Chris Murphy @ The 1901

Located in The Historic Heritage Square, The Laurent-McGrath House, which currently houses, The 1901 Restaurant and Speakeasy, was relocated from its original location to Heritage Square in 1991. The home was originally built for Martin Laurent and his wife, Annette (Petit) Laurent (Annette was the sister of Justin Petit). Sadly, Martin only lived a short time in the home before he passed away on Valentine’s Day 1902. It has been said that Annette had one of the first electric cars in Ventura County and she could be seen driving down the then dirt roads as fast as the car could go, about 8 mph. Annette owned the home until 1919 and it had various occupants until 1945 when John McGrath purchased the home. In the 60’s McGrath had it moved to Wooley Road. Some important notes about the home are that the basement, outdoor patio, south extension (near the patio), elevator and rear staircase are not original and were added after its relocation to Heritage Square to accommodate a future restaurant and bar.