Stagecoach Inn Museum

I've driven by the Stagecoach Inn sign on the 101 hundreds if not thousands of times over many many decades, and finally decided to stop in and see what it was. Unfortunately I picked a day it was closed, so only got to walk around the outside. But I did go back on a recent Saturday afternoon and was glad I did. Growing up in LA county I wasn't exposed to much Ventura county history and culture, which is what the Stagecoach Inn is all about. It's an absolutely fascinating piece of local history, with knowledgeable docents and volunteers to help bring history to life. Definitely worth the visit when open!

Scenic location, well curated Chumash & Early settlers exhibits & they have amazing community events. Beautiful grounds with coastal oak hiking trails, creek, black smith and a genuine antique Stagecoach on site. Our favorite 💚

Most amazing fun Holiday event. Live singers, santa, real reindeer and a home of fun crafts and activities. We finished the fun. Night with the hot cocoa they served up. I've also been for a wedding and they have a beautiful event as well

A great finding in a Saturday afternoon. No expectations on this small museum, but my parents and I spent 2 hous there and learned quite a lot. The staff are super nice and we had fun! H

We came here for the owl release and it was absolutely amazing event. I can't wait to go back for xmas. 💖

Really cool. I went on Easter with my 3 year old and they had activities and games at the muesum. His favorite part was the 1800s classroom that he attended and ringing the old style bell after "school". Very cool

Docent Tom Riley was an excellent tour guide with very interesting details about the history of the Stagecoach Inn. The docent ladies were as sweet and informative as they could be. It's a beautiful building, two storeys of period furniture, vintage gramophones, lovely dresses on mannequins to show them to best advantage, wonderful old photos of the Baldwin and Haight families and the original Stagecoach Inn in the late 1800s. The entire experience was fun, educational, surprising, and a lovely pre-Christmas experience for the whole family. A whole room dedicated to beautiful dolls, and another full of vintage and handmade Christmas decorations. Each bedroom dressed in lovely furnishings and the 1800s kitchen is a wow that anyone who cooks in a modern kitchen will marvel at. I am a photographer medium and often catch mists and other spirit anomalies in my photos, so bring your cameras, take lots of pictures, and tell the Baldwin and Haight families they are welcome to show themselves in the photos. You may not see them in real time, but check your photos carefully and you might be surprised at the number of anomalies you cannot explain away! (These are NOT scary events, but goosebumps just might happen. Just say THANK YOU when you get them.) Really a wonderful experience. One photo I've included has mist, so look closely. The large Gift Shop has great offerings including handmade crafts.

I grew up in Westlake Village and during the Conejo Valley Days in the 1970s my best friend I painted the Stagecoach Inn for a store window display which won first prize. I was excited to return to the historic landmark which looks more beautiful today than I remember. The buildings and surrounding gardens are gorgeous and definitely worth a visit. It is truly the most historic destination in the entire valley. GH

