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Historic art on display at Poway’s Nelson House

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By Emily Sorensen

The Nelson House, part of Old Poway Park, has some Poway history on display through the end of November.

A collection of the art of Julia Porter, mother of Colonel John S. Porter, is on display in the Nelson House, including original paintings, her painting kit, sketchbooks, sculptures, painting smock and more. Everything is on loan from Julia Iavelli, the granddaughter of Julia Porter.

Porter, who was born in 1865, lived a privileged life, traveling the world with her parents, and painting her travels around the globe, as well as animals, landscapes and portraits of her family. “Julia Porter was from a wealthy family, and traveled all over,” said Barbarann Parker, a member of the Poway Historical Society, who maintains and curates the Nelson House.

The exhibit, which will remain up until late November, includes both original artwork by Porter and some scans. Also on display is an unfinished quilt that Porter began for Iavelli, which is displayed on a bed in the Nelson House. The exhibit, which was mostly set up by volunteer Pat Petrovich, took about 20 hours to set up, said Parker.

So who was Julia Porter, and why is she important to Poway’s history? Julia Porter was the mother of Colonel John S. Porter, who owned the land and began to develop Old Poway Park into what it is today. Porter, who settled in Poway in 1948, dreamed of building a historical village in Poway. Porter purchased a 1907 Baldwin Number 3 steam engine, which the Poway-Midland Railroad still uses today, and a half-mile of track to create what he called “The Poway Village and Rattlesnake Creek Railroad.”

When Col. Porter died in 1979, he had not completed his dream village, but the city purchased the 4.75 acre Porter estate in 1986, which included the steam engine and the railroad, as well as the Porter House and what became the Hamburger Factory.

Other recent additions to the Nelson House, in addition to the Julia Porter exhibit, include a lace tablecloth in the dining room and a mirror over the piano, both donated to the historical society. The historical society is also planning on spending $1,300 to repair the piano in the Nelson House so it can be played.

Parker said the exhibit will be taken down in late November to be replaced with a Christmas display, just in time for school tours, which begin in December.

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