Motte Historical Museum reminds Menifee of its roots

By Tommie Brown, Staff Writer

No matter how far and wide the city of Menifee grows and transforms, what always remains are the city’s tucked-away locations that preserve the history of what Menifee once was. Whether it be the land, the artifacts, or just the memories, many citizens of Menifee have tried their own hand at conservation. For the Motte family, that homage to history comes in the shape of perfectly restored vintage cars.

While no booming retail developments have popped up around this side of Highway 74, the Motte Historical Museum stands as a rustic altar connecting the histories of Menifee, Perris, Romoland and Quail Valley along the roadside at 28380 Highway 74.

The owners of the refurbished barn museum are three of the eldest remaining members of the Motte family. However, if you find yourself taking a visit to the museum, Leon Motte, one of the three Motte siblings heading the business, is most likely the face you’ll run into.

Built in 1985, the barn that the museum stands in was transformed by Leon and his wife, Darlene Motte, after the couple decided they wanted something of their own outside of the family’s farming history. The barn once stood as a produce market and candy shop, but after Leon’s mother passed away in 2006, the Motte siblings decided the barn would be used to live out their mother’s longtime dream of showcasing their impressive car collection.

Pictured: First firetruck in the City of Perris

“It’s something that just sort of happened,” said Leon, referring to the 20+ car collection in front of him. “We are farmers. We are mechanics. We have barns, so we just collected the cars over a long period of time. These cars are family cars or local cars and keeping them is just something we have done.”

When visiting the Motte Museum, long before you walk up the wooden wrap-around porch and through the sliding glass doors, you’ll be taken back by the massive rustic barn located along two near empty streets.

The structure was designed on a napkin and helped built by Robert Morris. The late designer of the notable art on Temecula’s freeways, city arches, and popularly used old buildings within the city, Morris took a grab bag of refurbished materials around the community to bring to life the Motte’s barn vision. In addition to the barn itself, Morris is the creator of the massive Motte family tree frame at the entrance of the museum -- done at the low cost of a case of beer.

Long before the Motte name was closely associated with classic cars, the family had established itself as one of the longest standing families of farmers within the area, and is still to this day.

Currently holding 1,600 of the family’s original 7,000 acres of land in the Menifee area, the Motte’s are no strangers to getting their hands dirty. From potatoes and carrots to sweet beets and grass feed, the Motte family first and foremost lays its roots in the land.

Pictured: The Motte Museum Barn

In fact, the Motte family found itself in the Menifee area on the premise of land wealth and farming. Back in 1899, Alphonse Motte -- Leon’s grandfather -- migrated to Menifee from Northern France. Leased from the San Jacinto Land company, the land the family acquired stretch from Lake Matthews to San Jacinto to Temecula, all via Spanish land grants in order to raise sheep.

John Victor Motte, Leon’s father and first born of Alphonse, was born in 1910 and, along with his two younger brothers, Frank and Charles, followed in the footsteps of their father’s call to agriculture and business.

“You know, we had really good parents. My father and mother, they lived through the Depression,” Leon explained. “They were conservative, but they were farmers. They really bought the land to farm. And now the land is appreciated. My dad, one time when he had the ‘26 Chevrolet at a parade, he got called a rich farmer. He got so upset he walked home. His value wasn’t a dollar value. His value was in dirt.”

Fast Forward to 2019 and the Motte name has grown vastly beyond plots of land. Standing as owners of the original City Hall of Perris as well as the first hotel located in Perris, the Mottes own numerous historical properties across Southern California. They are also major players in land conservation, having donated mass land amounts to university studies. Not only did they jump at the chance of real estate, but they also have their hands in fore-fronting some of the most famous institutions in the area -- the Eastern Municipal Water District, for example.

And amid the numerous levels of success and entrepreneurship the Motte family name has had, the car collection remains a favorite.

Upon entering the museum, guests will find the restored automobiles are separated by time era, starting with the 1910’s “America Comes of Age.” Standing at the center stage of this showcase is the very first fire truck in the city of Perris.

Following are the vehicles of the “Roaring ‘20’s”. The section includes the first school bus in the area, a 1924 Model T, that drove students to Perris High School. Originally owned by Chester Morrison in 1924, the school bus drove from San Jacinto to Menifee to Perris making stops. The fun fact of the school bus is, it was driven by the students themselves.

