Workman House
The history of the Workman House at the Homestead Museum in the City of Industry reflects the fortunes of a pioneer of the area, William Workman. An émigré from England who settled and married in Taos, New Mexico, Workman and his partner, John Rowland, led a group of eastern settlers to Alta California, received a land grant for Rancho La Puente on which he established a cattle ranch and did well financially during the Gold Rush supplying fresh beef in the gold fields. The Workman House started in l842 as a simple, rectangular building. It was expanded with large wings on each side and, as Workman’s fortunes improved, was renovated to a design attributed to the first trained architect in Los Angeles, Ezra F. Kysor, with a new brick and plaster form, simulating an English country squire’s home. It is listed at the Workman Home on the National Register of Historic Places.
City of Industry, Los Angeles County
Photographer: John Bare