Villa La Paz has always been a place where something meaningful happens. Set in the Tehachapi Mountains on the ancestral homeland of the Nuwä (Kawaiisu) people — surrounded by ancient oaks, golden hillsides, and open sky — it carries the quiet weight of a property that has witnessed history, sheltered movements, and welcomed generations of people seeking space to think, gather, and celebrate.

Today, Villa La Paz stands as a 17,000-square-foot mission-style conference and event center within the 187-acre National Chavez Center in Keene, California. Its white stucco walls, terracotta roof tiles, decorative tilework, and central courtyard anchored by a stone fountain reflect the character of early-twentieth-century California architecture — and something harder to name. A sense of place. A sense of purpose.

 

TIMELINE

Time immemorial The Tehachapi Mountains are the ancestral homeland of the Nuwä (Kawaiisu) people, who have called this land home for thousands of years. Grinding stones found on the property remain as enduring evidence of their presence and connection to this place.

1913 Kern County developed the site as a rock quarry in the foothills of the Tehachapi Mountains.

1918 The quarry closed and the property was converted into a tuberculosis sanatorium, known as Stony Brook Retreat — a place of care and recovery in the mountain foothills.

1920s New structures were added to the growing property, including the building that would eventually become Villa La Paz.

1967 As tuberculosis treatments advanced and rural sanatoriums were no longer needed, Stony Brook Retreat closed its doors.

1971 The United Farm Workers acquired the property and renamed it La Paz — Spanish for peace. It became a headquarters and gathering place for one of the most significant labor movements in American history, where organizers came to plan, reflect, and build something larger than themselves.

Late 20th Century La Paz continued to serve as a place of gathering, organizing, and community — a retreat in the truest sense of the word.

Late 2000s The main building was thoughtfully renovated and reopened as Villa La Paz Conference and Event Center, restored to welcome a new generation of gatherings — conferences, weddings, retreats, and community celebrations.

2012 The adjacent grounds were designated a National Monument, recognizing the historic significance of this place in the American story.

Today Villa La Paz is a place of intentional gathering — open to those who come to celebrate, to learn, to lead, and to connect. Whatever brings you here, the land holds the same quiet it always has.