The sections continue on from the 1930’s “Depression” era, to the 1940’s “Fighting 40’s,” and the 1950’s “Nifty 50’s”, which includes a 50’s diner-like nook for guests to visit and look around at an original Coke machine, Coke bottles, and record player -- all of which still work.

But regardless of the time period, each car has its own unique story, which Leon can tell in full.

If you take a visit, you’ll see the car that started it all -- the 1926 Chevy Touring car John Motte bought in 1951 for $15. In the same section, you’ll see the Chevy driven by Leon’s aunt, Heidi Motte’s single mother. Drawn to California to panhandle in escaping the Northern Texas drought, Heidi’s mother piled four kids and what belongings they could take in the old Chevy, and drove to a completely unforeseen future.


Within the Depression era section, visitors will find a 1934 black Ford pick-up, the same version of the car Bonnie and Clyde drove, only in truck form. It wasn’t driven by either Bonnie or Clyde, but rather the Motte brothers on their way to school.

From Leon and Darlene’s 1936 Plymouth first date car, to Impalas the Mottes drove around as teenagers, to multiple beauties that were once pulled from junk piles, each refurbished car has a personal and significant place in the Motte family line.

And though the cars may steal the show, the Motte Museum has timeless wonders scattered all around the barn.

Directly across from a few of the most successful hot rods in history stands an authentic, still fully functioning, Rock-ola jukebox. Visitors can pick through songs by artists like Bing Crosby and Doris Day, experiencing a rare encounter with an original jukebox, no coins needed.



Pictured: John Victor and Leon Motte

The museum also houses a fully running 1910 Harley Davidson, an original television, the original
vault and surprisingly small first jail cell from Perris’ first City Hall, as well as an old-time movie theater that seats no more than 10 people, but feels nothing shy of a theater that uses a projector to show images on the screen.

The museum continues on to an outdoor area that plays home to events like weddings, parties, dinners, and business events. And though the grassy area stays widely open for guests’ events, the history surely carries on to the outdoors.

In planters in the few corners of the space sit the skeletons of the now beautifully refurbished cars. On the outskirts of the area sits both a train, as well as its tracks, from the first Intercontinental Railway in 1880 that ran through what we now know as Railroad Canyon. And all of this treasure is fenced in by walls made up of refurbished tin that once made up the barn roof until whirlwinds tore them off the top.

“We’re farmers,” chuckled Leon. “We keep everything.”

The second floor of the museum houses timelines of historical events, groups, and people -- including the Mottes. The towering walls tell stories of immigrants, inventors, farmers, and heroes who all were striving for the same common goal -- to make a better home for each generation that followed.

But the Mottes didn’t gather this impressive space all on their own. Two key players in the Motte Museum are Troy Billins and Maria Mathey.

Billins was given all the praise, credit, and responsibility of being the Mottes' personal refurbisher for the last 32 years. While the Mottes successfully held on to the automobiles, it was Billins who restored them to their former glory.

And as far as the business itself goes, Mathey takes the reins of the success. Previously working for the city of Perris in special event planning, Mathey jumped into managing the museum’s events, which pay the otherwise completely free museum’s overhead, right after going into “retirement” seven years ago.

“We have the cars,” said Leon, “but it’s Maria that makes this work. She runs it for us, maintains it for us, she brings the income to make all of this happen.”

“Leon and his wife invited me to dinner as soon as they heard I retired,” laughed Mathey. “And he told me, 'Look, we’re just farmers, we don’t know how to do this. Will you come be our manager? But I’ll tell you something; I feel honored that they asked me. Because Leon is truly the experience, and what they have done here is such a good thing. And I’m just honored.”

And while the list could continue on of the automobiles kept in the barn, the stories that go along with them, and the small spaces and artifacts tucked away throughout the layout of the museum, there is something refreshing and enchanting about the non-profit museum that only those who visit in person could understand.

“My family has been here our entire lives, and even before that,” said Leon. “That’s why we did this, and that’s why it had to be free. This was really our way of giving back, and giving people that piece of Menifee that only we have. That’s why my mother wanted this. She said it was our responsibility to keep that memory alive of what this town once was.”

After touring through near priceless cars in perfect condition that makeup the bones of this city’s history, Leon was asked how much he thought cars like this would be worth at dollar amount.

Leon smiled, shrugged, and said, “I truly have no idea; they’re just cars. You would have to ask someone else. Like I said, us Mottes are farmers.”