Event will showcase life in the Conejo during the 1800s

OLD-FASHIONED WEDDING—Orpha Foster (Rachel Castorena) and Elizabeth Hill (Sarah Carter) examine Elizabeth’s wedding dress during a dress rehearsal for the upcoming “An Evening on the Conejo.” The Stagecoach Inn in Newbury Park will take a look at life in the 19th Century. Mark Twain had just completed “Tom Sawyer,” Wild Bill Hickok had been shot in the back and killed, and Ulysses S. Grant was president when the U.S. celebrating its centennial in each of the 38 states.

The year was 1876, and in the midst of exciting national events, the Conejo Valley was young and thriving.

On Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, 7 and 8, “An Evening On The Conejo will present the “living history” of the region through an historical reenactment and theater tour at the Stagecoach Inn Museum in Newbury Park.

The dress rehearsal of the tour afforded guests the opportunity to travel back in time to experience life as it was for Conejo Valley settlers. Guests carried flashlights, and tour guides held kerosene lamps to properly light the sojourn back to the Valley’s early days. The tour revealed details of the day: feather hats, mutton for dinner and practical shoes were in vogue. Guides in period clothing escorted visitors and chatted about their lives in the Valley 129 years ago.

The tour began with a walk through the woods, across a bridge, past streams and lush landscaping to the first stop, where a man on a tree stump encouraged a little girl to read aloud from her book. The man spoke of a dry spell, sheep herding and the fear of the coyotes, mountain lions—and even a bear.

Further along, a young man and woman talked about the upcoming evening social and supper auction. The guides and actors spoke authentically, peppering their dialogue with accents and such quaint sayings as “fiddle-dee-dee,” “I declare,” and “hullabaloo.”

Storytelling was a form of entertainment during the pioneer days. At another stop, Mexican “abuelos,” or grandparents, told their grandchildren a story about a “golden hand.” At a small ranch house, a replica of the home where Egbert Starr Newbury and his family lived, the family reenacts life as it was, including “drawers out flapping in the night air.” In the cozy interior of the home, conversation centered on the upcoming wedding of a friend, and how the price of gingham had soared to 12 cents a yard in 1876.

Although women couldn’t vote in 1876, the pioneer women of the Conejo Valley were already speaking of change. There were also discussions about how the new precinct would spare the men from having to travel to Pleasant Valley to vote.

The stories were pulled from historical events. Some tales were based on local and national history and others were meant to entertain the youngins’. At the blacksmith’s shop, a father told his son the gripping tale of why he hangs a horseshoe on the top of the door.

The tour continued to the front of the Grand Union Hotel, where the social was in full swing. Couples square danced and waltzed, and an auction for box suppers was conducted.

The Stagecoach Museum was originally the Grand Union Hotel, a lavish 18-room lodging that put Newbury Park on the map. No expense was spared on its construction, which in the day totaled about $7,000.

On the porch of the hotel, two men chatted about land deals and sheep. “There are 20,000 little woolies in the valley,” one said. “We can’t take any more.”

In the hotel saloon, several men played poker while dishing up information on politics, crime and business. The players were astonished to hear that Wild Bill Hickok was shot and killed while playing poker at Deadwood. Local history was brought to life with the mention of the long, rough trip from Ventura by stage.

There were national concerns, too. Conejo Valley settlers worried about the prohibitionist candidate for president, and were saddened to hear that Gen. George Armstrong Custer and his army of 250 were killed at Little Bighorn.

In the hotel, visitors witnessed a dining room table being set by young women. In the parlor, a group of friends and family talked about everything from the possibility that Mark Twain may have visited the area and slain a mountain lion to the festive centennial celebrations being staged throughout the country. The Civil War had ended 11 years prior, and the men talked about how they felt blessed to “be one country again.”

Upstairs, several rooms were staged to portray life in 1876. A young couple with a baby talked in one room, while land deals were negotiated in another. A bride-tobe modeled her wedding gown and worried about married life.

At the authentically-replicated Timber School, students talked enthusiastically about the new book “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” and the schoolmarm insisted that the girls curtsy and the boys bow when she enter the room.

Tickets for “An Evening on the Conejo in 1876” are $21 per guest, or $19 for a group of five or more. Youth 8 years and older are welcome and should be accompanied by an adult. For more information, contact the Conejo Valley Historical Society at (805) 523-1123, or visit the webstite www.stagecoachmuseum.org.