Hot as an oven, …a California ghost town

Field Trip: Hornitos

On a recent photo trek through the area between the Sierra foothills and the Central Valley of California, the little tiny town of Hornitos was found, baking in the 105 degree heat. My brother Ken accompanied me.

Lonely road to Hornitos

Quiet and deserted now, the one-street town once had 15,000 people living there, Mexicans who weren’t welcome in Quartzsville during the Gold Rush and then German miners. The signs posted claim that 40,000 dollars in gold was transported to the banks daily.

Miner's cabins

Miner’s cabins

 

Free range turkeys in Hornitos

Free range turkeys in Hornitos

Because of the Gold Rush of 1849, businesses and bars and banks sprung up and several of the Fandangos or dance halls were underground allowing folks to go from one to another without being seen…perfect hideouts for bandits!  Legendary Joaquin Murrieta was the head honcho bandit, say the signs.

The name Hornitos has two explanations on the town’s website.  One says it was given the name Hornitos, meaning “little ovens”, from the dome like rock and mud bake-ovens being used here by German residents.

Another statement says Hornitos is Spanish for “little ovens”. It got its name from the above ground graves that were shaped like little cooking ovens used in Mexico.

Hornitos PO

Hornitos Post Office

 

Ken takes me unaware

Ken takes me unaware

The town was laid out like many Mexican towns, with the buildings situated around a square. As we wandered, I caught up to my brother who had ventured down a walk near a small garden.  I watched as a man stepped out of the building and began speaking to him. Oops, I thought, looking down at the sign half hidden in the rosebush saying ‘Private’.

Dragonfly garden

Dragonfly garden was an oasis of cool green

Never fear, but Ken was asking the man about his garden and Old Bob Morse introduced himself (I had tiptoed over) and he began telling us how he made his sunken brick -lined paths criss-crossing the small knot garden. I commented on the thin sticks rising 3 feet high above the herbs and lavender. Dragonflies, he said, gives them a place to land. Cool!

Old Bob asked if we wanted to see inside the old building where he and his wife made their home. We said yes, of course, and he disappeared inside only to reemerge from another door with a stained glass window. We called Ken’s wife, Sheila, over to join us through the door and it took us several minutes for our eyes to adjust from the white sunlight.

Pacific Saloon, Hornitos-picture of a picture by Ken Wyatt

Pacific Saloon, Hornitos-picture of a picture by Ken Wyatt

 

Exterior of the Pacific Saloon

Exterior of the Pacific Saloon, Old Bob’s residence

The building was the old Pacific Saloon back in the when, made of adobe with walls about 18-20 feet high. Inside the ceiling was as high, but there were no windows except for the one in the door, stained glass. Bob turned on a light, which threw several candles worth of light on the huge room.  It was dark.  Ken, an avid photog, cranked his ASA to 6400 and took a photo of a display case filled with gems and orbs. Old Bob liked that shot and was starting to like us as well, I think.

Bob's gem case.

Bob’s gem case

 

Old Bob and me by Ken Wyatt

Old Bob and me

The room was filled with velvet furniture, Oriental rugs and religious relics. Old photos of Hornitos filled one wall and Bob pointed out each one giving as good a talk as any historian or museum docent would offer about the town’s past.  He had lived there with his artist wife for 17 years and lived in Mariposa before that. As we filed out into those 105 degrees, blinking, he urged us to visit two or three more points of interest, …the Jail and the St Catherine’s church.

Ghiradelli General Store

Ghirardelli General Store, Hornitos

Across the street from the plaza are the ruins of a Gold Rush adobe and brick structure that once housed the general store of Domingo Ghirardelli. He went on to San Francisco to further his business by concentrating on one well-known product. Nothing is permanent.

We photographed aimlessly what appealed to us, with the very good Sheila following us with the truck as we wandered along the one main street.

St Catherine's Church, Hornitos

St Catherine’s Church, Hornitos

 

St Catherine's Ch, Hornitos 2

St Catherine’s Churchyard, Hornitos

 

Cultivator, Hornitos

Cultivator, Hornitos

 

Fence around a residence, Hornitos

Fence around a residence, Hornitos

 

I loved the old doors, especially, and their colors, some very tall and some made of solid steel. These buildings survive so long because they’re all built like banks.

 

 

Chain lock, Hornitos

Chain lock, Hornitos

In front of the general store, now a gift shop, someone had chosen the exact right color petunias to fill a watering trough.

Pump, In front of General Store, Hornitos

Pump, In front of General Store, Hornitos

Funny we make this a through point when on a ride or a drive, …been there fifty times but rarely stopped for long…Hornitos is a quiet town, no services but the Post Office to be seen,…turkeys, Bob, his unseen wife and their garden.

Turkey feathers stuck in the barn, Hornitos

Turkey feathers stuck in the barn, Hornitos

 

Old adobe doorway to nowhere

Old adobe doorway to nowhere

Update 2017:

On a recent trip back to Hornitos, this time with a gaggle of grown children and a sleeping baby, we met old Bob again,.. and again he invited us into his garden and into his inner sanctum.  The hard-to-impress kids were duly impressed… and especially with the idea of the above ground graves which they asked to see.

Lone oak

Lone oak on the hill above the town

 

Dream house?

Dream house,…but pull the thistles out before entering

 

Rooster

Lonely rooster

 

Bob's moons and gems

Bob’s moons and gems

 

St Catherine's Church cemetery

St Catherine’s Church cemetery

Joaquin Murieta, the Straight Dope

Domingo Ghirardelli

7 comments

  1. Desiree -

    By now, you probably know how much I love to explore off-the-beaten-track places and old forgotten sites, so this post was just my cup of tea! I hung on every word and enjoyed studying every photograph…what a treat, Sue! Thank you so much!

  2. Sue Langley -

    Hi Katie, thanks for the link,…I’d like to visit during one of these festivals. It would be such a contrast from how we usually see this town!
    Lisa, we don’t get too many earthquakes here, not like closer to the coast LA and SF. However the buildings were made from thick adobe bricks then later, in the 1900s the brick was added.

    Bom, I like the background to some of these stories…I guess if Ghirardelli had been a successful gold miner, we chocolate lovers would have had one less choice.

    Desiree, I’m so glad you enjoyed the tour,…don’t you love the color in those petunias,..they’re not computer-enhanced, but still eye-popping!

  3. Arleen Webster -

    What a great post, Sue! It must have been a real treat to tour Old Bob’s home. Do you know how many people (other than Old Bob and his wife) reside in Hornitos today? Your photos of the doors were just awesome – I could so picture them in a photo book on artsy, eclectic doors…

  4. Sue Langley -

    Thanks, Country Mouse, we usually go through Hornitos on drives but this is the first time we went just to photograph. I thought my brother would enjoy the visit and he gets me enthusiastic about taking photos..

    Thanks, Arleen, I love doors and doorways. I once took photos of some cute house entrances in the Pacific Grove, CA area and enjoyed it so much!
    I wonder why they made all these Hornitos doors 10-11 feet tall? A mystery.
    There’s supposed to be 75 people there now, but many live in the outskirts I think. I only see three or four houses there that look inhabited. You know I think YOU should make a photo book, too!

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