Founding Families Exhibition Coming to Huntington Library

A special exhibition featuring the founding families of the San Marino Ranch will be on display at The Huntington Library starting in February, corresponding with the centennial years of the city of San Marino.

Entitled “Cultivating California: Founding Families of the San Marino Ranch,” this exhibition will include more than 75 historical items drawn from The Huntington’s collections and those of the San Marino Historical Society and the Pasadena Museum of History. The exhibition tells the story of the Wilson, Shorb, and Patton families, who helped transform a region of one-time Spanish land grants into an agricultural paradise between the years 1854 and 1904. Rare family photographs, letters, legal documents, maps, and artifacts will be on display.

“Although it was Henry E. Huntington and several neighboring landowners who worked to incorporate the city of San Marino, in fact the Wilson, Shorb, and Patton families farmed the land and played key roles in the history of the region before Huntington’s arrival in the early 1900s,” says Jennifer Allan Goldman, institutional archivist at The Huntington and curator of the exhibition.

The collection of items will be on display from Feb. 16 through May 13 in the West Hall of the Library. 

“Cultivating California: Founding Families of the San Marino Ranch” is supported in memory of James De Barth Shorb by Barbara Vucanovich, Grant and Susan Anderson, Reynolds and Rebecca Cafferata, and Treat and Patricia Cafferata. This exhibition is also made possible by the Robert F. Erburu Exhibition Endowment. 

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The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens is a collections-based research and educational institution serving scholars and the general public. More information about The Huntington can be found online at www.huntington.org.

Visitor information

The Huntington is located at 1151 Oxford Rd. in San Marino. It is open to the public Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from noon to 4:30 p.m.; and Saturday, Sunday, and Monday holidays from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Summer hours (Memorial Day through Labor Day) are 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed Tuesdays and major holidays.

Admission on weekdays: $20 adults, $15 seniors (65+), $12 students (ages 12–18 or with full-time student I.D.), $8 youth (ages 5–11), free for children under 5. Group rate, $11 per person for groups of 15 or more. Members are admitted free. Admission on weekends: $23 adults, $18 seniors, $13 students, $8 youth, free for children under 5. Group rate, $14 per person for groups of 15 or more. Members are admitted free.

Admission is free to all visitors on the first Thursday of each month with advance tickets. Information: 626-405-2100 or www.huntington.org.