RSF Historical Society celebrates new donor wall at La Flecha House

The Rancho Santa Fe Historical Society unveiled its new centennial tile wall with a ceremony at the La Flecha House on Sept. 13. The wall was an opportunity for donors to leave their mark in the recently refreshed courtyard, recognizing their contributions to the nonprofit charged with protecting and preserving Rancho Santa Fe’s nearly 100-year heritage.

Many opted to personalize their tiles: “Proud to belong to our town of Rancho Santa Fe” read one tile from Ayyad family. l “Grew up in the Ranch since 1977,” read local Laura Barry’s.”The Ranch is home.” The tiles commemorated families who have lived in the Ranch for 40 to 70 years, or in the case of the Clotfelters, for four generations and counting.

It’s fitting that Cutter Clotfelter now serves as the president of the historical society, his family so firmly embedded into the community. His great uncle U.T. Clotfelter was an attorney for the Santa Fe Land Improvement Company and brought in Cutter’s grandfather Reg to be the sales agent of the first Rancho Santa Fe homes in 1931. Reg managed The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe for many years and built several village buildings and homes. Cutter’s father Tom was even born on the dirt floor of the Osuna adobe, the historic landmark preserved by the Rancho Santa Fe Association.

While Cutter had served on the historical society board previously, three years ago he was nominated to be the new president after John Vreeburg stepped down after 14 years leading the organization.

“Having the history of being born and raised here, of course, I said yes,” said Cutter. “It’s an honor but it’s a duty…I’m the youngest historian living in Rancho.”

The Sept. 13 unveiling was a celebration of both the new donor wall and the completion of a rehab project on the 101-year-old La Flecha House, finally addressing patio drainage problems, water damage and structural issues. The work was made possible thanks to a grant from the Dickinson endowment fund administered through the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation. The fund is named for Donald and Elizabeth Dickinson—their son Martin Dickinson and wife Carole and daughter Rebecca Welch and husband Gary were instrumental in facilitating the generous donation.

The work was also funded from the proceeds of the historical society’s 2023 upscale tag sale of The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe furnishings and watercolor paintings. After The Inn changed hands, the historical society was the recipient of nearly everything inside—they spent a month filling and staging the old Pier One space in Del Mar for a successful two-day sale.

“That was a huge revenue generator for us, which in addition to the grant proceeds, allowed us to move forward and get these projects started,” Cutter said. “The last two boards have wanted to do this for 10 years.”

Built in 1923, the La Flecha was the first home ever designed and built in the village by architect Lilian Rice. It was the first structure to be electrified in the community and has served several purposes over the last century, including a library, a post office, and a temporary classroom for the Rancho Santa Fe School.

The historic building had some precarious plumbing in need of a major overhaul and also required some electrical upgrades. The bathroom was renovated with a new water heater and countertop, with tiles and time donated by brothers Tim and Jeff Holcombe of Holcombe Homes. The kitchen was also remodeled with new cabinets, fixtures and sink faucet with the Holcombes and board members pitching in to do the work. A storage shed that had suffered from water damage was given a new roof and wall.

As the courtyard patio had been torn up to complete the work, it was an opportunity to reimagine the landscaping and create the centennial tile wall.

Member Helen DiZio contributed her time and talents for the picturesque patio —“All the succulents on the patio were all here, they just needed a haircut,” said Cutter.

The society received donated rocks for the landscaping and many of the six-foot-high clippings from the larger succulents and cacti were given a new home on a member’s property.  A new pump was installed for the David Brooks Memorial Fountain and a time capsule from 2000 was safely re-buried to be opened in a century.

One project the society still hopes to complete is a heating, ventilation and air conditioning update for the archive room, including a dehumidifier to help with the preservation of some of the older, more fragile items such as original sales contracts from 1924.

Since taking over, Cutter has made strides to help the society run more efficiently, including a new donor management system. The society also recently hired new archivist Matt Kitchens, who is in the process of updating the digital archives with new software. While it may take a few years, Cutter’s hope is their website will be on par with the online catalogs and collections of the Coronado Historical Association or La Jolla Historical Society, where anyone can access documents and easily purchase historical photos.

They are also in the process of publishing a new book: Author Diane Welch, who has written two books on Rice, is working on a new book on Rancho Santa Fe’s famous row houses on Paseo Delicias.

Designed by Rice and completed in 1926, there are four row houses, including the Nelson row house, named for the first family to live in the La Flecha House before they moved into the row house in 1925. Another is known as the Spurr-Clotfelter, a home Cutter once owned that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The hope is for the book to be published by the spring, to coincide with a row house tour.

On the newly resurfaced white walls of the new La Flecha courtyard, 89 centennial tiles have now been placed and Cutter just delivered another 50 more to the engraver. Since taking over as president, he has been selling the tiles to anyone he runs into in town.

“It’s a donation and it’s a legacy. Who wouldn’t want your family legacy to be up there for generations to come?” Cutter asked. “And it’s going to a good cause…a worthy non-profit keeping this old building going.”

To learn more, visit ranchosantafehistoricalsociety.org/personalized-courtyard-tiles/