 An elegant reminder of the affluent homes which
once graced Magnolia Avenue in Riverside, California, Heritage
House began as a project of the Riverside Museum Associates, a
volunteer support group of the Riverside Municipal Museum.
Restored and maintained in a manner reflective of its nineteenth
century construction, this grand house is now a meticulously researched
example of historic tastes, values, and lifestyle.
This house was built for Mrs. Catharine Bettner, widow of
Mr. James Bettner. Mr. and Mrs. Bettner had settled in Riverside
in the late 1870s, within a decade of the young community’s
founding, Mr. Bettner, a lawyer and civil engineer in Yonkers,
New York, had been diagnosed with Bright’s Disease, a kidney
ailment, and came to Southern California hoping that its healthful
climate might prolong his life.
 The Bettners purchased thirty-eight acres of
land at the southwest corner of Indiana Avenue and Jefferson Street
and planted it in citrus. There, in 1880, they
built a home.
The Bettner family quickly became prominent in their new
community. In 1882, James Bettner served as
president of the Riverside Fruit Company, which built the city’s
first packing house. In 1883, he was one of
the organizers of the Casa Blanca Tennis Club, the city’s
first private recreational facility. In the
mid-1880s, Bettner oranges were among those which won awards
at an exposition in New Orleans.
James Bettner died in 1888, at the age of 45, survived
by his 45-year-old widow, Catharine, and two sons. In
early 1891, younger son Louis died of tuberculosis at age 22. Then
alone, Catharine deeded the family home to her married son, Robert,
and set upon the construction of a new house.
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