Although Mendocino was a bustling town by 1869 and had experienced several serious fires, it wasn’t until 1887 that a fire company was formed. In March, an executive committee was elected to oversee the formation. Twenty-eight men joined the charter company, including some of the most prominent businessmen in town. By the next month, water cisterns were being excavated. The first, completed in July, was located [...]
In the spring and summer of 1943, the Mendocino Coast was transformed into a lively movie set when Paramount Pictures chose Albion River and nearby locations for the Technicolor film “Frenchman’s Creek.” What began as a tentative scouting trip, reported in the Beacon as a Hollywood representative seeking lodging for a troupe of around 100, quickly grew into a full-scale production. Little River Inn served as [...]
Jean MacCallum circa 1910. (MacCallum - Norris Collection, Kelley House Photographs) Born on December 4, 1882, Jean MacCallum was Daisy and Alexander MacCallum’s second child. The family moved to San Francisco when Jean was around five years old. She visited Mendocino often with her family and would write letters to her Grandmother Eliza. Jean was described as shy among new company, but always kind. [...]
James O’Donnell at twenty years old, 1909. (The James O'Donnell Collection, Kelley House Photographs) In 1886, Elizabeth “Lillie” Williams met John O’Donnell. He came from New York and had been rafting logs with a partner, O.M. Stone, on the Albion River before coming to Mendocino. John and Lillie were married a few days before Christmas in 1887. Before their son James was born on [...]
On January 2, 1926, the Mendocino Beacon published its first edition of the New Year. New Years Day had landed on a Friday, and the Beacon included a small column on the town’s holiday celebrations. Most businesses were closed, and “the day was warm and delightful, and many took advantage of it to spend the greater part of it outdoors.” There weren’t any great town-wide parties [...]