Community turns out to enjoy Templeton Founders Day
Southern Pacific’s first passenger train reached Templeton on Nov. 20, 1886
– The Templeton Historical Society celebrated Founders Day Saturday afternoon at their Templeton Museum and Blacksmith Shop. Several hundred people turned out to visit the museum and blacksmith shop, and admire a collection of old cars parked along Main Street.
Templeton’s Carla Petersen.
Southern Pacific’s first passenger train reached Templeton on Nov. 20, 1886. Back then, it was the end of the line. When the southbound Amtrak train rolled through Templeton around 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon, the engineer sounded the whistle several times in honor of Templeton Founders Day.
The museum’s metal building includes a model of the Templeton livestock sales yard as they existed for many years at the north end of town.
The metal building also houses a blacksmith shop as it operated from 1919 to the 1950’s. The large metal building also houses the Templeton Fire Truck, which is still functional. The fire truck left the North County for Carpinteria, where it protected The Palms and other landmarks for many years. It turned up in Arroyo Grande. Templeton residents bought the old fire truck and returned to its rightful place in the museum.
