Our annual field trip on Thursday, November 8, will be a visit to cereal magnate W.K. Kellogg’s West Coast retreat, an 8,777 square-foot house built in 1926 at a cost of $150,000. The home sits on the northern edge of the Cal Poly Pomona campus. The Kellogg ranch became well known in Southern California for its horse exhibitions and breeding program. It was also a venue for the Kelloggs to entertain assorted Hollywood celebrities and to open the ranch to the public. Myron Hunt, a distinguished southland architect whose projects included the Pasadena Rose Bowl and the Huntington Library, was commissioned to design W.K. Kellogg’s new West Coast estate. Myron Hunt designed not only the main house and guest cottage you pass as you enter the main gate, but also the Arabian stables and the other ranch buildings, including the Manor House. The Manor House was originally built for Kellogg’s eldest son Karl and his family. Karl agreed to move to California and manage his father’s ranch in hopes the weather would improve his health following a bout with tuberculosis. Today, the Cal Poly Pomona university president and his family occupy the Manor House. Because W.K. Kellogg loved the outdoors, his house was set on top of the hill to take full advantage of the Pomona Valley panorama. Charles Gibbs Adams was selected to landscape the grounds. One of his more notable commissions was the Hearst Castle garden in San Simeon, California. Most of the furniture and décor that adorn the house are original pieces once owned by Kellogg and his family.
W.K. Kellogg deeded 813 acres of land to the state of California in 1949 prior to his death in 1951. In 1956, 508 students and 44 faculty and staff moved to the new Kellogg campus. In a first for the all-male campus, 329 women joined the student body in 1961. The Pomona campus separated from the San Luis Obispo campus in 1966 and became California State Polytechnic College, Kellogg Campus. University status was granted in 1972. Today, the university is part of the 23-campus California State University system. Cal Poly Pomona has about 24,000 students and 2,600 faculty and staff.
Tour groups are only allowed at the ranch during weekday hours. The Society has reserved Thursday, November 8. The cost of the trip is $60 for members ($70 for non-members) which includes bus transportation to the site and admission fee to the house, grounds, stables and the ranch farm market. A buffet lunch is included as are refreshments on the return bus trip. The tour bus will board at Strands parking lot at 9:30 a.m. and will return at approximately 4 p.m.
People interested in the trip should fill out the form below and return it via mail or in person to the Society by Saturday, November 3. For more information call 949-248-8121 or email events@DanaPointHistorical.org.
Click here to view the print the registration form: Kellogg House Registration Form