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State of California —The Resources Agency Primary #
<br />DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI #
<br />CONTINUATiON SHEET Trinomial
<br />"Recorded by Holly Sobolaske *Date April 6, 2017 ® Continuation ❑ Update
<br />DPR 5238 (1198) *Required information
<br />`B10. Significance (continued);
<br />In 1910, father and son John B, and Merle Ramsey, who had come to Santa Ana in 1902 and subsequently set up business
<br />as plaster contractors, purchased fifteen acres of the ranch from a Mr. Talcott. By that time, the adobe had been replaced
<br />by the present house, estimated to have been built circa 1895 (Cultural Heritage Inventory, 1983). A barn with an attached
<br />bunkhouse was located west of the house (approximately where Westwood Avenue runs today). The Ramseys began
<br />tending the orange and walnut trees already on half of the acreage, and planted additional walnut trees and apricot trees on
<br />the vacant land. They also developed the "Ramsey Apple" by grafting cuttings from their home In Ohio onto California
<br />rootstock.
<br />At the time of the Ramsey's purchase, the ranch, although located within the city limits of Santa Ana, was "far out in the
<br />country," reached via dirt roads, with no nearby neighbors. The location of the property was understood to be the vicinity of
<br />Baker and Seventeenth. In 1921, father and son divided the property, with the father keeping the rear portion for farming
<br />and son taking the front in order to take advantage of the expanding residential area of Santa Ana by building houses. City
<br />directories in the 1930s list the address of John Ramsey as 1901 North Baker Street and of Merle Ramsey as 1101 West
<br />Seventeenth Street. Westwood Avenue north of Seventeenth, however, was not developed until the post World War II
<br />period, and the first building permit with the current address was recorded in 1948. Merle Ramsey recalled his life on the A.
<br />T. Bates ranch In This Was Mission County: Reflections in Orange of Merle and Mabel Ramsey, published in 1973, and
<br />noted that the house remained exactly where it had been, only surrounded by streets and houses. Ramsey also recalled
<br />unearthing several Native American artifacts on the property, most notably two stone pots discovered when they installed an
<br />irrigation system.
<br />Since the second halt of the twentieth century, the neighborhood in which the A. T. Bates Ranch House is located has been
<br />known as West Floral Park. Bounded by Santiago Creek on the north, West Seventeenth Street on the south, North Flower
<br />Street on the east and North Bristol Street on the west, this residential area largely developed after 1947. Prior to that time,
<br />the area was primarily agricultural, and other than Flower Street, which was Improved with houses during the 1920s and
<br />1930s, contained only handful of residences on Baker and Bristol Streets, the City Water Works pumping plant at 2315
<br />North Bristol Street, and the Animal Shelter and City /County Round at 2321 North Bristol Street. Between 1947 and 1950,
<br />around two dozen homes were constructed on Baker, Olive, Towner, and Westwood Streets, Construction boomed during
<br />the 1950s, and the California Ranch style homes that characterized that era still dominate the streets of West Floral Park in
<br />the early twenty -first century.
<br />The Stylianous House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties as "Contributive ". Additionally, the
<br />house has been categorized as "Contributive" because It "contributes to the overall character and history" of Santa Ana, and,
<br />as an Intact example of the Ranch House style in the West Floral Park neighborhood, "is a good example of period
<br />architecture." Character - defining exterior features of the Stylianous House that should be preserved include, but may not be
<br />limited to, materials and finishes (vertical wood siding); roof configuration and detailing; original windows and doors where
<br />extant; and architectural details such as brick planters, wood garage door, and open beam roof areas designed to let light
<br />shine through the eaves.
<br />B12. References (continued):
<br />Armor, Samuel. History of Orange County, Los Angeles: History Record Company, 1921,
<br />Cultural Heritage Commission, City of Santa Ana. `Historical Landmarks, Inventory Form, Bowers Museum, " September 12,
<br />1979. Available at the Santa Ana Public Library History Room.
<br />Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York, WW Norton, 1996.
<br />Marsh, Diann.. Santa Ana; An Illustrated History. Encinitas, Heritage Publishing, 1994.
<br />McAlester, Virginia and Lea, A Field Guide to American Houses. New York.: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984.
<br />National Register Bulletin 16A, 'How to Complete the National Register Registration Porm. " Washington DC. , National
<br />Register Branch, National Park Service, US Dept of the Interior, 1991.
<br />Office of Historic Preservation. 'Instructions for Recording Historical Resources." Sacramento: March 1996.
<br />Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1932.1954.
<br />Whiffen, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969,
<br />Ancestry.com
<br />Newspapers.com (Santa Ana Register)
<br />DPR 523E
<br />25B -10
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