A 1900s Home for a Top Businesswoman

A Baker, a Grocer, and Single Mother of Eight Children

408 De La Vina | Credit: Betsy J. Green

The architectural design of the home at 408 De la Vina Street in Santa Barbara was a popular one in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The front portion of the house usually held the living room, known then as the parlor. The home at 322 Castillo Street, which I wrote about in July, is a similar design. Numerous people lived in this home over the years, but one stood out so much that I decided to focus on her.

Emma Hummel arrived here from Wisconsin about 1912 — a newly widowed immigrant from Germany with eight children, hoping to make a fresh start. She set up a baking business, which she had done in Wisconsin. She started by baking in the home’s kitchen. It’s not a large home, so the scent of bread and cakes must have filled the house. It’s not clear where she put all the children. But what is clear is her “can-do” spirit.

After a few years, she opened a bakery on the corner of Ortega and Rancheria streets. The business soon morphed into a grocery.

Her Place in S.B. History

Hummel worked hard, built up her business, and became a notable member of our business community. I was impressed to find a large article about her written in 1922, just 10 years after she arrived here.

The article was part of a book titled History of Santa Barbara County by Michael James Phillips. Nearly 300 prominent citizens of the city are profiled in this book, fewer than 10 of them women. Hummel was one of those women.

Here is an excerpt:

“Santa Barbara is justly proud of its men of enterprise and public spirit and equally so of its women of ability and accomplishment. In this connection, Mrs. Emma A. Hummell [sic] is deserving of particular mention because of her achievements in the business world and her indomitable spirit, which has risen superior to adversity, conquering all obstacles and difficulties…. On the advice of a friend in Santa Barbara [she] decided to come to California…. In order to gain a livelihood, she started baking in her home, making bread, pies and pastry, and her culinary skill soon attracted trade…. Encouraged by her progress, Mrs. Hummel decided to broaden the scope of her activities and opened a small store nine by 12 feet in dimensions … [later expanded to 38 by 60 feet]…. Her business ranks with the oldest and largest of the kind in this section of Santa Barbara and stands as a monument to her courage, initiative and executive force.”

A Moving Story

Although Hummel passed away in 1929, the building that her grocery store had occupied remained on the corner of Ortega and Rancheria streets until 1958. The freeway was being widened, and numerous homes and buildings had to be removed. Hummel’s store was auctioned off. A building mover named Frank Villalba bought the building. According to the local paper, he moved it all the way to Goleta. He must have felt that the building was well worth the effort to move. The address he listed in the paper for the new location was 274 Fairview. There is a small building at that location now which just might be Hummel’s old grocery store.

Interior of 408 De La Vina | Credit: Betsy J. Green
Interior of 408 De La Vina | Credit: Betsy J. Green

Homeowner Jennifer MacLeod is hard at work carefully restoring this century-old home at 408 De la Vina Street. She was hoping to put a plaque with a date on the home, but I was not able to figure out the exact date that the home was built. The address does not appear in a 1901 reverse directory, but a 1909 newspaper article mentions the home. I perused the handwritten book of building permits on file at the city, but could not find a building permit for this address during the years 1902 to 1909. That happens sometimes.

Please do not disturb the residents of 408 De la Vina Street.

Betsy J. Green is a Santa Barbara historian, and author of Discovering the History of Your House and Your Neighborhood, Santa Monica Press, 2002. Her website is betsyjgreen.com.