Pb110023

Turkeys

The wild turkey is native to North America, where it is the largest game bird. The turkeys raised at the Leonis Adobe Ranch are Black turkeys, also referred to as Spanish turkeys. They originated in Spain and were brought to America by early colonists. Spanish turkeys were eventually crossed with Eastern wild turkeys native to North America, producing the Black Turkey variety in America today. Turkey feathers were used to make quill pens which was the primary writing tool through the early 1800s. The turkey became the symbol of the Thanksgiving feast in 1857. When southern California’s cattle and sheep industry were decimated by flood and drought in the 1860s, women in Calabasas raised chickens and turkeys for income.

Leonis Adobe Museum Historic Home and Ranch
  1. The Leonis Adobe House
  2. Miguel Leonis, The Big Basque
  3. Espiritu Chijulla Leonis
  4. Marcelina Leonis
  5. Juan Menendez
  6. Living Room
  7. Corner Cabinets
  8. Piano
  9. Dining Room
  10. Kitchen
  11. Cellar and Pantry
  12. Upper Rear Hallway
  13. Menendez Room
  14. Espiritu's Bedroom
  15. Sewing Room
  16. Front Upstairs Veranda
  17. Outdoor Oven or Horno
  18. Oak Tree
  19. Poultry and Doves
  20. Guinea Hens
  21. Turkeys
  22. Barn and Blacksmith Shop
  23. Carriages and Buggies
  24. Miguel's Land and Property Map
  25. Bath House
  26. Laundry Area
  27. Well and Windmill
  28. Tank House and Water Tank
  29. Orsua Room
  30. Vineyard
  31. Fruit Trees
  32. Vegetable Garden
  33. Longhorn Cattle
  34. Merino Sheep
  35. Nubian and Angora Goats
  36. Percheron Draft Horses
  37. Farm Implements
  38. Wagons
  39. Outhouses
  40. The Plummer House