| Rancho Camulos Museum Home of Ramona |
| The Rübel Family The August Rübel family moved to Camulos in 1925 having purchased the ranch the previous year. August Rübel, the son of Swiss immigrants, grew up in New York. He came to Ventura County in 1922, after graduation from Harvard at the age of 23. He and his wife Mary Colgate Mclsaac first lived in Aliso Canyon near Santa Paula, having established the Billiwhack Dairy there in 1924. The Rübels raised five children at Camulos. During the Rübels' tenure, several changes occurred at Camulos. The apricot and walnut trees were replaced with orange trees and a school house was built in 1930 for the Rübel children and those of the ranch bookkeeper. Mr. Rübel managed the ranch with a foreman and a number of farm laborers who had also worked for the del Valles. Mr. Rübel had a great appreciation for the historical legacy he had acquired in Rancho Camulos and fostered within his family a sensitivity to historic preservation. He established a small museum in the winery for the del Valle artifacts that had been left at the ranch. Though Mr. Rübel let it be known that the ranch was private, "Ramona-seekers" continued to visit the ranch on occasion and small school groups from Piru and neighboring towns were welcomed on field trips. Mr. Rübel served in the American Field Service in France between 1917 and 1919. He returned to this service during World War II and was killed in Tunisia in 1943 when the ambulance he was driving hit a German land mine. His untimely death changed the course of the future at Camulos. Mrs. Rübel was remarried in 1946 to Edwin Burger, who allowed few visitors after Mrs. Rübel's death in 1968. It wasn't until the 1994 Northridge earthquake and Mr. Burger's death that the children and grand children of August and Mary Rübel were able to resume management of the ranch, which, after damage sustained in the earthquake, was in a tragic state. In addition to reviving the commercial citrus operation, the family formed a non-profit museum that now oversees the restoration and interpretation of the historic buildings. The museum is now governed by a Board of Directors, the president of which is Mr. Rübel's daughter, Shirley Rübel Lorenz. |
| Rancho Camulos Museum A Non-Profit California Corporation We are a 501(c)3 organization. Donations made to Rancho Camulos Museum are tax-deductible. For further information about Rancho Camulos write to: Rancho Camulos Museum P O Box 308 Piru CA 93040 or call 805-521-1501 |
| August Alexander Rubel (1899 -1943) |
| Mary Colgate McIsaac Rubel (1904 -1968) |
| One of the many changes August Rubel brought to Rancho Camulos was the addition of a schoolhouse. The first students to occupy the school were the Rubel children and children of the in-house bookkeeper. |
Did You Know?
| Portrait of August Rubel currently on display in the Large Adobe |
All Rights Reserved 2009
Rancho Camulos Museum
Rancho Camulos Museum
| August and Mary Rubel |
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| August and Mary Rubel with children (left to right): Natalie, Shirley, Barbara and Gerald |
| Natalie "Boo" Rubel Trefsger and Shirley "Pie" Rubel Lorenz enjoy a family gathering at the rancho in 2009 |