It Takes A Village – Or A “Court” – To Preserve Our History

Among the collection of historic buildings at the Santa Clarita History Center are two former family homes – the 1878 Kingsburry House, moved to the Center in 1987, and the 1929 Edison House, moved to the Center in 1989.
When these buildings arrived, three groups of Questers – an international nonprofit organization comprised of people dedicated to historic preservation – were active in the SCV and very interested in taking on a new project. A collaborative effort of the Canyon, Heritage Reflections, and Oak of the Golden Dream Quester groups was launched and restoration of the Kingsburry House began. The members worked to bring back the luster of the original house, furnishing it with antiques representative of its Colonial Revival-style origins.
In the early 2000s, members of the Oak of the Golden Dream Questers took over restoration of the Edison House, furnishing it with period antiques. Both houses opened for visitors, with tours given by the proud Quester members on the weekends. But when the pandemic hit, volunteers were unable to continue tours. Over the years, the Heritage Reflection and Oak of the Golden Dream chapters merged into the Canyon Questers.
Members of the Canyon Questers gathered recently to see the houses and talk about resuming tours. Project manager Leon Worden updated them on what needed to be done to protect the structures and make them ready to welcome visitors again. Plans for the Kingsburry include maintaining the house as an example of a typical Victorian residence in the 1880s-1890s. Plans for the Edison house include a permanent exhibition on the St. Francis Dam disaster, with the rest of the house maintained as an Edison company house from the 1930s-1940s.
After the group toured the Saugus Train Station Museum and got a quick look at the Kingsburry and Edison houses, Canyon Questers President Stephanie Dietrich said that members were excited to come back.
“Already there are emails amongst our members about how informative the meeting was. They commented on how impressed they were with the train (station) makeover,” she said. “There’s a desire to come back and work with the Historical Society.”
The Society is excited to renew the partnership. And to recognize the contributions of all Questers past and present, a street sign marking the intersection of Quester Court and History Center Drive will be installed within the next year. The Saugus Train Station Museum is open Saturdays from 1 to 4 p.m. 

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