Site of First Museum in Arcadia

Site of First Museum in Arcadia. . , The W. Parker Lyon Pony Express Museum was founded in San Marino by William Parker Lyon, former Mayor of Fresno. Lyon purchased 6 acres from Anita M. Baldwin in 1934 and moved his museum to Arcadia. In 1935, it was opened on this site - of Colorado Place and Huntington Drive North at 130 W. Huntington Drive. The frame buildings had a deliberately ramshackle effect to resemble a ghost town, with a "pioneer" attendant guarding the entrance. Inside were an 1849 bullet-scarred bar, an old gold scale, a vigilante bell, several rare stagecoaches, a collection of Native American mementos and curios of the 1840s and 1850s. , Lyon was a great salesman, selling baby buggies to anyone who “looked that way.” He also appreciated the value of a penny. At one time, a shipment of yardsticks arrived without a hole in them. Lyon was compensated by the manufacturer by figuring out the weight of the wood in the places where the holes should have been. It resulted in a refund of 79 cents in freight charges. , The collection contained hundreds of bedroom pots, all shapes and sizes. Lyon's favorites were purple with red rosebuds. , Also featured were a narrow-gauge railroad locomotive and cars, fire engines, a Wells Fargo Office, a Native American Trading Post, and mining equipment. It was reported that the collection contained a million artifacts. The museum closed in 1955.