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Save Our Heritage Organisation
Visit the Santa Ysabel General Store
We are thrilled to share with you the exciting news of a major property acquisition for SOHO with the purchase of the 1884 Santa Ysabel General Store, one of San Diego backcountry's most recognized historic landmark. A holiday gift indeed, this caps off an already eventful 2011 for us with the Warner-Carrillo Ranch House Stage Station and Trading Post restoration after almost 15 years of being on our endangered list is now close to completion. We hope to have both these sites open to the public by the spring of 2012.
Located at 30275 Highway 78, the store was purchased for $294,000. The iconic building is the most important site left of the 19th century town site of Santa Ysabel. Fortunately Santa Ysabel still retains much of that 19th century feel as it is still mostly buffered by open space.
Having been vacant for the last few years, one of the first orders of business for us is to clean the building thoroughly. Anyone wishing to be a part of a work party sometime in January please email us now to get on the volunteer list.
Then we will begin to restore the façade, replace windows and doors that have been removed or changed, and paint the building, which includes the restoration and painting of its historic signage. Family members have already come forth with historic photos that will allow us to do the kind of precise restoration that this wonderful building deserves.
The plan is for SOHO to operate the site together with several land conservancy organizations as a Nature Interpretive Center, Mercantile and Visitor Center. This is an exciting opportunity to work with some of the most respected nature conservancy groups in the region: Volcan Mountain Foundation, San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy, San Diego River Foundation, and others. Together we will offer the visitor information on surrounding public trails, recreation opportunities, and cultural heritage sites of the backcountry. This site along with Warner-Carrillo will allow SOHO to broaden services and expand our regional outreach.
Local support has been strong already as word has leaked out; congratulations have been coming in from all over the backcountry as this much beloved building with its prominent location had people very worried about its future. SOHO purchased the store from the Tulloch family, a pioneer cattle ranching family who have been caring for the land for generations. They were eager to get the building into good hands and felt that SOHO, having demonstrated through the years how we care for historic properties so that everyone can enjoy them, was a good fit for the property.
This marks the first time since 1969, when SOHO helped to purchase the Villa Montezuma in Sherman Heights, that SOHO has purchased a building.
We are seeking donations to help restore the building and replenish funds.
Check back periodically for more information and hours of operation. Read more about it from the press release here.
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