page_title: Stagecoach Inn (California)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Stagecoach Inn (California) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Reconstructed Chumash 'ap at the Tri-Village Complex at Stagecoach Inn, Newbury Park, CA.
context_page_description: The Stagecoach Inn in Newbury Park, California, originally known as the Grand Union Hotel, was used as a resting area for people who traveled from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara. Besides a hotel and stagecoach stop, it has also been used as a post office, church, restaurant and military school. It is California Historical Landmark no. 659 and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It played a major role in the development of the stage line transportation network in California. The hotel was also the first business venture in the Conejo Valley.
  Today, the inn is owned by the Conejo Recreation and Park Department and operated as a historic museum. The museum includes a replica of Timber School, a carriage house and blacksmith shop, nature trail, and the 'Tri-Village', a small group of three houses: the pioneer house, the adobe, and the Chumash 'ap. There is also a gift shop located inside the museum. Volunteers operate the museum, although it is run by the Conejo Valley Historical Society. There is also a Jr. Docent program for children and teenagers aged 8–18.
context_section_description: James Hammell was a carpenter in Santa Barbara who planned to construct a hotel along the stagecoach route from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara. After talking to John Edwards about his plans in the late 19th century, Hammell purchased 900 acres of land from Edwards. Near what is now Highway 101 and Ventu Park Road is where Hammell first began constructing the hotel. El Grande Hotel (Grand Union Hotel) was constructed in 1876 and was originally planned as a stopover for travelers between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. It was constructed using redwood from Northern California. When it arrived in Port Hueneme, it was freighted up the Conejo Grade when brought to Stagecoach Inn.
  It was originally constructed in 1876 near what is now the Ventura Freeway and Ventu Park Road. Its redwood lumber came by sea and was freighted up the steep Conejo Grade (between Newbury Park and Camarillo) by multiteam wagons. One month before the hotel's grand opening, the Coast Line Stage Company changed its routes from Conejo Valley to Santa Clara Valley, which meant an end to Hammell's prospects of a mainline stage stop. Hammell did not cancel his plans, but instead opened the hotel on July 4, 1876, and publicized it as a "health- and pleasure resort". A countywide newspaper reported: "Shooting, fishing, bathing, and a first-rate table are among the good things on hand for visitors."
  Following the drought of 1877-78 James Hammell no longer owned the hotel. After passing through several owners, it was purchased in 1885 by Cecil Haigh, an Englishman. H. Allen Hays, grandson of Cecil Haigh, gave the building and about four acres of land at the present location to the CVHS, who later deeded the property to the Conejo Recreation and Park District in return for a 50-year renewable lease to operate the facilities for cultural and educational purposes. In the 1960s, the hotel was threatened with demolition by the expansion of the Ventura Freeway, but it was granted Historical Landmark status and moved to its present location in 1965.  On April 25, 1970, a fire entirely destroyed the museum and its contents. Although the reconstructed museum was dedicated and opened on July 4, 1976, the second floor was not completed until 1980.  The structure was rebuilt using the original Monterey style architecture.
caption: Replica of a Chumash 'ap at the Tri-Village Complex.
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