One of my professions is that of a Medieval English Historian having worked in contract with the Historic Royal Palaces foundation in England. Even though my expertise is in Medieval, Renaissance and Restoration Europe; I am passionate about much of history. Basically, I am saying I am a history buff both academically/professionally and leisurely. California is rich in history from the indigenous people of Mexico to Missionaries to the Gold Rush to motion pictures to everything in between. One piece of this history sits locally in the Los Angeles/Southern California area where proprietors from all parts of the country made the trek to the 'Wild Wild West' frontier. You can re-live this history in the Stagecoach Inn Museum in Newbury Park. Let's give a quick history lesson... In the late 1800s, before Newbury Park was even called Newbury Park, the Grand Union Hotel was built as a stopping point for travelers from Santa Barbara and beyond to Los Angeles south. This area was purchased by the Newbury family (you get it now?)  who named it after themselves and the wooded area. The Newbury family initially tried to strike it rich with using the land for crops but after years of crop failure due to little rain; they had to find another way to survive and opened the first post office in the area (which was initially a tent!). The Grand Union Hotel was moved to make way for the burgeoning 101 freeway and ended by burning down by fire (no one knows the exact cause of the fire).  To celebrate this Conejo Valley history, Newbury Park constructed a replica of the Grand Union Hotel about a block or so away from where it originally stood currently at South Ventu Park Road (free parking lot or street parking available). The compound consists of the hotel replica, The Timber School which is an accurate imitation of a one room school house that served the area, a blacksmith shop, a Chumash "village" (basically a yurt), a Spanish Adobe home, and Newbury Pioneer House and thus showcases all eras of peoples/history that once stood in the area.  Some "hiking" paths around the property are also available. This sounds fantastic... in theory. Unfortunately, in execution it is quite cheesy and maybe better suited for very young children. The pioneer house is sort of 'cool' as you can walk through this 'Little House on the Prairie" - style cabin and transported back into what it would feel like to live in such accommodations as a docent explains the history. The Chumash Village is nothing more than a yurt and an awning that takes .2 seconds to traverse while the Spanish Adobe House seems inaccurate in construction materials but what do I know. The blacksmith shop wasn't attended during my visit so I didn't get to experience it fully; but it does contain actual proper tools. This part of the compound simply feels a bit "half-assed", so to speak. The Grand Union hotel replica - the actual Stagecoach Inn in this case - is two floors (plus small gift shop) that you can walk through the rooms some of which are set up to exemplify their actual functions like kitchen, dining room, bedrooms, etc; while others hold permanent or temporary exhibits like art made from real hair that was popular during the Victorian era (VERY weird), a room full of clothing irons from various timeline periods, a room filled with gramophones (I loved this because I have a tattoo of one), etc. The weird thing about the Stagecoach Inn is that it jumps back-and-forth between history versus staying true to the California late 1800s as far ahead as WWII as docents explained that the dishware in the dining room came from Germany during WWII (so, stolen from the Jews --- why is this here in a frontier replica?!). Some of this place simply does not make sense and being a historian - I take historical inaccuracy personally. Also awkward are the overuse of very creepy mannequins in each room including the 800 dolls in the children's bedroom that I was just waiting to attack me via a horror film. Both corny and cheesy; I could have done without.  It doesn't take long to walk through the museum and it is just a little unappetizing. My favorite part of the Stagecoach Inn Museum grounds was the Timber School. It is the least creepy and best in terms of historical merit with school desks, chalkboard, books, a wood burning stove, a working school bell tower, etc. It looks exactly like all the photos of one room school houses. I have to give a shout-out to the docents at Stagecoach Inn Museum. These are all unpaid volunteers and yet I have never seen such enthusiastic, happy museum employees. They are almost aggressive in their zeal to share the history of the area/buildings and because of this: you will truly retain the information they pass. The Stagecoach Inn Museum isn't terrible; don't misunderstand. It is just cheesy and a stretch calling it a 'museum'. I would say it is more of a history center and best suited for school field trips for the locals versus adults.

Stagecoach Inn Museum is a charming museum and venue filled with rich history. This is such a cute venue for weddings, fundraisers, and entertainment. I had no idea until recently that stagecoach inn museum offered their lawn and space to accommodate events. Sweet location, but parking can be tight if you do consider having an event here. There's a park with public parking next door, but once that lot is filled, good luck finding parking within convenient walking distance. Highly recommend checking out the museum doing business hours.

We love coming here for the T.O. After Dark! What an awesome spot for an event. The atmosphere is always great, and the space is perfect for gatherings. I've heard they host weddings here too--that's definitely something to look into if you're in the market for a beautiful venue!

We went to their festival today and it was amazing. It was my first time there. They did a great job giving the history of the Inn. They had a lot of kids activities as well. Crafts and gold panning loads for fun. Very cool to see history up close.

Great venue for wedding. Nice hosting and security. Property is absolutely gorgeous. I think you can do up 250 guests there but I won't go over 200. It is a really hidden gem, especially for price.

Everyone is so knowledgeable and friendly. I learned a lot and got to see spectacular antiques.

A great place to spend an afternoon. Enjoyable for all ages!! The staff and volunteers were very knowledgeable and friendly. Take a trip & visit.

