Robert Barton (1839-1891): Wealthy Vintner who Funded Fresno Opera House

Burial place of Robert Barton and Funeral Article

Lux Family Mausoleum

In the late nineteenth century, when Fresno was still an emerging agricultural hub in California’s Central Valley, one of its most ambitious citizens was Robert Barton. Known primarily as a vineyardist, Barton left an enduring legacy not only in the cultivation of grapes but also in the cultural life of the city. His name is most closely associated with the Barton Opera House, a grand theater that opened its doors in 1890 and symbolized Fresno’s aspirations to become a modern city with a flourishing civic identity.

Robert Barton established himself in Fresno as a vintner, one of many who saw opportunity in the fertile lands of the San Joaquin Valley. The region’s vineyards were expanding rapidly, producing grapes for wine, raisins, and table fruit. Barton was part of that early wave of growers who helped transform Fresno into a center of viticulture. Yet he was more than a farmer and businessman. He also envisioned Fresno as a city that should offer the same cultural amenities as larger, more established urban centers in California. For Barton, agriculture provided the economic foundation, but the arts would provide the soul.

Barton Opera House (Photo: San Joaquin Valley Library)

To that end, Barton financed and constructed the Barton Opera House, which officially opened on September 29, 1890. Located at the corner of J and Fresno Streets, the building combined a large auditorium with an “Armory Hall” and was designed to serve as both a theater and a gathering space. At the time of its opening, it was hailed as a state-of-the-art facility, boasting a seating capacity of roughly 1,500. Its scale and modernity reflected Barton’s belief that Fresno’s growing population deserved access to the best in music, theater, and public assembly.

The Opera House quickly became the cultural heart of Fresno, hosting traveling theatrical troupes, musical performances, lectures, and community events. For a city that had only recently risen from the dust of the Central Valley, the Opera House offered an air of sophistication and cosmopolitan life. Barton’s venture showed that Fresno was not only about vineyards and farms; it was also about civic pride and cultural aspiration.

Barton Opera House playbill

Though Barton’s tenure as its patron was brief, the Opera House itself endured for several decades. By the early 1900s it had shifted into the orbit of national theater chains and was later remodeled for vaudeville and moving pictures. It reopened in 1917 as the Hippodrome Theatre and remained in use until it was finally demolished in 1927. On its site rose the State Theatre, part of the next wave of entertainment palaces that dominated the early twentieth century. Even though the building no longer exists, the Barton Opera House is remembered as Fresno’s first major cultural institution.

Barton did not live long to enjoy the fruits of his vision. He died in 1891, scarcely a year after the Opera House opened. Contemporary accounts record that he succumbed to “la grippe,” the influenza epidemic that swept through California at the time. His remains were transported to the Bay Area and interred in the Lux Vault at Oakland’s Mountain View Cemetery. His obituary in the Fresno Morning Republican states that a number of his friends from Fresno attended the funeral. His pallbearers included many notable Oaklanders including Isaac Requa and James Treadwell.

Robert Barton appears to have had a significant, though somewhat ambiguous, connection to Charles Lux’s estate. After Lux’s death, Barton is noted for investing a substantial $450,000 in improving the estate, though the exact nature of his involvement—whether as an executor, investor, or business associate—remains unclear. Additionally, a 1879 document labels Barton as a "San Francisco capitalist" and mentions his acquisition of land near the Miller & Lux operations, suggesting a possible expansion of his business interests in the region, potentially linked to the Lux legacy. 

When historians and preservationists look back at the formative years of Fresno, Barton’s contribution stands out and his legacy remains firmly rooted in the Central Valley, despite Oakland being his final resting place and the place of his death.

Sources: Find A Grave, Jim Savage Historical Papers, Cinema Treasures, Univ of CA digital archives, Cal State Univ archives, Fresno Morning Republican