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History of the Honey House The "Honey House" is a Santa Clarita Valley landmark, having produced and shipped tons of prized Canyon Country sage honey worldwide during the mid- to late 20th century. In its heyday, the Honey House, first operated by the Dyer brothers and later the Warmuths, served as a unique and inviting rest stop along a major cross-country thoroughfare, which we now know as Sierra Highway. It was more than a fully operational honey-processing facility; it was a honey store, gift shop and museum -- and a welcome, remarkably one-of-a-kind respite from the ordinary. To fully comprehend the Honey House's presence and significance, one must imagine a period before the country was paved with multi-lane interstates and freeways. It was a time when present-day Sierra Highway was more commonly known as Route 6, a designation only recently restored by the state in an attempt to recognize its historical importance and, perhaps, lure weary freeway travelers into a more scenic and leisurely motoring experience. In the 1940s, when the Honey House was built, Route 6 was the country's coast-to-coast roadway, meandering 3,562 miles from Long Beach to Cape Cod, Mass. Driving Route 6 in its entirety was an experience not to be forgotten, punctuated by a wondrous collection of sights and sounds across 14 states, and people and places bursting with uncommon character. The Honey House was one of these places. It all began in 1943, in the midst of World War II, when Willis Dyer and his younger brother Jim began constructing a concrete block building facing Route 6. Although Willis had been called up to serve in the U.S. military, he was exempted because his bee business was considered too crucial to the overall war effort. Their labor of love took more than a decade to complete, with the brothers hauling large river rocks from the nearby floodplain to the Honey House construction site whenever time would allow. Time was at a premium because the war was placing great demand on their existing bee business. Beeswax, a natural adhesive used as early as the Roman Empire to caulk the planking on boats and ships, was a key component in manufacturing military aircraft wings and rudders. Sugar became a rare stateside commodity during the war years, placing greater demands on the production of honey, a natural substitute. The brothers finally opened their "Dyers' Honey House" in 1954. They eventually went their own ways in business, with Jim Dyer becoming sole owner-operator of their original honey house on Escondido Canyon Road, and Willis Dyer owning and operating Dyers' Honey House on Route 6. Over the years, the Dyers produced, processed, sold and shipped tons of honey. Their bees pollenated many crops, especially almonds. The Canyon Country sage honey they produced was especially prized by connoisseurs for its light color and flavor. The Warmuth family, who began beekeeping in Sylmar in 1953, entered the picture after establishing a business relationship with Willis Dyer, bringing their raw honey to the Honey House for processing. In 1968, Dyer sold the business and property to Margaret and Joe Warmuth, who renamed it the "Warmuth Honey House" and operated it as a honey-processing plant, as well as a retail and wholesale store. They also operated a 3,000-colony bee pasture on 20 acres in Sand Canyon. All good things eventually come to an end, and so it was for the Honey House. America's love affair with the automobile was solidified with the arrival of the freeway, and the fate of the Honey House's once-prime location was sealed. Time shifted forward, veering onto a speedy freeway on-ramp instead of the leisurely Route 6. Joe Warmuth died in 1985, leaving the business in the hands of Margaret and their daughter Margleen. They continued running the honey store, and they conducted tours for schoolchildren, focusing on honey production and the importance of bees to the ecosystem. For a time, Margleen also sold leather supplies and provided saddle and tack repair. The business absorbed several more serious blows, including the devastating Northridge earthquake of 1994 and the widening of Sierra Highway, which claimed a large chunk of frontage parking. The Honey House eventually faded into history -- that is, until College of the Canyons began searching for land to build a new campus in Canyon Country. As fate would have it, the 2.16-acre Honey House property was connected to five other nearby parcels that together formed an ideal potential campus for a second college. The Honey House was, once again, a prime location, but for a completely different purpose. Margaret Warmuth sold the property to the college in 2005; she died the following year. The Honey House still stands at the southern edge of the Canyon Country Campus, albeit fully restored and upgraded to modern building standards. The college has pledged to preserve the Honey House and its rightful place in history so that future generations might briefly revisit the past and understand how a building dedicated to bees and honey became part of a college campus. |