Checked out the Stagecoach Inn Museum for the first time in eons with my three nephews and Dear Hubby at Thanksgiving time. We only had a short time to visit, but the docents made it worth our while. They'd just begun to decorate for Christmas, and were making great progress downstairs. The antique and antique-style ornaments, figurines, Santa dolls and more were charmingly displayed. The dining room, especially, was done up very festively with the good china on the table and garlands of ribbons hanging from the chandelier. My brother thought the boys would be bored, but they enjoyed the game the docents set them on - to find conejos (bunnies) in the various rooms on the tour. Some were in artwork, some were fabric or wood or brass. They had to be very observant to count the bunnies. At the end of the tour they received a bunny-shaped chocolate for the powers of observation. My oldest nephew enjoyed learning about the history of the inn, and how various household implements were used. They have oddities like Victorian hair jewelry in abundance, which was a new concept to the kids. Will have to come back when we have more time to see the other buildings on the property. Very caring and knowledgeable docents!

Thousand Oaks first historical landmark was formerly the Grand Union Hotel built in 1876. The building was moved to its current location to make room for the 101 freeway. The original structure was destroyed in a fire in 1970 and rebuilt. Today it's a museum filled with local history and inhabited by at least one ghost. Take a look at a picture of the fire that destroyed the original building. Some believe that you can see Pierre, the ghost, in that picture. A docent will take you on a house tour (you're not allowed to wander around the house on your own). There are two floors. The rooms upstairs are quite small. They're filled with furniture and interesting exhibits like Victorian hair art, the ladies of the Conejo Valley, gramophones and artifacts from the old local attraction, Jungleland. The gift shop has old and new things in a cluttered little room. The grounds also include a rose garden, trail with signs explaining how various plants were used by the Chumash Indians, one room schoolhouse (reproduction), and the tri-valley complex (reproductions of a Chumash home, an old pioneer home, and a Spanish adobe) The best time to go is on weekends when the entire complex is open. Adult admission is $5. Free admission for kids.

I love this place so much. It's like my secret happy place - the energy is just so calming and wonderful. I had my wedding here last July and the staff was absolutely amazing. Carol the coordinator is as sweet as they come, and she gave us so much freedom to do whatever with our DIY wedding (no flames, though - LOL! Use LED candles)! The price was unbeatable for Friday early load-in and decoration, all day Saturday for preparation and the party, and then Sunday morning pick-up. Every other place in Los Angeles was charging 3 times as much and giving us something like 5 hours. It's truly the best place for DIY couples. My husband and I wanted to have our wedding in "a lovely, big back yard" so this was truly the place for us. The house was such a pretty backdrop for our ceremony, and the volunteers dressed up in full Victorian garb and gave tours of their museum and barn during the entire wedding. We invited them to join in the festivities, so it was a hoot to watch them dancing to Hip-Hop in their Old Timey outfits! :) There's also an adorable park right next door to the museum. We had our rehearsal dinner there on Friday evening, and it was so perfect for my husband and our families and friends to hang out there and dream about the next day. My husband and I will definitely be going to that park to have a picnic to kick off our anniversary. I hope it will become a tradition! :) I honestly can't say enough wonderful things about this place!

This is one of the very best in the Passport 2 History series! There is quite a lot to see and do! Outside there is a cool trail that makes kids feel like they're trailblazing pioneers. There are various stations, buildings and artifacts outside where you can press a button and hear a bit about what you're looking at. Some of them are in need of repair, but others work well. Inside the museum, there is lots to see! My three favorite rooms are: The Victrola Room, where they have TONS of phonographs that are SUPER impressive! Amazing collection! The Jungleland Room! Did you know that the whole reason Thousand Oaks exists is because there used to be an amusement park/zoo called Jungleland??? This room has some cool pictures and memorabilia from the park. And finally... The Victoria Hair Room! It's probably the best collection of Victorian Hair Art in the world! Every now and then you can find something in an antique shop or museum... but they have a whole room full of impressive, large and detailed hair art! It's incredible! I travel with my toddler and he gets kind of antsy sometimes at museums, but the woman who gave us the tour (that I wish I could remember her name) was absolutely fantastic! She was always reading his cues and catering to exactly what we needed. She even had a whole activity she did with my son in the next room while I looked at the victorian hair room, because she knew I was really interested in that. Most docents don't pick up on such things and are afraid to stray too far from the script... so we're always really thankful when we get someone like this who really makes it a great experience for all. Additionally there is a playground just across the street! This is really a great little museum that I'd strongly recommend. There are 84 museums in Passport 2 History, and I think thus far, this is my favorite!

