Hunting for the perfect antique in Ramona

About an hour and fifteen-minute drive from Fallbrook, south on I-15 and east on SR-78, Ramona is a town hidden behind mountains dotted with large white rounded rocks.

A curious part of the town is the antique shopping area, with some shops housed in turn-of-the-20th Century buildings where visitors can find an eclectic array of antiques and collectibles for sale.

Ramona also offers a store that will replace the old parts with new ones (on selected antique items) if they happen to break.

The Victoria Supply Company specializes in selling new replacement parts for antiques.

“We make the antiques better and usable,” said Christy Clark, the store’s owner. The shop stocks hardware such as crystal doorknobs and weathervanes. In abundant supply are replacement glass pieces for hurricane lamps.

The store also has a wide selection of Tiffany-style leaded glass lamps. A new porcelain claw-foot tub made in a vintage design sits in a window display.

The Old Town Ramona Antique Fair is a mall with collectibles and antiques sold by various vendors. If you can’t find what you want from one vendor, then try another one.

Each vendor’s space has a slightly different bent to it. One vendor sells farm-related items, including old iron tractor wheels and wooden cart and wagon wheels. Visitors will also find old bottles, tooled leather saddles and mounted cattle horns.

Looking for a Nixon-Agnew bumper sticker, an outboard motor from 1946 or some boxes of laundry detergent from the ’40s and ’50s? You will find them here. Perhaps the most unique item is a small chariot, which, according to a posted flyer, was a movie prop from a 1930s Laurel and Hardy film.

If you are looking for upscale and imported items try the Squash Blossom Trade Company. This is a unique collection of estate-purchased items, including fine china and silver.

Browsers will also find a working timpani (kettle) drum from the 1920s as well as a large collection of vintage turquoise Native American jewelry, baskets and dolls. There is also a wide selection of antiques from Asia including an Chinese apothecary wood cabinet.

In the back of the store visitors can view vintage folk art figures and pottery from Mexico.

Charlotte’s Antiques is an unofficial Ramona landmark. The antique store, with practically every inch filled, has been in existence for about fourteen years, but the building previously housed the familiar Woodward’s store. Woodward’s was the quintessential general store with hardware in the back and fresh vegetables in the front.

Denise Woolverton, a former Woodward’s employee, said that Ross Martin, who played Artemus Gordon on the television series “The Wild Wild West,” visited the store once in search of a pair of sunglasses. Denise was thrilled to be able to help him with his quest, and more than thirty years later it is still a familiar Ramona tale.

Another Ramona tale was told by a customer at Charlotte’s who said she was excited to have Ross Martin as a visitor to her local real estate office.

Locals come to Charlottes’ in search of treasure, to tell tales and to enjoy Charlotte’s company. Tourists come to Charlotte’s in search of treasure. Charlotte is happy to help with the search for treasure and to also provide a listening ear for any tales that need to be told.

At Charlotte’s a historical aura pervades, and it is not surprising as the shop is rich with historical items, including spinning wheels and 19th century leather shoes.

In the market for a saddle for your camel? Look no further. Charlotte has a wooden saddle with a cracked and worn red leather seat just waiting to be claimed.

Are you a former Wells Fargo employee with $25,000 burning a hole in your pocket? If so, you may be interested in a wooden wall which, Charlotte said, was once part of the corporate headquarters of Wells Fargo Bank. On this wall is a wood-burned and stained design of a stagecoach pulled by galloping horses.

Just in case you visited Mazatlan in 1993 and forgot to pick up a souvenir, Charlotte has a two-foot-long seed pod that is hand-painted: “Mazatlan, Mexico – November ’93.”

Visit Ramona’s Main Street antique shops to find a bit of Americana, pieces of Asia or just some good old-fashioned tale-telling.

Charlotte’s Antiques

969 Main Street

(760) 788-2784

Old Town Ramona Antique Fair

734 Main Street

(760) 789-0574

Squash Blossom Trade Co.

738 Main Street

(760) 788-2353

Victoria Supply Company

711 Main Street

(760) 789-5656