C) the ranch when the government issued him a patent for an adjacent 480
C) acres as a "homestead- stock raising entry." By the mid 1920s, Carey
{.,.--\ published an advertising brochure for the commercial venture he operated
"-o:...__ __ ./
on the ranch, "Harry Carey's Trading Post," in which he stated that his
ranch included a total of 1,200 acres. The remaining acreage was probably
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acquired through direct sale by private landowners.
C)
A newspaper article dated September 25, 1947 stated that the Careys sold
r-··-,
t } the ranch in 1944 to unnamed owners who planned to operate the property
·,,,_.::
as a dude ranch, but the property was not actually sold until March 1945.
At that time Olive and Harry Carey sold the property to John F. Blanchard

2
Harry Carey, Jr., interview, January 26, 2001; "Harry Carey Home Destroyed," The Signal (September 8,
1932): I; Property records, Los Angeles County Assessor's Office.
3
Harry Carey, Jr., interview, January 26, 2001.
4 Harry Carey, Jr., interview, January 26, 200 I; Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Patent
() Records, CALA 0031850, Patent issued July 16, 1925 to Henry Dewitt Carey, and CALA 0032149, Patent
issued April 22, 1926 to Henry Dewitt Carey; "Harry Carey Trading Post," printed brochure, n.d. [ ca.
1920s], Los Angeles Public Library.
c--,

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