This is quite a neat place on many levels. First, the house, which is supposedly haunted by a ghost named Pierre. It was actually moved from a couple blocks away way back when so the state could make the 101 freeway. Aside for the old furnishings and lore of the house, it was really neat to see things like the 'ice box' which is literally a refrigerator looking thing that you put a block of ice in to keep things cold. I found the kitchen and its tools the most interesting. There is a nice gift store that the kids really enjoyed rummaging through, from typical chatchki types of gifts to really old stuff, like the little red celophane fish that curl up in your hands to tell your fortune. Aside from the house, there is a wonderful path that leads around the property that the kids absolutely love. Many people either skip this or don't even know its there but it really is a nice place to take a walk.

We went to the Halloween / Fall Festival at Stagecoach. Wonderful little museum and old school inn. Lots of neat stagecoaches, an Indian 'hut' and an old fashioned prairie home. Great little museum in the basement with information on the Conejo Indians. Great family trip and definitely worth a visit!

Open again for outdoor Covid safe tours- what a fun afternoon for our family!! Docents are all well versed in the Conejo Valley history and are friendly and motivated. Don't miss the beautiful Heritage rose garden and nature trail.

What an amazing spot! Driven past the signs on the 101 for years, but today we decided to stop in. Not only is the property amazing, but the docent we had was the best I have ever seen. Super knowledgeable, friendly and knew exactly how to keep my hungry 6 year old engaged and even asking questions! We will be back for sure!

Found this place on our way to Summerland. You will need 2-3 hours to view the entire place. Lots of great places to take photos. The main building even has a gift shop. You only have to pay if you want a tour of the main house, but my mom and I felt it was worth it to learn about the history of the place. If you have kids they will love this place.

Make sure you give yourself a couple of hours to tour this entire place! There is the main inn building and then several other buildings to walk through. You walk in the front door of the inn building and pay your admission fee and get lead through the building by the docents. The gramophone room is amazing- such a stunning collection! All the people who work here are really lovely! It was a fun excursion to see some of the history of the area we live in and I highly recommend a visit!

The stagecoach inn is a great place for people to visit who want to learn more about the history of the Thousand Oaks / Newbury Park area. The museum consists of a renovated period house, schoolhouse, coach garage, log cabin, adobe house, and Native American hut. Friendly docents can be found throughout the museum who are very knowledgeable and can provide a wealth of information on the surrounding area's history. The museum is situated on beautiful grounds, and its a great place to spend an afternoon!

My review is for the Stagecoach Inn as an event space. This place is the Los Angeles Area's best-kept-secret. You will not find a better private outdoor space rental for the price. I had an evening wedding reception here in August, and was so very happy with the location, and ESPECIALLY the price. i worked with Carol to plan our event, who was very responsive and accommodating on everything except letting us have sparklers at the event (I suppose I can understand why they would be nervous with open flame around an old, big wooden building). We set up our band on the porch, our tables on the grass, a photobooth at the schoolhouse, and a bunch of activities on the parking lot. There was plenty of reserved and street parking for our guests, and the lovely white Inn with big white pillars was picturesque and perfect as the backdrop for our party. The folks at the Inn are also very accommodating. They all volunteer their time there. They helped us hang lights. They sent us maps and met our needs with set-up and take-down. And the rental price was probably a third of all other comparable spots in the same area. We had the freedom to make the space what we needed, and the wonderful white columns and big porch gave the event Plus, the docents came that evening dressed in full regalia and took our guests on free tours of the Inn. It was a wonderful evening. Thank you, Stagecoach Inn!

I have been wondering what was down in this park and decided to take the family today. It is quite a historic little site with very friendly and knowledgeable docents who will tell you about the history of the Inn and school and the surrounding area. There is even a ghost that lives in the inn named Pierre. I recommend visiting if you are interested in knowing a little more about your communities history. It appears there are periodic themed events that may make it worth a return trip.

The docents were great and very knowledgeable. Each of the places you go to had it's own docent to talk about the school house, Newbury house, blacksmith, & stagecoach House. The blacksmiths were working on a project and told us all about the process. Great tour and museum.

A neat little historic site. Certainly worth bringing the youngsters in to learn about the local past. The little nature trail was a nice addition. This is California Historical Landmark 659, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

This meuseum is a very nice one located off of ventu. You walk in through a gate and there is a big huge white home looking exhibit. Thats the meuseum! Its rather older from the last time i remeber going. They have a nice outside part and a nice tour with lots of knowledge-based info. Sometime you can even have a pic nic here.

