As students head back to school, it’s a good time to remember the roots of public education in Mendocino. In the 1980s, the Mendocino Genealogy Society sponsored a project titled What Became of the Little Red Schoolhouse? to document the many schools (over 200!) that existed in Mendocino County at one time or another. The following excerpt details the founding of Mendocino’s first school in the [...]
The Denslow-Maxwell House on the northwest corner of Kasten and Calpella Streets is one of Mendocino’s most distinctive historic residences, with a past that reflects the town’s entrepreneurial spirit. In 1887, Charles W. Denslow, bookkeeper for the Mendocino Lumber Company, purchased the property and moved an existing small house to a nearby lot. He then hired master carpenter J. D. Johnson to build this handsome new [...]
In August 1952, Mendocino celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding with a weekend of festivities that drew an estimated 5,000 attendees. The event showcased the town’s history and community spirit with a parade, barbecue, antique show, and dancing. The celebration began Saturday at Kellieowen Hall, on the southwest corner of Lansing and Ukiah Streets, where local residents displayed a remarkable collection of antiques and heirlooms. [...]
Yes, Mendocino has been used as a backdrop for movies and television series, but new car commercials, too? You bet, if you go back in time starting in 1956. A headline in a September 1956 San Francisco Examiner said, “Mendocino Log: Cruising in a Jaguar.” Equipped with a 2.4-liter engine in a sedan, this car headed from San Francisco to the Heritage House with a driving [...]
Public education began in Mendocino in 1862 with a small primary school located near the corner of Ukiah and Lansing streets, followed in 1885 by a larger Grammar School on the corner of School and Pine streets. Although some limited “advanced” classes were offered there, students seeking a full high school education had to leave town, often living with relatives in San Francisco. That changed in [...]
Ed Boyle, Woods Superintendent for the Mendocino Lumber Company, 1928. Kelley House Photographs. Thomas Edward “Ed” Boyle was one of the most respected figures in the Mendocino Coast’s lumbering history, a man whose life was shaped by the redwoods and who, in turn, helped shape an entire era of logging on Big River. Born in Albion on December 4, 1866, Ed was the second [...]
Protect Your Coast Flyer used in 1988, Kelley House Collection. For years Mendocino has fought to protect the beauty of our coastline. In the eighties, this fight came to a head as the people turned out in droves to testify at the Department of Interior’s public hearing against Lease Sale 91. The proposal would have put 1.1 million acres of undersea land for sale, [...]
The third bridge across Big River, completed in 1899, was an important connection between Mendocino and the communities to the south and inland. Built by Healey & Tibbets for $7,793, it replaced an older bridge that had become too unsafe to use. The County Board of Supervisors fast-tracked the new construction under emergency procedures, and the bridge opened to public travel in August of that year. [...]
It’s been a hoppy summer at the Kelley House due to our current exhibit, On Tap: The History of Brewing on the Mendocino Coast. The same can’t be said for the summer of 1909, because voters in Mendocino passed prohibition that year on July 27. This law banned all alcohol sales within the town limits, putting 9 saloons and 5 hotel bars out of business. Caspar, [...]
Bette Davis and Ford Rainey dancing on the set of "Strangers" in Noyo Harbor. Kelley House Collection. In November and December of 1978, the Mendocino Coast was transformed into a picturesque New England fishing village for the filming of Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter, a made-for-TV movie starring Hollywood legends Bette Davis and Gena Rowlands. The story centered on a woman [...]