How the Dana Adobe Ended Up Owning a Corner of Olde Towne Nipomo
October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
In about a month, the Dana Adobe and Cultural Center went from running the historic rancho on the edge of town to owning Olde Towne Nipomo's oldest church. John and Rebecca Prewett gave the 1898 building at 110 N. Thompson Ave. to the Adobe on Sept. 2. Four weeks later, on Oct. 1, the county announced $1 million in state money for Jim Miller Park at West Tefft and Carrillo streets. The park's concept includes historical features about the Dana Adobe and the Pacific Coast Railroad. Both stories lead to the same few blocks. Olde Towne's revival has been talked about for decades, and it's now taking shape around the town's past. The Dana Adobe is the group bringing that history up Thompson Avenue.
The church was built in 1898 out of redwood slabs, with a tall steeple and stained-glass windows. The Tribune credits the late Catherine Wineman with raising the community money to build it as a Catholic church, which she named St. Joseph. St. Joseph's moved three blocks south to 298 S. Thompson Ave. in the 1970s and took many of the original stained-glass windows with it. Calvary Chapel of Nipomo moved into the old building in 2005.
The Prewetts bought the church in 2015. Dana Adobe board president Jim Corridan told The Tribune they gave it away to make sure it would be preserved and stay a place of worship. Calvary Chapel's 40-member congregation will keep its weekly services and small groups as before. Pastor Beto Muñoz said he was hesitant at first but now sees the arrangement as "mutually beneficial."
The Adobe's plans start with the foyer and spread outward. According to Corridan, the work includes:
Corridan expects the office and museum to open by early 2027. Once the renovation is done, people will be able to rent the chapel and side yard for weddings, memorials and other community events. He told the paper he wants people leaving Jocko's across the street to see the chapel's art lit up at night.
"We really think this is an opportunity to kind of elevate activities and events in Nipomo," Corridan said.
Jim Miller Park would sit one block west on Tefft. The county's announcement says the $1 million goes to the Olde Towne Nipomo Community Park, Trails and Revitalization Project. It calls the money catalytic funding for a broader partnership among the county, community groups, nonprofits and businesses. The concept could include a playground, a gazebo, gathering areas, a veterans memorial, and historical features about the Dana Adobe and the Pacific Coast Railroad.
The park idea started with Jim Miller, a founding board member of the Nipomo Community Services District. The Olde Towne Nipomo Association, founded in 1994, took up the proposal and has championed it ever since. The park honors Jim and Peggy Miller. The idea also goes back to 1994 in county planning. A county FAQ from July 2025 says the 1994 Nipomo Community Plan called for pocket parks and a linear park from Olde Towne to the Dana Adobe, and it still lists an Olde Towne park as an unfinished goal.
The October announcement gives no construction date. The 2025 FAQ offered a rough timeline, with park design in 2026–2027 and major construction in 2028 or later, but it said that timeline depended on a financing plan. Read those years as a hypothetical from last year, not a commitment.
The same state budget item set aside $800,000 for the first phase of the Nipomo Community Park perimeter trail. County officials expect to start along Osage Street between Charro Way and Camino Caballo.
"These are projects our community has envisioned for years." Supervisor Jimmy Paulding, speaking to KSBY
The 1994 plan pictured a linear park linking Olde Towne to the Dana Adobe. Today, the old Pacific Coast Railway route is the most concrete form of that link. The Dana Adobe's 2026 trail map shows a red Rail Trail to Old Town along the railway route and labels it as a route that will connect "when completed." In November 2025, the local tourism marketing board approved $10,000 for a proposed walking trail of about one mile from the Adobe to Old Town along the historic railway, with interpretive signs and fencing. The map still shows the connector as unfinished, so for now it's a plan, not a path you can walk.
The railroad history is already drawing people. The Central Coast Railroad Festival's Oct. 4 program at the Dana Adobe included a guided hike on the Pacific Coast Railway right-of-way and a talk by R.J. Hansen. The church museum, the park's planned historical features and the rail trail would all tell the same story in different places.
These projects are moving forward as the county prepares the next Nipomo Community Plan, which updates the 1994 document. The draft is due out Oct. 23, 2026. A community workshop follows on Nov. 8, from 2 to 4 p.m., at Nipomo High School's Olympic Hall. The 1994 plan is where the Olde Towne park and the link to the Adobe first appeared, so the draft is where to look for how the county now handles them.
| Item | Status as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Church at 110 N. Thompson | Owned by the Dana Adobe since Sept. 2; services continue |
| Visit Nipomo office and Olde Towne museum | Expected by early 2027 |
| Jim Miller Park, Tefft and Carrillo | $1 million secured; no construction date announced |
| Perimeter trail, phase one | $800,000 secured; first work expected on Osage Street |
| Rail Trail, Adobe to Old Town | Shown on the 2026 map as not yet completed |
| Draft Nipomo Community Plan | Release expected Oct. 23 |
| Community workshop | Nov. 8, 2–4 p.m., Olympic Hall |
The Dana Adobe's own October and November programs build on the same history. The Cultural Center and permanent exhibit are open daily from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for youth ages 6–17, and free for children under 6.
Two other October events fill out the month. Nipomo Pumpkin Patch at 668 Eucalyptus Road is open through Oct. 31, from noon to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. Nipomo Library's family costume exchange runs through Oct. 10, and you don't have to donate to take a costume. The library's Book Pumpkin Decorating Contest takes entries due Saturday, Oct. 24, holds voting Oct. 27–31, and announces winners on Oct. 31.
The intersection the Adobe is investing in already has steady neighbors. Jocko's, across from the church at 125 N. Thompson Ave., lists regular hours and takes reservations and online orders. M&A Nursery's Nipomo location at 120 S. Thompson describes itself as being by Jocko's. Stefono's Sapori D'Italia at 330 W. Tefft St. posts Monday-through-Saturday hours and takes online orders. Once the backlit windows go in at 110 N. Thompson, Corridan's goal is that anyone driving down Thompson or Tefft at night sees the chapel's art again.
If the draft Community Plan or the Jim Miller Park design leaves you wondering what it means for Olde Towne, or for a property you own nearby, Leslie Dougherty is glad to go through the details with you. Let's Connect.
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