The Kellogg House, a former residence of Hiram Clay Kellogg, a notable civil engineer in the Santa Ana area, and adjacent places such as Elsinore and Corona (but not of Kellogg’s cereal, as I originally assumed! ), is usually the centerpiece of the Heritage Museum. Kellogg resided in this home in Santa Ana with his family from the time it was completed in 1898, but when the neighborhood was condemned in 1980, the house was relocated to the Heritage Museum to maintain it. The house, constructed in late Queen Anne-style Victorian architecture, boasts a spacious front porch, balcony, and lovely dormer peak, making it a favorite location for wedding photographs.
Inside, the property is charmingly authentically Victorian, with an organ in the parlor and a precise antique dollhouse on display, as well as an ancient sewing machine and mirrors in the upper bedroom, which doubles as a bridal suite for weddings. There is even an old-fashioned schoolroom, which is rather fitting given that the house is visited by hundreds of pupils seeking a hands-on experience of the Victorian times. They can even dress up!
The house’s centerpiece—literally and figuratively—is the remarkable spiral staircase, which is fashioned around a real ship’s mast from a ship in San Francisco, according to Kellogg’s obsession with ships. The numerous landings imply a bridge or if you get it to the open attic, a ship’s crow’s nest. (Source: hhhistory.com)
History
In 1898, Hiram Clay and Helen Kellogg constructed this home at 122 South Orange Avenue. The house stood near the junction of South Orange and Walnut till 1980 when the Santa Ana Unified School District purchased and relocated it to its current location.
Hiram Clay Kellogg was born in northern California in 1855 and relocated to a farm south of Anaheim with his family in 1869. He attended Wilson College in Wilmington and graduated in 1879 with a degree in civil engineering. Throughout the next forty years, he established himself as an engineer in California, Arizona, and Hawaii, serving as the first City Engineer of Santa Ana, among other accomplishments. He began his career by planting vineyards in Anaheim, Placentia, and Pasadena. In 1883, he assessed the townsite of Elsinore, followed by a survey of Corona a few years later. He worked for the Anaheim Union Water Company, the Santa Ana Valley Irrigation Company, and the Newport Protection District at different times. In 1894, he was appointed Orange County Surveyor. Outside of Arizona, he oversaw the construction of a dam in Gila Bend, Arizona, as well as the construction of 2 reservoirs in Hawaii. Another project involved the design, building, and operation of a railroad connecting San Bernardino and Riverside. Kellogg handled most of his business from his office in his house’s southeast corner. H. C. Kellogg was assassinated in 1921. Helen Kellogg, who married in 1895, outlasted her husband for over 40 years, dying in 1963 in the room he used as his office. Until 1980, the family kept possession of the house. (Source: wikimapia.org)
Take your child to Kidseum and have fun!
TechWaste Recycling Inc. is nearby.
Directions
The Kellogg House
Head east on W Harvard St toward S Fairview St
0.1 mi
Turn right onto S Fairview St
0.3 mi
Use the left 2 lanes to turn left onto W Warner Ave
Pass by Taco Bell (on the left in 3.3 mi)
3.5 mi
Turn left onto S Wright St
341 ft
Turn right onto Ritchey St
0.7 mi
Turn right onto E Occidental St
Destination will be on the right – TechWaste Recycling Inc. 0.2 mi