The adobe ranch house, built in 1844, is the most important “artifact” at Rancho Los Cerritos, and the museum collections are aimed toward researching and sharing information about the house. For this reason, the most important collections include objects and archival materials that are directly associated with the Rancho and its owners, occupants and workers from prehistoric times through 1955.
The museum also collects artifacts, primary documents and photographs needed for research, exhibition and educational purposes in keeping with the mission statement. These items may be originals or items representative of those once found at the Rancho.
Furnishings in the exhibit rooms depict the work and leisure of both the owners and workers on a 19th century ranch. Handcrafted and mass produced objects demonstrate the changes occurring in America’s Victorian years, as well as the transition from a rural landscape to populated cities. Using various Bixby family reminiscences, many of the rooms are furnished with furniture, glass, ceramics, metals and tools from the 1870s.
The museum’s collections include more than 1,000 items of clothing and textiles from the 1830s-1930s. There are also over 1,100 historic photographic views of the rancho and its occupants, and various maps, letters, deeds and other documents relating to the site.
