The Stein Family Farm, now operated by the National City Living History Farm Preserve in National City, CA was home to Charles Stein, his wife Bertha (nee Pallas) and their five children. Charles had been born on Christmas 1861 in Westfalen (Westphalia), Germany. Bertha who was also German, was born in Preussen (Prussia). They met in National City, married in November of 1891 and moved to a homestead in the El Nido area of Otay.
Charles changed his name from Carl at the same time that he received his citizenship on June 11, 1888. Charles was a very successful farmer and improved his property in El Nido with orchards of olive, citrus, deciduous trees and grape vines. In addtion to a house, he had constructed a barn and outbuildings. His kitchen garden was fenced in to protect it from rabbits. The family raised a productive supply of produce from the kitchen garden. He dug three different wells to ensure that he had enough water for his orchards, and he enjoyed the constant supply of water from the Otay creek, which ran through a part of his land.
During this time, San Diego was growing rapidly - in fact, this period is referred to as the "Boom of the 80's". The increased need for water for San Diego led to the construction of dams throughout the county and, in particular, the Sweetwater and the Otay Dam in the South Bay. Alas for Charles Stein, the resulting reservoir from the building of the Otay Dam flooded his land. He was not content with the money he was offered for the loss of his land so he sued for a better settlement - the proper value of his property. Stein, a small time farmer and immigrant, was neither awed nor intimidated by the rich and powerful men who had tried to cheat him. The transcript of the law suit shows that Stein, who had lived on the property for about 13 years, not only understood the value of his land but clearly realized how to manipulate the court proceedings to his advantage. One examples was that when E.S. Babcock's lawyers presented unflattering photographs of his property, Stein countered by bringing in a stunning display of the crops from the farm. This resulted in the adjournment of the court so that the jury could visit the farmstead. and Charles Stein won the law suit.
Mr. Stein used $1,000 of this settlement money to purchase the property in National City from E. Thelen in 1900. The land consisted of " blocks 1 and 2, subdivision of 10 acre tract, lot 14 in quarter section 153" of Rancho de la Nacion (National City Record, August 16th, 1900). Charles Stein immediately set to work to improve his new property. There is some controversy about the origin of the farm house. Some records indicate that the house at 1808 F Avenue was constructed using parts from their homestead house and then Stein moved his old kitchen and attached it to the rear of the new two story structure. A second theory is that the new house, which structurally dates from the 1880s, was moved from the El Nido homestead. It is also suggested that it was moved from some other unidentified original site. Lastly, some claim that the house was already on the property when Stein moved his kitchen there from El Nido. Charles also dug the partial basement underneath the western end of the kitchen wing of the building.
Mr. Stein's building efforts are evident throughout the home. For instance, it is known that he divided the parlor into two rooms when his youngest child was born, built the pass through between the dining room and kitchen when he installed the kitchen wing, installed the California cooler between the basement and kitchen and constructed the pie safe. The master bedroom was also enlarged and appears to have been when the kitchen wing was added along with the pantry. He undoubtedly was also involved in the closing of the hallway from the parlor to the master bedroom by the construction of the closet at the foot of the stairs and the installation of the bathroom. Inspections of the house shows numerous changes, adaptations and repairs were made throughout the years.
The house still has several pieces of furniture that belonged to Charles and Bertha Stein. The parlor contains two rocking chairs, a side chair and enlarged wedding portraits of the Steins. the dining room table, chairs and lamp above it, the portable heating stove and the stunning escritoire are all original pieces of the Stein Family furniture. The master bedroom furniture is said to have been a wedding gift to the couple and includes the bed, washstand and matching dresser. The quilt on the bed was made by the Stein daughters. In the kitchen, the stove, table and chairs, work table, sink and the pie safe are original to the Steins.
