From Citrus Groves to Community Landmark: Inside the Larimer House
This historic home on Bradford Street has survived more than 100 years of remodels and restoration surprises.
A hidden cistern buried beneath the backyard. Plumbing patched with paper towels. An opossum skeleton discovered inside an outdoor incinerator.
For Sherry and John Best, restoring the historic Larimer House on Bradford Street in La Verne has meant uncovering more than a century of surprises hidden behind walls, beneath dirt and under layers of remodeling projects.
In the days before indoor plumbing, paved streets and backyard fences, the Larimer family lived among the citrus groves on what was then the quiet edge of Lordsburg. More than 100 years later, their home still stands — a surviving piece of La Verne’s agricultural past tucked within a modern neighborhood.
The Larimer House on Bradford Street in La Verne circa 1925. Photo courtesy the La Verne Historical Society (Second photo) A photo of the home taken in May 2026. Photo by Staci Baird/La Verne Daily News
When the Bests purchased the home in 2001, they found a house shaped by decades of changes.
One entire summer was spent carefully water-blasting the foundation and garages, which were pink-painted Hanawalt Block. The west-facing bedroom, originally outfitted with nine windows, was a “sleeping porch” designed to maximize airflow. Unfortunately, all nine windows had been painted shut. John learned the skill of re-stringing the double-hung windows. Now, the room’s windows, as well as the other 40+ original windows throughout the house, are all functional.
Using historic photographs from 1925, the couple began restoring the front façade, removing later Victorian-style additions and recreating original Craftsman details, including dog-ear and fish-scale shingles.
The restoration work uncovered clues to the home’s long history.
An expanded downstairs bathroom revealed old plumbing repaired with paper towels, hidden behind walls. During a landscaping project, the Bests uncovered a 15-foot-deep brick-lined cistern concealed beneath a thin layer of dirt. Inside the outdoor incinerator, they discovered the remains of an opossum buried in the ashes.
The house dates back to the early days of Bradford Street, when citrus groves stretched across the valley and mail arrived by horse-drawn wagon, delivered by Hubert “Scubie” Mills and his horse, Bob.
(First photo) The front porch of the Larimer House circa 1925. (Second photo) Young women, including Lucile Beckner, Dorothea Dyck, Cathryn Byerly, Modena Minnich, Viola Neher, Maurien Miller, Gladys and Alida Larimer, and one unidentified woman, pose on the front porch of the Larimer House in March 1925. Alida had invited the women to dinner to celebrate her engagement to Byrl Harper. (Third photo) A photo of the side of the Larimer House, surrounded by citrus groves. (Fourth photo) A car and trailer stop in front of the Larimer House. Photos courtesy Betty Joy Pittman, Alida Larimer Harper's granddaughter.
John A. Larimer arrived in Lordsburg from Tennessee in 1891 and married Susie Zug of San Dimas in 1900. Larimer managed Richards Grove, reportedly one of the largest citrus groves in the state at the time.
The couple raised three children in the home. Their oldest daughter, Alida, married Byrl Harper in 1925. Byrl later became a Bonita High School teacher and the first president of the La Verne Historical Society.
Larimer died suddenly in 1925, and Susie Larimer later sold the property and moved to Third Street, closer to town.
“Lots of people have asked us if the house is haunted. I expect that John Larimer died in this house, but it's a happy and comfortable place,” Sherry said.
Over the decades, the home evolved alongside the city around it. Surrounded today by two mobile home parks, the 2,410-square-foot house sits on one-third of an acre and includes four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a formal dining room, breakfast room, living room, and office.
A major remodel in the 1920s modernized the home with indoor plumbing, updated electrical wiring and a fireplace. During that renovation, a fifth upstairs bedroom was converted into a bathroom.
Even with the surprises restoration uncovered, the Bests say preserving the home has been worth the effort.
“Old houses don't ever really belong to their owners. Our job is to restore it so that the Larimer House stands another 100 years,” Sherry said. “We will pass our historical photos and all receipts of our restoration projects to the next owners when that time comes.”
“We hope future owners will cherish it as almost a living thing,” she added.
The John A. Larimer House (3949 Bradford St., La Verne ) will be open for tours 10 a.m.-4 p.m. May 30-31 during the La Verne Historical Society’s annual vintage sale.
This series is brought to you by the La Verne Historical Society and La Verne Daily News. The La Verne Historical Society is dedicated to preserving and sharing the rich history of our community. We collect, document, and exhibit artifacts and information that showcase the lives and stories of the people who have helped to create our community. Our mission is to promote awareness and appreciation of our local history and to inspire future generations to continue this important work. Visit the Historical Society website to learn more and become a member today!
