Templeton's Fall Calendar Runs Through One Block of South Main

"There was no real place to meet up in Templeton," Amanda Torres told The Tribune in July. That was the week she and her husband, Joe, opened Tres Hermanos Coffee at 315 S. Main St. The shop opened on July 22, 2026, after six years as a coffee trailer parked outside The Nest in Atascadero.

Its neighbor matters as much as the coffee does. Two doors down, at 309 S. Main St., is the Templeton Historical Museum Society: a train depot from the 1880s, a blacksmith shop and a house from the 1920s. Until this summer, that block had a museum open a few afternoons a week. Now it has a morning too. This fall, Halloween, Founders' Day and the start of the Central Coast Railroad Festival in Templeton all happen at those two addresses.

How the two businesses' hours fit together

Tres Hermanos opens at 6:30 a.m. every day. It closes at 3:30 p.m. on weekdays and 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The museum posts hours of 1 to 4 p.m., Friday through Sunday, and admission is free. On a weekend, that leaves about an hour, 1 to 2 p.m., when both doors are open. Coffee in the morning, then the depot after lunch, all without moving the car.

The Torreses picked the spot on purpose. "Being in downtown Templeton is a dream for us," Amanda Torres told The Tribune, "and I love being right across from the deli and the gas station and just iconic little Templeton." The shop has a lounge with books and children's games, plus an outdoor patio it shares with Clavo Cellars. The menu starts with a French press for as little as $3. The house drinks include the Vaquero Vanilla latte, made with brown butter and vanilla, and the Cactus Water, a prickly pear matcha lemonade. The shop's name, Tres Hermanos, means "Three Brothers."

Here's a typical fall Saturday that never leaves South Main and Crocker Street:

1. 6:30 a.m. Tres Hermanos opens at 315 S. Main St.
2. 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Templeton Farmers Market runs at Templeton Park, 550 Crocker St.
3. 1 p.m. The museum opens its three buildings at 309 S. Main St.
4. 2 p.m. Last call at Tres Hermanos on weekends.
5. 4 p.m. The museum closes.

Why this block matters

The depot dates to the decade the town began. A county-prepared history says Templeton was founded in 1886. That year, the West Coast Land Company's C.H. Phillips sent R.R. Harris to survey 160 acres south of Paso Robles for a town site. The planned name was Crocker, after Southern Pacific vice president Charles F. Crocker. The town ended up named for his son, Charles Templeton Crocker. Sources disagree on why the name changed. The county history says another town already had the Crocker name. Local reporting says Crocker wanted to honor his son. Both agree on whose name the town carries.

Each of the museum's three buildings covers a different stretch of that history:

• The Train Depot dates to the 1880s. The museum also calls it its original railroad warehouse, or freight house. Inside are railroad memorabilia and some large pieces, including a Model T and a carriage.
• The Main House is the Horstman House, built in the 1920s. It holds local photographs, household displays, maps and school artifacts.
• The Blacksmith Shop displays blacksmith and wheelwright tools. The museum's photos show its restored 1933 school bus at the Old Blacksmith Shop.

The depot is also why the museum is on a new list this year. The Central Coast Railroad Festival, held Oct. 2 to 4, 2026, named the Templeton Historical Museum as a "New in '26" participant and described it as an 1880s train station building. The festival's roster didn't list special Templeton hours, so the museum's usual weekend schedule was the time to visit. The same participant list includes the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum and Cypher Winery at the Paso Robles Historic Train Depot.

The two Saturdays still ahead

Halloween and Founders' Day both fall on Saturdays this year, a week apart, and both are at 309 S. Main St.

Saturday, Oct. 31: Halloween at the Museum

The museum's Halloween at the Museum runs from 5 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 31. It's free, and there are treats for kids.

The Main Street trick-or-treat in recent years has been a separate event. Paso Robles Daily News reported the 2024 version as an afternoon event with downtown businesses taking part. As of early October, the Paso Robles Chamber's online calendar shows no listing for Oct. 31, 2026. The museum event is confirmed. Hours for anything else on Main Street that day are still unannounced.

The 46 Ranch Pumpkin Patch also has music that evening. Tennessee Jimmy Harrell is scheduled for Oct. 31, as he was for Oct. 3 and Oct. 24. Colleen Rhatigan plays Oct. 17. This is the patch's first season. It's at the family-owned regenerative farm at 11995 Santa Rosa Creek Road, open Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Nov. 1. Atascadero News lists hayride tours, train rides, a petting zoo, a Witch's Walk, apple and pumpkin cannons, gem mining and rubber ducky races. "We hope the Pumpkin Patch becomes a fall tradition families look forward to year after year," owner Bram Winter told the paper. The ranch closes for the season Nov. 1, the day after Halloween, so the last two weekends of October are the last chances to go.

Saturday, Nov. 7: Founders' Day

Founders' Day marks the arrival of Templeton's first Southern Pacific passenger train in 1886. The museum has held it since 2006, and admission is free. The anniversary is 140 years this year. That's simple math from 1886. The museum hasn't billed the event as a 140th anniversary. Paso Robles Daily News has dated that first passenger train to Nov. 20, 1886.

The museum's listing says "Changes are in store for the 2026 Founder's Day" and asks visitors to check back for updates. Past years have included short lectures on Templeton history, tours of the museum buildings, a working blacksmith and, weather permitting, a guided walking tour of the town's landmark buildings. The listing also includes a noon presentation of colors by the Templeton American Legion. The museum hasn't said which of these will change, so check templetonmuseum.com before Nov. 7.

What the block already offered this fall

The season started a few blocks south. On Saturday, Oct. 3, Templeton Library at 1173 S. Main St. held its Pumpkin Pop-Up and Vintage Market starting at 8 a.m., with story times at 10 and 10:30. The same weekend, the Railroad Festival included the depot, and the Saturday farmers market was running at Templeton Park as usual. The market's listing on the county's tourism calendar runs through Sept. 25, 2027, with no special fall schedule. So the 9 a.m. start stays the same through Halloween and Founders' Day.

For a newcomer, the dates on this calendar are the useful part. A week from now, the coffee on South Main will still open at 6:30 and the depot will still open at 1. Oct. 31 and Nov. 7 are both on the museum's calendar now, and Nov. 1 is the last day of the pumpkin patch's first season.

If you're a Templeton homeowner who knows this block well and are thinking about your next move, Susie Brans can talk through what local knowledge like this means for your home's value. Schedule a consultation, and we can meet over a French press at 315 S. Main.