The barn was built by Mr. Fuson of National City. It was thriftily made with varying sizes of lumber, some of which were clearly recycled from earlier buildings. An interesting detail is that the roof is a replacement of the original which was destroyed when a "cyclone" ripped through the area on April 26, 1926. There is a door to a hayloft, but no floor for it - family has said that the hayloft was not restored after destruction by the tornado. The Stein barn was never painted the typical barn red shade. Its original color was white as many homes and outbuildings were whitewashed and some of the original white still remains. The barn and associated outbuildings contain many original tools and equipment used by the Stein family. They include plows, a ripper, a manure spreader, a disker, a hay bailing machine, and many tractor parts. A large collection of horse trappings remain as well as a cream separator and milk cans, which show the importance of dairying to the family. Several original vehicles are on the property. There is a three horse drawn passenger carriage in excellent restored condition from the Pallas family, and three of Mr. Stein's motorized vehicles including an early chain driven Mack truck. None of these vehicles are in working condition. The flatbed wagon used by Charles in his early house moving efforts before getting the Mack truck is also still located on the farm along with large wooden platforms that were added on top of it for house sections being moved.
Charles Stein worked steadily throughout his life. He was not only a successful farmer and land purchaser, but was at time employed by the San Diego Brewery and in Otay for the Glacier Gardens Ice Rink. In the directories, he was listed under varying occupations, including pipe repairer and foreman (for the Sweetwater Water Company), but most often as a teamster or contractor of various types related to the building trades. Stein was involved in moving several structures, jacking them up and hauling the buildings on his flatbed wagon with a team of horses. The 1880's Queen Anne Cottage to the south of the barn was moved by him and later sold to his foreman for his El Nido farm. He also operated a sand pit in the Sweetwater River Valley. Although most often thought of as a farmer, it was not until 1939 and 1940 that he was described in the directories as a "rancher". He farmed on at least three different pieces of property. Additionally, he had one of the first grading contracts for the streets of National City. The last employment listing for Charles Stein was in 1940. Family stories, however, indicate that he was still actively tending his plants and farmstead, and still repairing the family's shoes, right up until his death at age 92 on June 24, 1954, in his home. Bertha had died 12 years earlier one year after their 50th wedding anniversary.
The Steins were active members of the community. Charles served on the El Nido school board and was elected constable in National City. The entire family attended the Lutheran Church and participated in various social and civic events and activities.
Charles and Bertha Stein had five children: Adelma, Theresa, Carl, Mariea and Frieda. Adelma Bertha was born on November 10, 1893 in San Diego and died from scarlet fever on December 19, 1928 at age 35. The second child, Teresa Carolina was born on September 26, 1895 in El Nido. Two years later, the only son, Carl was born on June 2, 1897. Carl helped his father in the teaming and truck business. Tragically, he died when he was 25 years old from pneumonia on January 21, 1922. Mariea Anna was born on September 3, 1899 in San Diego. She worked for the San Diego Transit system operating a comptometer. She died on March 25, 1967. The youngest daughter was Frieda Lillian, who was born in National City on March 28, 1905. Frieda became a school teacher for the National City District schools and died in 1965. Frieda and Mariea never married and continued to reside in the farm house until their deaths.
The home, which had been in Frieda and Mariea's ownership, was passed on to a niece, Madelyn, the daughter of their sister Theresa and her husband Marrtie Briggs, and her sister Thelma Otto. Theresa and Marrtie's children were named Warren, Madelyn and Thelma. Thelma married Fred Otto whose father was one of the earliest Nurserymen in San Diego. He sold many plants to Kate Sessions of Balboa Park fame. Thelma and Fred had a son, Steven, in 1952. The last ownership of the farm by family members was by Charles and Bertha's grand daughter Madelyn Briggs Head and great grandson Steven Otto.
Madelyn and Steven were approached by a purchaser who wanted to tear down the farm and build apartments on the land. Public awareness was raised and resulted in a campaign to "Save the Farm". The purchaser generously sold the property to the City of National City. The National City Living History Farm Preserve Inc. non-profit was formed and the property converted into a totally volunteer run living history museum that has been in operation since 1992.
