STOW HOUSE TOUR AND PICNIC CELEBRATES RANCH HISTORY

Historian Beverly Schwartzberg will provide a glimpse into Santa Barbara's ranch history through a tour of the county landmark Stow House at noon on Saturday, Oct. 30. The tour celebrates the beginning of fall programs for the UCSB History Associates. A country picnic will add to the festive mood.

"Bev Schwartzberg, who is a UCSB doctoral candidate and curator at the Stow House, is one of the department's star graduate students whom we have supported financially," said Patrick O'Dowd, President of the UCSB History Associates and chief curator for the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation. "She is a great teacher who studies family history with a fresh approach."

In 1871, San Franciscan William Whitney Stow bought the Central Coast property for his son Sherman P. Stow who was in Europe studying agriculture. "Shermy" Stow began construction on the house in 1872. He married his neighbor's daughter, Ida Hollister, in 1873 when he was 22. The house was home to four generations of Stow descendents.

"The Stow House, once the headquarters of La Patera Ranch in Goleta, is a hidden gem of Santa Barbara history," added O'Dowd. "The history of the family reflects the history of ranch history here."

Picnic and tour is $15 for members and $17 for nonmembers. For reservation information, contact UCSB Office of Community Relations at 893-4388.

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