Historic Lopez House is once again on solid ground. At approximately 7 a.m. on Jan. 5 several strong men with even stronger equipment set about the task of lowering the 100 year-old house onto its concrete and wooden skirt foundation at the Kern County Museum. Using house jacks, rails, shovels and lots of elbow grease, crews from Cen-Cal Construction finished placing the former residence of long-time Tejon Ranch manager J.J. Lopez onto its permanent foundation approximately five-and-a-half hours later. The Lopez family, from the Castile region of Spain, has been a part of California history since the 1700s. In 1795, Lopez’ grandfather, Stephano, hauled hides, olive oil and tallow from missions and haciendas in southern California to the ships and brought back manufactured goods to the Los Angeles area. J.J. Lopez came to Kern County in 1874 and at age 21 was hired to manage the Tejon Ranch sheep operations by General Edward F. Beale. He eventually managed the ranch and was a consultant until his death in 1939. Lopez had the house built on California and Chester avenues in 1909. The home was purchased by Otis Coppock and moved to the corner of Rosedale Highway and Calloway Drive in 1953. Arlin and Lavern Hill purchased the home for $8,000 in 1966. After Lavern Hill died in 2005, the house was left to her children Glenda Rankin, Dianne Sharman, Arlin Wayne and Harvey Hill. In 2007, following their mother’s wish, they donated it to the museum. The house arrived at the museum on April 20, 2008. More