“Angwin and the Adventists: Our Town in 1909”

April 2019

In 1874, Cornish immigrant Edwin Angwin and his wife Elvira purchased two hundred acres of “the best part” of the former Mexican Rancho La Jota. This land encompassed the meadow and hillsides now at the heart of the tiny town of Angwin. Here, in this “crater,” the Angwins established a resort hotel and ranch. When Edwin and Elvira retired in 1909, they sold their holdings including plum trees, pool, hotel, and parlor piano to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Their resort became the campus of Pacific Union College.

As the heart of the town of Angwin, Pacific Union College has for the last century also served as the repository of local history. This exhibit showcases items from the college archives that shed light on local life in 1909 and prior.