RETRO FILES / THE NIXON CRAFTSMAN

The Richard Nixon bungalow

BORN IN A BUNGALOW--The modest white Craftsman style farmhouse in Yorba Linda, CA, where President Richard Nixon was born and raised from 1913-1922, is reported to have been purchased by Frank and Hannah Nixon, the President’s parents, from Sears & Roebuck’s mail-order catalogue in 1912 for $2,700, says a staffer at the Nixon Presidential Library.

Made a California historic landmark in 1995, the two-bedroom home was built on a 10-acre citrus farm, where the Nixon’s lived until they abandoned farming and moved to Whittier CA to open a filling station/grocery.

Much of the original home, including lace curtains and mahogany furnishings are open to public view at the historic site.   The one and one-half story, white clapboard siding house has a low-pitched gable roof.  A long dormer on the north side lights a small second-floor bedroom.  The front elevation features a projecting gable-roofed entry.  There is a small flat-roofed addition on the back.

Front of the Nixon bungalow

Most likely the $2,700 the Nixon’s reportedly paid in 1912 reflects Sears home kit cost and construction costs. 

Today, the site is also a National Historic Landmark, 18061 Yorba Linda Blvd., where it is utilized as a house museum and presidential library.  The President and Mrs. Patricia Nixon are buried in the nearby garden.  Yorba Linda is 35 miles SE of downtown Los Angeles. 

The popularity and durability of Sears catalog homes built in Southern California is reflected 100 years later by the huge numbers of Craftman style bungalows still standing.

The Sears & Roebuck image shown here is typical of how the popular catalog homes were marketed.

The Richard M. Nixon Birthplace in Yorba Linda, CA, has been designated a National Historic Landmark. It is open daily from 10:00am to 5:00pm, Sundays 11 am to 5 pm. 

It is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.  An admission fee is charged. Tickets must be purchased at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, located at 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd, Yorba Linda.   Regular admission includes the gardens, the birthplace home and the galleries.  Docents are available to give tours at the Birthplace.  Museum visitors begin their tour by viewing a 27-minute movie about Nixon's career. Visit the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace Foundation website or call 714-993-5075.

Typical Sears Catalog
floor plan for a two-
bedroom bungalow
circa 1912.