It took a while for Rev. George E. Jones and his young wife Julia to reach their eventual home in Long Beach.
The main holdup? They came by covered wagon drawn by oxen, leaving Arkansas in 1875, two years after they had married. That cut severely into their travel time; oxen-drawn covered wagons typically traveled at the speed of 2 mph.
What else could’ve gone wrong? Have you ever played “The Oregon Trail”? Obviously, dysentery for one thing. But the couple made it, across dry plains and burning deserts, crossing the El Cajon Pass into Southern California, where they stopped for a minute before hanging a right turn and moving up into the Oregon wilderness where they bought 160 acres from the federal government in order to settle in the Oregon Territory.
Research by Maureen Neeley of HouStories, shows that in 1910, 35 years after the Joneses set out from Arkansas, they left Oregon and landed in Long Beach where they bought some open farmland in what’s now Belmont Heights. Julia (who apparently handled the family’s finances) paid to have a house moved to 4826 Vista St., at the cost of $250 in 1912.
In addition to the plot of land where the Joneses lived—in those days the Heights was wide open, with more fields and vacant lots than homes—the couple bought additional land in the area, some of which they leased to another early Heights family for use as a mushroom farm.
George died in 1921 and the following year his widow built a new home on the site. Julia’s adventure ended when she died in 1933 at her daughter’s home in San Bernardino. She was buried next to her husband in Santa Ana.
And that’s the story of the early days of the little Spanish Bungalow at 4826 Vista St. in the heart of the Heights, where Julia Jones’ “new” 1922 home is now on the market for $1.269 million.
Listed by Barrie Petersen of Compass, the 1,210-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bath house warrants its listing price because of its prime location along with the fact that it’s been thoroughly modernized—likely not for the first time in its century-long history.
If you can imagine the home in 1922, Julia, a true pioneer woman, would have felt luxurious with an icebox (the first electric refrigerator to become popular was General Electric’s Monitor-Top, which, at nearly $600, was almost twice what a Model T cost in 1922) and a gas stove. The house was wired for electricity, which was mostly employed for lighting in the days before radio, TV and dozens of kitchen appliances. She might have had a toaster, but not likely, since the first one that could toast both sides of the bread at once didn’t hit the market until 1926.
And now? A fully equipped (at least by 2022 standards) kitchen with Viking appliances, an oversize island, custom cabinetry and wood flooring that flows out to an entertainer’s backyard and patio thanks to one of the house’s coolest features: a floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall sliding pocket door that opens to the backyard patio, all but dragging the kitchen outdoors, or vice-versa. It’s a feature that expands the living space and allows for great entertainment.
“Thanks to the door and the outdoor patio and areas, the previous owner had no problem having 60 guests at a party,” said Petersen.
In addition to the raised patio, the yard is divided into sections where small groups can gather.
The entire home, inside and out, is equipped with a Sonos Surround Sound system. There’s forced-air heating and air-conditioning and the fireplace, the sole source of heat for the Julia Jones, remains.
In addition to being a nice and short stroll south to Belmont Shore’s Second Street, head north and it’s about the same distance to the upgraded Colorado Lagoon.
In short, it’s a lovely home in a lovely neighborhood—certainly more than a pioneer family would’ve ever dreamed of 100 years ago.
A Paul Tay Mid-Century Modern home in Alamitos Heights is offered at $1.895 million
