I first became intrigued with the Ventura County town of Piru because of its position in the path of the St. Francis Dam flood. (It's also home to a filming location from the music video to "Hot Legs" by Rod Stewart.)
But then my interest was piqued even further when I found out there was a sprawling Queen Anne mansion in Piru—known simply as the "Piru Mansion," but also "Cook Mansion" and "Newhall Mansion."
Cook refers to Piru's founder, Illinois religious publisher David C. Cook, who built the manse upon former rancho land in 1890. (Subsequent owners William and Addie Ramsay and Hugh Warring of the Piru Fruit Rancho apparently didn't warrant a renaming that stuck.)
Newhall refers to the family that bought it in 1968—members of which had descended from Henry Newhall, prominent landowner and railroad magnate whose land holdings eventually became the City of Santa Clarita and its surrounding communities (Newhall, Valencia, Saugus).
It was Henry Newhall's great-grandson Scott Newhall who restored the mansion after it sustained damage in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake, adding some seahorse motifs throughout.
Then a construction worker's blowtorch sparked a fire during a kitchen remodel that basically burned the whole thing down (except the brick chimneys and Sespe Creek stone foundation and tower) in 1981.
Scott and his wife Ruth Newhall used photographs and personal accounts to reconstruct the mansion as close to its original specifications, lacking any blueprints (and even not being 100% sure who designed it, although architectural historian David Gebhard attributed it to brothers Samuel and Joseph Cather Newsom).
The replica was completed in 1983. And then the 1994 Northridge earthquake knocked down two chimneys.
After all that, this 11,500-square-foot estate—located on 9.63 acres—manages to survive, although it's no longer under the ownership of the Newhalls. Since 2012, it's been owned by a Limelight Investments, which has rented it out for film shoots, weddings, and other special events.
The details are incredible, from the (reproduced) custom millwork... 
...to the (duplicated) stained glass windows...
...and the unique tiling of each of the eight fireplaces...
...reportedly using the same materials as before the fire (at least, whenever possible).
Everywhere you look, there are wood grains going thisaway and thataway...
...with faces peering curiously out at those who pass by.
All the details combine the elaborate touches of the Victorian era with the opulence of Ventura County's 19th-century citrus empire.
There's a formal dining room, with geometrically tiled floors (an original feature, as some tiles were rescued from the fire aftermath)...
...and a massive (enlarged from the original) kitchen, with arched windows and a kind of modernized barrel-vaulted ceiling, that could handle even the most grandiose of dinner parties. 
Visitors are treated to a spectacular array of woodworking, including spindle and spool railings and archways—with lumber ranging from birch, walnut, and oak, to mahogany, teak, and Carpathian elm.
After it was rebuilt from the fire—using some manpower donated by local construction crews and craftspeople—it served as the active Newhall family home until Scott Newhall's death in 1992.
That means some aspects of it have been well-loved, including the flocked (and bird-themed!) wallpaper in the upstairs hallway...
...although the 10 themed bedrooms are in impeccable condition, each with their own unique vintage touches.
The front upstairs bedroom, known as the "Chinese Room," once featured an ornate enamel headboard that was lost to the fire, according to the Ventura County Star.
Its "moon gate" window design replica features leaded glass depictions of blue birds (a common occurrence in both Victorian design and Chinese mythology).
And of course there's a round "turret room" on both the ground and second floors (the latter, in the Master Suite)...
...and a contemporary stained glass window featuring a seahorse ridden by the Greek God Triton and his mermaid.
There are now 12 bathrooms, although the mansion had been built with none at all (according to Ruth Newhall, just a "three-hole outhouse," although bathrooms had been added by later occupants by the time she and Scott moved in). The post-fire rebuild included a bathroom for each bedroom.
There's also the "Gladstone Room"...
...and the nautical-themed "Captain's Room" (perhaps a hat tip to Scott Newhall's youth spent sailing around the world).
That bathroom features a wood-plank tub and brass and copper dials reclaimed from a steam ship.
Beyond the "Family Suite"...
...there's an open deck...
...with railings that match those of the wraparound porch in the front...
...and a spiral staircase providing access to the pool (constructed by the Newhalls), all added during the post-fire reconstruction.
Beyond the skylit, redwood hallway of the third floor...
citrus label courtesy of Huntington Prints and Ephemera Collection
Not many people outside of Ventura County (or the Heritage Valley) may know the Piru Mansion—or Newhall Mansion—by name. But old timers might recognize it as the face of "Mansion Brand" citrus fruit packed by the Piru Citrus Association in the early 20th century.
And more recently, Hollywood has come knocking—with appearances in episodes of The X-Files ("How the Ghosts Stole Christmas," 1998, in which the landmark stood in for a haunted house in Maryland), Charmed ("How to Make a Quilt Out of Americans," 2000, in which it portrays the Charmed Ones' aunt's house), and even Charlies' Angels ("Of Ghosts and Angels," 1980, pre-fire).
Now it's just been listed for a cool $7.5 million.
Considering the millions that were lost in the fire, and the millions that went into reconstructing it, that seems like a pretty good deal. And you'd get a 134-year-old Victorian with modern plumbing that was really only built 40 years ago.
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