Perris Valley Historical & Museum Association

The Perris Valley Historical and Museum Association can be traced back to 1964.  By decree of the city council, the Perris Valley Historical and Museum Association was established in that year. The first board was comprised of prominent citizens and businessmen from the city: Leonard Kirkpatrick, the owner of Kirkpatrick’s Market, a grocer’s market in the city; Ted Zchokke, owner of Dad’s Garage, the only automotive repair garage in the city; Mildred Martin, an English and History teacher at Perris Union High School; Hazel Youngstrom, an active supporter from the community; Oliver Young, a potato grower in the city’s once-thriving potato industry; Robert Warren, a descendant of one of the pioneer families in the valley; and Clarence Muse, an African-American actor, writer and ranch owner. These early members implored the citizens to donate the materials they had gathered on the history of the city to the historical society for permanent preservation and display in the museum the board was eventually able to establish and open in the 1892 Santa Fe Depot in 1973.

The Perris Valley Historical and Museum Association also went beyond collecting artifacts to preserve the history of the city by reminding the community of the descendants of the pioneers who still dwelled amongst them. In 1982, the Perris Valley Historical and Museum Association began an official commemoration of Fred T. Perris’s birthday. The last Saturday of the month of January was designated Fred T. Perris Day, celebrated with a parade to remember the town’s namesake. The highlight of the Fred T. Perris Day’s annual celebration was the celebration of a pioneer family of the Perris Valley.

The Perris Valley Historical and Museum Association continued with their annual Fred T. Perris Day celebrations and the maintenance of their museum, until it became clear in the late 1990’s that the ravages of a century of earthquakes and age were beginning to take their toll on the depot and posed a credible threat to the collections displayed in the museum. The city came forward with a $1.5 million grant to fund the rehabilitation and restoration of the depot, with consideration also given to climate control to provide protection to the exhibits.

It was during this interim period that the Perris Valley Historical and Museum Association was approached by the city of Perris about another historic building in Perris. On the corner of Fourth and D Streets sat the run-down Bank of Perris building, a brick structure that the city was seeking funding to historically rehabilitate which had been donated by Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley back in the mid-1990’s. The city offered the building to the Perris Valley Historical and Museum Association if they could come up with a use for the structure as something other than a museum. The first idea that was proposed was the most obvious: an archive.

For years, the Perris Valley Historical and Museum Association had been amassing a collection of documents, photographs and books on the city of Perris and its surrounding valley that they wanted to make accessible to researchers. Although they had allowed researchers to come into their office facility where most of their archival materials were held, the set-up was far from ideal for both the volunteers and the researchers. A permanent solution was needed, and it appeared that the answer had been found in the Bank of Perris building. When the city finally announced they had secured funding and would restore the Bank building, the only remaining problem that the Perris Valley Historical and Museum Association seemed to then face was the fact that none of the members had any real experience with how to set up and operate an archive.

The dream to convert and operate the Bank of Perris building to an archive was realized in 2011 with the opening of the Perris Valley Museum Historical Archives. It was founded by archivist Chrisitina Alanne Perris, the great-great granddaughter of Fred T. Perris. 

The museum and archive have come to life not because of one individual’s efforts – but due to the efforts of countless individuals over the fifty years the organization has been in existence.  From its founders who set forth to creating an institution to preserve the history to the volunteers who contribute hours to ensuring the museum, its collections and its archive continue to serve the community to the donors who contribute both artifacts and monetary gifts to make the collections continue to thrive, everyone has made a difference – and will continue to make a difference well into our organization’s future!  Please join our efforts and become a part of the next fifty years of the history of the Perris Valley Historical and Museum Association!