Although the land the house stands on was originally a tomato field,[2] the ranches are said to have held walnut and orange groves as well.

Albert "Pete" Hetebrink — the third of John's seven children (1900-2001) and Fullerton College's 1923 student body president— was a member of the Ku Klux Klan in 1924 (the same year the group became the majority on neighboring Anaheim's city council) and used the home as a meeting place for the group.

In the 1970s, Pete offered the property to Fullerton College, which had by then bought up much of the surrounding acreage the ranch originally occupied.

[4] There exists debating stories on the order of events, but the result was Pete later rescinding his offer, with the reason being the college had planned to turn it into a parking-lot (joining the two lots that currently flank it).

[5] The house was submitted to the National Register of Historic Places on May 24, 1993,[6] and added on July 1 of the same year.