Clinton C. Newland House – 2025

Welcome to Hacienda Nueva Tierra, the adobe home of Tom Gross and Debbie LeDoux, located at 480 Fountain Avenue in Redlands.

Clinton C. and Annie Newland purchased the 2.25-acre parcel from Frank Jacinto in 1940. The county accessor’s records at that time show that an existing structure, grove and the land were valued at $1,520. An application for a building permit was filed in 1942 with an estimated build cost of $7,000.  Per the building permit, the house was to be constructed of adobe and concrete with a red tile roof. The house is approximately 2,500 square feet with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a two-car garage. In 1967, the Newlands performed a lot split, and the address has been changed from 180 to 480 Fountain Avenue.

The home was featured in Sunset magazine in 1947. The article points out that adobe is a building material, not a style of architecture. Adobe is a Spanish word that means “sun dried brick”. This is the oldest and most time-tested building material ever used.  Adobe is right at home here in Southern California, where some of our oldest buildings were made from this sun-dried earth. Adobe offers excellent thermal mass for temperature regulation, sound proofing, and is a naturally fire-resistant material.

This home was designed in the style of haciendas and townhomes seen in colonial Mexico, built around a walled courtyard with a covered veranda, with access to the interior of the long, relatively narrow, “L”-shaped house through several doorways. Perhaps the hacienda style house became part of the inspiration for the California ranch house.

When designing the home, architect Lyle Nelson Barcume, of Los Angeles, adequately provided for the close relationship between indoors and outdoors, so important in the true western ranch house. This is evident in the large glass openings. The dining and living areas become one with the outdoors through the large view windows. Through the years, the house has developed very few cracks. This is due, at least partly, to the concrete bond beam formed and poured on the tops of all of the adobe walls both exterior and interior. It is hoped that the bond beam and the massive concrete foundation for the walls will work to help keep the adobe block between them from crumbling in an earthquake.

The “L”- shape of the house forms a protected courtyard. This courtyard with its rectangular reflecting pool and breeze block wall becomes a visual part of almost every room in the house. A large redwood tree adds character to the courtyard. Mosaics and niches with figurines add additional charm under the veranda.

Few changes have been made to the exterior of the home throughout the years. Still remaining is the wrought iron window grille, the only ornamentation placed on the front exterior. Also remaining are the original garage doors, constructed in the sliding, barn door style. The current homeowner crafted the gate leading from the side yard into the courtyard. Tom and Debbie have spent many hours improving the landscaping. On the north side, they planted a cactus garden which serves as a fence.  Grass was removed and they planted a natural garden, working with the terrain and exposure of the lot, relocating existing plants to areas where they were more likely to thrive.

The architect’s original rendering was located by the homeowner at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. For whatever reason, perhaps exposure to the elements, or to improve the way the house sits on the lot, the floorplan was flipped when the house was built. The architect, Lyle Nelson Barcume, was born in Montana in 1896. He studied in France, received a BS from the University of Northern Iowa, and pursued continuing education at USC, Stanford, and Cal Tech.  In 1931, Barcume founded his own firm in Los Angeles. Throughout his career he worked on many commercial buildings and residences in styles including Art Deco, California Spanish Deco, Pueblo Revival, and Moderne. Barcume worked on many Los Angeles theater projects in the 1930’s including the Franklin, the Monterey, and the Coronet.  Barcume’s personal residence was featured on the cover of Sunset Magazine in February of 1942.

Clinton C. or “CC” Newland, born in Irvine in 1895, was a farmer and fruit grower who became an agricultural inspector for the west Redlands district in about 1947. He married Annie Hill in 1917 and served in the military during World War I. They lived in the Los Angeles area, and by 1940 they had made their way to Redlands and resided on West Cypress Avenue. “CC” retired as an agricultural inspector in 1959, and he and Annie spent a great deal of time traveling. The Redlands Daily Facts published stories about trips to Europe, Africa, Hawaii, and a 9,000-mile automobile trip to the East Coast and back via Canada. Annie was involved in several organizations; she was council chairperson for the Redlands Chapter of the American Red Cross as well as Ways and Means Chairperson for the Contemporary Club. The Newlands had two daughters, Annie, who married a physician and lived in Washington D.C. and Phyllis, who was the first female from Redlands to be in the United States Marine Corps Woman’s Reserve. Phyllis went on to marry Captain Lincoln Forbes Brigham, who was in the army counter-intelligence section and stationed in Bavaria.

The Newlands owned the property until 1971, when they sold it to John and Betty McClure. The property then went through several ownerships including Stephen and Sharon Yurko, Michael and Lana Salis, George and Aileen Clegg, and Clifford and Mary Specht. Thomas Gross and Debbie LeDoux purchased the property in 2004 and have been caring stewards since then.

The Redlands Area Historical Society thanks Thomas Gross and Deborah LeDoux for the time and dedication they have taken to maintain and preserve their beloved home.

Research by Lori Bloom presented on June 11, 2025.