Old Town Chino Historical Walk

With the advent of summer, the days are bright and hot in southern California, therefore to mix things up a bit, I decided to head out before dawn on a search for historical buildings.  To my surprise, I discovered Old Town Chino.  I knew of Chino as a prosperous dairy farm location; I had no idea this historical area existed.

It was a wonderful morning, just coming up to dawn, and no one was about. My dog and I had the place to ourselves.

Historical Chino, Old Town, is an area of several blocks which makes for an easy walk.  It remains a commercial area with stores, a library and a park as well as the neighborhood houses.  The buildings are a combination of old and new, yet they seem to exist peacefully together. There were numerous trees as well, which certainly makes this different from my town.

Building a Community

While the trees were nice, I couldn’t stop long to admire them.  I was on a mission!  I had a map of the walk, and I was determined to see all the buildings listed.  Many dated back to the late 19th century.  Usually these were official buildings, like this church.

It’s difficult to get information on these buildings.  The map implied that there would be markers, but that wasn’t always the case.  At least, I couldn’t find them.  This church was built in the late 1880s and, at the time, was called the Swedish Baptist Church.  I never knew Chino had a big Swedish population.

I was eager to find the Moyse Building because this is what piqued my interest in the first place.  It is the oldest building in Chino, having been built in 1887.

The building was originally used as a post office, now it is home to the Chamber of Commerce.

Families Establish Homes

Perhaps the most delightful building was the Tebo Residence.   The house, seen below, was built in the late 19th century.

As I was walking by I met a man working in the yard.  Of course this gave me a chance to chat.  He said he was the third owner since the time of the Tebo family.  He also told me that the darker bricks in the porch wall are burned brick.  From what I can learn, one uses much hotter temperatures when creating these. Therefore, they are harder and more durable than regular bricks.  In this case, they create a nice design element.

Schools Sprout Up

A couple blocks to the east of the Tebo house is the Old Schoolhouse Museum, built in 1888.  I would have liked to see the inside, but it was very early in the morning.  As a result, I faced a locked door and no indication as to the hours of the museum.

The Richard Gird School, located one block west of the old school, was built in 1894.  According to the my guide information, this school was one of the finest in the country.  The school was replaced in 1937 by the Community Building.

The building looks modern when compared with the buildings of the Victorian era. however it is now eighty years old.  Therefore. I think that justifies calling it historic.

I enjoyed my stroll through Old Town Chino.  It made such a pleasant change from the treeless stucco tract homes with their look-alike red tile roofs.

To see more of my photos from Chino, please feel free to visit my gallery by clicking here.