The Heath Adobe

The Heath Adobe. . , One of Carpinteria Valley's earliest American settlers, Russel Heath, built a two-story adobe home here in 1858. Heath served as Santa Barbara's district attorney, first elected sheriff, and California state legislator. Heath planted his original 52 acre farm, which he purchased for $336, in almonds and grapes, and built a distillery for brandy. In 1881 Russel Heath commissioned locally renowned architect Peter J. Barber to design his Victorian mansion, which has been described as "irregular Italianate" style. By this time Heath's 200 acre ranch was planted in walnuts and was the largest walnut orchard in the state. In 1914 the ranch was sold to the Edwards family and became known as Willmoor Farms; lemon groves eventually replaced the walnut orchard. , In 1972 the land was cleared and subdivided for development. During the demolition of the old Heath mansion, it was discovered that part of the original 1858 adobe had been preserved when it was incorporated into the mansion’s west wing and covered in clapboard siding. The Carpinteria Valley Historical Society negotiated with the developers and the City of Carpinteria to preserve this earliest known structure in the Carpinteria Valley by moving a planned public park to include the adobe, as well as the remaining Victorian fountain and the towering eucalyptus trees that lined Heath's original drive. The Heath Adobe and Heath Ranch was declared Carpinteria Historical Landmark #2 on April 9, 1973. , Photo caption: , The Heath Family home c. 1890. The original adobe walls were uncovered in the single story veranda shown on the left of the photo. Note that the fountain originally had four smaller statues, representing the four corners of the globe. , Russell Heath, 1826-1911.