Carol and greg are the most awesome people I have ever met! We toured the facilities and learned so much about the era and traditions. We even learned how to lasso a horse! And if you do not enjoy history, just come for Carol and Greg! The most enjoyable and personable people we have ever met. Also, Gavin is awesome too! Thanks for a wonderful day!

I was on my way to a hike and decided to make a quick stop here, we thought we could just walk through. We went to see the outdoor stuff, but were told to go inside to buy tickets. That was fine, except for once we were in, they made us go on the tour. We said we just wanted to walk around, they said this wasn't allowed. We said ok but we're really on our way somewhere else and just wanted to see what it looked like. An hour later the tour was finally over. It was awful, the woman (short brown hair) disliked questions (she told us this) and became annoyed when we messed up the order of her talk by looking at something before she wanted to talk about it. We did the upstairs first, when we got to the downstairs, we asked if there were any Chumash displays we could check out. She said we were very lucky because she would be willing to show us the artifacts in the basement, because the first floor was having another tour. She said normally she wouldn't do this. After visiting downstairs, I became truly disgusted. They have a wealth of Chumash and other artifacts, sitting in displays worthy of a kindergarten classroom. The horrible thing is, she said it was not included in the usual tour. There is a room of a collection of irons, from all over the world, that they take the time to go over in boring detail. While downstairs is an abundance of items that are actually from the area. The items upstairs are not even original to the house or the area. Although I appreciate the care they took to put together the displays, they should really give their Chumash collection to a museum that will respect it.

This place is an amazing event location for a wedding! We had ours on June 1st and the staff were more than accommodating. The rates were low and the attitudes of the docents were great! We will always be thankful to the museum staff for making our wedding so special. They even gave free tours all night to the wedding guests! You can't beat that!

This is a reconstruction of the old inn that actually was destroyed. It was moved out of the way of the freeway, and reconstituted from old photos. They have rotating exhibits in addition to the things that are resident there all year. They have a pony cart that belonged to Joel McCray, who my mom knew when she was a child. Kind of nostalgic for me. It is a fun place to take the kids for a local museum experience.

I feel silly that I forgot to write the review earlier but better late than never. I love this museum! I grew up walking distance from it and spent many days playing in the adjacent park (especially in the huge beautiful tree) so when my now husband and I were looking for wedding venues it felt like the perfect fit. We were married in October 2014 and it was perfect. The house made a perfect backdrop to our simple small wedding and the staff/docents were fantastic. We had a lot of freedom to do what we wanted- they let us have the dance floor delivered on a Friday and picked up on Sunday for a Saturday evening event, provided lights, and even had docents present at the wedding to give tours. I especially loved knowing that the site fee (much less than anywhere else) went back into supporting a museum that I love.

Gave my 7yr old a history lesson today thank to the museum. Thank you to all the docets today & the very cheerful and helpful ladies that volunteer every weekend in the front and the gift shop. Don't be cheap make a donation if you go expecting a tour these people volunteer their time for the public. The history and culture of the 1800s is quite fascinating to think how people lived, now we are all spoiled Anyways enough of my rambling go out and get a little history lesson take a nature walk it's fun

I came here for the Victorian Christmas holiday they are having and all the decorations are Victorian, they have Victorian costumes and the Museum and grounds are so authentic and beautiful. Great place for kids as they have hiking trails, places for kids to see Pioneer Village and more. very popular place next to Santa Monica Mountains...

The docents make it great! This is a recreation of an historic inn with a school house, barn, blacksmith and other outbuildings. I had planed to stretch out an hour, but stayed for 3 hours. The Docents switch off to keep it fresh with even a retired school teacher playing school master in the school house. Lots of fun for all ages, ... and you may learn some history.

Super quaint place great for families o all kinds. I have lived I this town since high school and I'm so glad it is still here. Awesome park next door that is perfect for picnics, dogs and to climb trees!

I visited this museum with my two children, ages 7 and 5, and parents. We weren't sure what to expect or even how long we could spend there. We ended up being there for over 2 hours. It is a great museum!! The docents are very knowledgeable and know how to make the tour interesting and engaging for everyone. Everyone learned a lot and had fun. This place is definitely worth visiting.