San Luis Obispo County CA Archives Photo Place.....Hansen Barn, San Luis Obispo 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com November 24, 2006, 12:20 am

Source:             Discovering San Luis Obispo County
Photo can be seen at:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/sanluisobispo/photos/hansenba70gph.jpg
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THE HANSEN BARN Highway 1, San Luis Obispo
 
History and Description:

The old Hansen barn is approximately 75 years old. The barn is located on the
Hansen ranch, owned by Mrs. Marguerite Hansen.  It is almost across from the Cal
Poly dairy unit, north of downtown San Luis Obispo on Highway 1.  The ranch
occupies 220 acres, and since Mrs. Hansen's husband died in 1950, it has been
rented out to various people for beef cattle and dairy operations.  On the ranch
is the original house built in I860,  The house is being rented also.  At the
present time, Mr. James Negranti of Cayucos is renting the ranch and using the
barn for hay storage and boarding horses.  There are quite a few interesting
things in the barn's history.

The barn, built in 1895 by Mr. James Rasmussen, has been a relic of the San Luis
Obispo country setting and for that reason it is photographed by a lot of
tourists just passing through.  It has also appeared in Life magazine and
"California Living".  I found that it has been recognized by a lot of people,
but it is given little recognition except for its beauty and quaintness in its
rustic foothill setting.

The barn is coincidentally built on one of the highest knolls in the immediate
area of the house and shed. Although this area isn't known for its large amount
of rainfall each year, this site was probably selected as a precaution against
any heavy rains.  It is all wooden posts and beams, with a new concrete
foundation put in by Mr. Hansen in 1943.  When he bought the ranch the barn was
in very poor condition.  Mr. Louis Mora said that when his family lived on the
ranch, the barn was in very good shape.  Wear and tear must have taken its toll
at the end of the Mora's stay at the ranch. Now concrete, the original floor was
wooden.  Mr. Mora also explained that the large door on each side was especially
convenient and innovative for the time it was built.  It also has the
traditional hayloft with the pulley and hoist to put the hay in storage.  The
barn was originally sprayed with a brown oil mixture, probably a very good
protection from elements but not very appealing today.  It has been whitewashed
for probably the last 40 or 50 years.  As far as usefulness goes, this barn was
far ahead of any in its day.  Mr. Morris Cheda informed me that the milking of
dairy cattle was done outdoors at other ranches until at least 1915, but the
Lowes had the barn to do their milking in.  The Lowes were early owners.
The advertisement on the barn's roof was last white-washed in 1945.  It reads: 
"MAIL POUCH-TREAT YOURSELF TO THE BEST".  The arrangement was that the company
would pay a nominal fee per year for this type of advertisement.  Mrs. Louisiana
Dart said that it was customary in those days for the company requesting the
advertising to paint the barn.  As a payment for this, they were allowed to put
the advertisement on the barn's roof.  At any rate, the Hansens were notified in
1946 that the advertising campaign as such was terminated.

The barn itself is not especially unique or in excellent condition.  I feel that
most of its importance lies in its historical image, quaintness and usefulness.
 One thing which might be /just coincidental, but is its overriding feature, is
the beauty and compatibility of the rustic barn and of the towering Bishop's Peak.

Sources:
San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce brochure, 1968. 
"California Living", Supplement to Los Angeles Herald Examiner. July 12, 1970
Life. August 11, 1967 
Mrs. Marguerite Hansen, Route 2, Box 414, San Luis Obispo 
Mr. Louis A. Mora 
Mr. Morris A. Cheda 
Mr. Floyd Cook 
Louisiana Dart, Curator, San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

Discovering San Luis Obispo County
by
Carleton M. Winslow

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/sanluisobispo/photos/hansenba70gph.txt

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