Ventura County Landmark No. 46: Tanner Homestead

The original west portion of this Victorian era Queen Anne style structure, with its many entrances, was built by Albert Miles Tanner in the 1870s and used as the Tanner Home.

Albert Miles Tanner was born on April 4, 1825, in Bolton, New York. Tanner registered for military service in 1850 and was a member of the Mormon Battalion during the Mexican War. He married Lavinia Bickmore on September 9, 1855, in San Bernardino, California, and they were the parents of at least three sons and six daughters as they moved up and down the Pacific Coast. By 1860, they lived in Watsonville Judicial Township, Santa Cruz, California. In partnership with Sam Brannon, Mr. Tanner opened the first hotel in Sacramento, and later operated Tanner’s Express in Santa Paula from 1873 to 1879. He died in 1879 from a stagecoach accident and is buried in the Santa Paula Cemetery. (FamilySearch, 2021).

In 1957, the Pedersons’ son Richard donated much of the 130-acre ranch to California Lutheran College (now, University). Additional land, including the buildings, was given to the university in 1967, at which time the buildings were restored. The buildings were later moved, and the house is now used by the school’s music department.