Jensen Alvarado Ranch, Historic ranch and museum in Jurupa Valley, United States

The Jensen Alvarado Ranch is a historic park and museum in Jurupa Valley. Its main house, built between 1868 and 1870 in Danish vernacular style, was the first kiln-fired brick building in Riverside County. The bricks were made from clay found on the ranch, the rock foundation and lime mortar came from a quarry north of the house, and the beams were cut in the San Bernardino Mountains. A front porch reflects Californio influence.

Danish sea captain Cornelius Jensen settled in Agua Mansa around 1854 and married Californio Mercedes Alvarado. After the Great Flood of 1862 destroyed most of the town, they bought land in Agua Mansa in 1865 and built their Danish vernacular home between 1868 and 1870 on a 300–400 acre ranch. The house was the first kiln-fired brick building in Riverside County.

The property shows how Danish building traditions mixed with local California ways through the families who lived there. Walking through the house reveals how two different worlds came together in daily life.

The park covers 32 acres and is entered from Riverview Drive or Briggs Street. Interpreters in period clothing lead tours and show butter churning and tortilla making. Allow time for the brick winery, now a museum, as well as the 1868–1870 house.

The property produced wine from its vineyard for many years despite the surrounding area maintaining strict temperance rules. This uncommon practice made it stand out in an otherwise conservative agricultural region.