Whittier's Bailey House keeps the city's first-settler story close

Whittier has a lot of history packed into ordinary-looking streets. The Jonathan Bailey House is one of the clearest places to see it. The house, once known as the Old Ranch House, still stands at its original site on Camilla Street.

It is treated as the oldest building in Whittier. It was built around 1868 or 1869 by Jacob Gerkens, then became the home of Jonathan and Rebecca Bailey, Whittier’s first settlers, between 1887 and 1894. Early Friends meetings were also held at the house, which makes it part of the city’s Quaker-rooted beginning.

That is a lot of local memory in one building. Whittier’s story can jump quickly from Pio Pico and ranch land to Quaker settlement, citrus-era growth, schools, banks, railroads, and later public art. The Bailey House gives that early chapter an actual address.

The house was deeded to the city in 1975 and is operated with the Whittier Historical Society. It is also on the Local Official Register of Historic Resources. It is an old house people remember, and part of the city’s official historic fabric.

For someone trying to understand Whittier, this is a good small stop to pair with Uptown, the Whittier Museum, or the Bailey School House Bell at City Hall. Check tour details before planning around going inside.