The Susanna Bixby Bryant Ranch

Museum & Botanic Gardens

Hours Of Operation

Open First Saturday Of The Month: 1:30PM – 3:30PM

Week-day group/school tours may be booked by calling 714.694.0235

Susanna Bixby Bryant Ranch

5700 Susanna Bryant Dr.

Yorba Linda, CA 92887

Susanna Bixby Bryant Ranch

History

Our Museum

The Yorba Linda Historical Society operates the Susanna Bixby Bryant Ranch Museum and Botanic Gardens that are owned by the City of Yorba Linda.

The museum consists of 2,500 square feet of vintage room furnishings, from 1800, including 5 museum rooms covering the history of the botanic garden, ranching, citrus, water wars, Cajon Canal/Zanjeros bee industry, Yorba Linda family artifacts and mementos including textiles, Native American Artifacts, transportation in the area at the time, the history of Yorba Linda, kitchen primitives, mini medical museum, and more. .

1878 | John Bixby Purchases The Land

In 1878 John Bixby, one of the founders of Long Beach, purchased nearly 6,000 acres of land in what is now eastern Yorba Linda from the widow of Bernardo Yorba. Here, he grazed cattle and sheep rolling on the hills and named his property Rancho Santa Ana after the river that flowed adjacent to his property.

1891 | Susanna Bixby Inherits The Land

When John Bixby died in 1891, his daughter Susanna Bixby Bryant inherited the ranch. Susanna was a young married women living in Los Angeles at the time, when she took control of the Bixby ranch

1911 | The Bryant Ranch House Is Built

Around 1911, daughter Susanna Bixby became interested in having a place to stay when she visited the ranch. She built the 2500 square foot house that sits restored today.

1946 | The Ranch Is Sold

Susanna Bixby Bryant dies in 1946 and the ranch was eventually sold. Her garden was moved to the Claremont Colleges California Botanic Garden, where it is sustained to this day, but her home was neglected and vagrants moved in.

1976 | The Property Is Purchased

In 1976, the Bryant Ranch property was purchased by a land developer. Eventually, as the property was being turned into a residential neighborhood of 48 homes, The City of Yorba Linda decided that the house would be restored inside and out, as a local history museum.

1997 | The Restoration Is Complete

The restoration of the eight-room main house was finished in 1997. The ranch house has since been placed on the state and national Registers of Historic Places.