Sierra Sun Times

Fresno Flats Historical Park  by Linda Gast

 

 

 

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Taylor Log Home



Raymond Jail

Fresno Flats Historical Park is located near Oak Creek Intermediate School and Yosemite High School on Road 427, also known as School Road.
Many people do not even know that it is there.  It is not marked very well and it sits back from School Road surrounded by big trees.  You can take a self guided tour by picking up a brochure adjacent to the parking lot.  Many of the buildings have a button on the outside that you can push to hear a recording about the building.  If you want to see inside the buildings you must take a guided tour with a docent. 
 
A good time to visit would be Mountain Heritage Day, Saturday, September 20, 2008
 
Starting in 1975, the volunteers of the non-profit SHSA began developing Fresno Flats Historical Park and its historical research center for the enjoyment and education of this and future generations. The name Fresno Flats recalls the days before 1912 when Oakhurst was known as Fresno Flats. This is a community effort. No tax money is involved.

The village and grounds are open from dawn to dusk for self guided tours. The museum and guided tours of the buildings are available from 10:00AM to 2:00PM daily.

http://www.fresnoflatsmuseum.org/about.html 

The museum complex is built around two restored and furnished homes dating to the 1870’s.   Added to these structures are a pair of early day one room schools, two 19th Century jails and several other farm buildings.

The first two story house in Fresno Flats was built in 1878 by Robert Laramore.  The home was the center for social and political activities in the area.  The authentic 19th Century furnishings reflect life as it was at the time. 

The Raymond Jail from 1890 housed drunks and other minor offenders well into the 20th century.  Built with 2 x 6 inch boards laid flat and tied together by heavy spikes at the corners it shows the standard construction for jails at this time.  With a heavy door and barred windows high in the walls there weren’t many escapes.

A 1914 homesteader’s log barn houses a lumber exhibit while the red barns which once served the Laramore home, now hold a recreated blacksmith shop and an agricultural exhibit.

The Taylor Log House is the centerpiece of the park, built in the year 1870 it is the oldest building in the complex.  The so-called “two-pen, dogtrot” design, which was once common throughout Northern California where timber was readily available with its simple construction consists of two rooms, separated by a breezeway (dogtrot).  One side was a kitchen/dining room/family room and the other the parent’s bedroom, each heated by a fireplace. Children slept overhead in an unheated attic that ran the full length of the house, accessible only by a ladder in the breezeway.

The Cunningham School from 1913 and serving the area for half a century was the seat of learning for generations of young people.  The school is now used as a meeting place. The other one room school contains a wide variety of exhibits for your enjoyment.

Directions: To reach the park from downtown Oakhurst turn east off Hwy 41 on to Road 426, Crane Valley Rd.  Go approximately ½ mile to the stop sign,  Turn left to Road 427, School Road and Fresno Flats is about a half mile further on the left.

Address: PO Box 451, Oakhurst, California 93644

Phone: 559-683-6570

Linda Gast

www.hummingbirdmountain.com
www.mariposaspca.org
www.goldrushcam.com





 

 

 

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