Earthquake: the long road back : officials hope prized adobes can be restored : landmarks: the quake-damaged historic sites in simi valley and near piru will require extensive, costly repairs.

Two of Ventura County’s oldest structures were severely damaged in last week’s earthquake, but state officials, historians and property owners are hopeful that the historic buildings can be

restored. The Strathearn House/Simi Adobe in Simi Valley and the adobe on the Camulos Ranch near Piru have withstood some of Southern California’s worst earthquakes. But the one that struck

Jan. 17 proved too much for them. The Strathearn House/Simi Adobe was awaiting seismic reinforcement for two of the adobe’s walls when the quake struck. Those walls were badly damaged, a

chimney was destroyed and holes were created in both buildings’ roofs, said Pat Havens, Simi Valley historian and museum director for the Strathearn Historical Park and Museum. There was

also extensive exterior cracking, she said. “Basically, we are very lucky we didn’t have more damage,” Havens said. “It’s just amazing to me that it’s withstood this long, through this many

quakes.” The adobe stands on a 1795 Spanish land grant, the earliest in the county, and is estimated to be at least 175 years old, Havens said. It is a county historical landmark. The state

landmark adobe on the Camulos Ranch suffered similar structural damage. Walls of the main house were cracked and in a few places collapsed. In one corner of a bedroom, the roof is

precariously balancing on a 19th-Century chest of drawers. “This is a historic treasure and we’re desperately trying to preserve it,” said Robert Lorenz, whose wife’s family owns the ranch.

Lorenz said the family wants to restore the ranch’s 170-year-old adobe, but it’s not going to be easy--or cheap. Lorenz said it will cost $2 million just to restore the main house. The

Camulos Ranch, which was originally known as Rancho San Francisco, was part of a 48,000-acre land grant issued to Antonio del Valle by the king of Spain in the early 1800s. The ranch was

part of the mission chain, a stopover for nuns, priests and the occasional outlaw between the San Fernando and San Buenaventura missions. Joaquin Murrieta’s saddlebags are alleged to be

lying somewhere in the 140-year-old winery, which was also damaged in the quake. “It’s an absolute necessity to get it repaired,” said Steade Craigo, head of the state Office of Historic

Preservation, who visited the Camulos Ranch and several other damaged landmarks in Ventura and Los Angeles counties last week. “The damage is pretty extensive; it is going to be expensive to

repair those walls. It could be as high as $2 million,” he said. Craigo, a historical architect, said it is important to restore the adobe because it still retains the historical character

of the 1840s. “Due to its importance to the mission . . . we need to do everything that we can. “There is no real grant money available. I’m looking to see if we can get a special

appropriation from Congress for this building and other adobes.” Like Craigo, Havens and the Lorenzes are hopeful that the historic structures they care about can be repaired. Havens said

the structural engineer who assessed the damage at the Strathearn House/Simi Adobe believed that the repair work needed would not be as extensive as first feared. She said she didn’t know

how much the restoration would cost, but said the estimate to reinforce the adobe’s walls before the earthquake was $250,000. “In the long run, I think we’ll be better off than we were

before,” Havens said. “It certainly did prove what needed to be done.” Lorenz said the earthquake has served as a catalyst for the family to restore the Camulos Ranch. On Thursday, Shirley

Lorenz and her daughter, Anne Reinders, were replanting the rose garden--a symbolic gesture, they said, in transforming the ranch back to what it once was. “We consider this to be the end of

an era,” Robert Lorenz said. “From this day forward, Camulos Ranch is going to be reborn.” MORE TO READ