William Vaughn and Clarence Jarvis, 1917. World War I Army soldiers from Mendocino. William Vaughn on left and Clarence Jarvis on the right. Photograph was taken in Fort Lewis, Washington on October 31, 1917. (The Vaughn Family Collection, Kelley House Photographs) September 18, 1917 - William Vaughn, John Figaro, and Robert Mathison departed Mendocino to serve in the military during World War I. They [...]
The beach at Van Damme Memorial Park looking north towards the town of Little River, 1920-1940. Utility poles stretch across the beach.(Frederick Studios of Fort Bragg, Gift of Dot Johnson, The Everett Racine Collection, Kelley House Photographs) September 17, 1897 - The telephone line extension from Mendocino to Elk was completed. Four copper wires were strung. Two wires were for local service, and the [...]
Here is another fascinating look into county history left to us by the late Dr. Richard White’s “Mendocino Medicine and Gazetteer.” In the 1990s, White published this small magazine of rural health information for medical practitioners and always made space for writings about his science and nature interests. Deborah White of Ukiah loaned bound volumes of his writings to the Kelley House Museum so that we [...]
Joseph Borgna and his dog, Bob, c. 1910. Written on back: "The mother was brought over from the Alps [Italy] - this was one of the pups from the litter. It used to pull my brother and I in a little wagon. His home was a piano box.” (W. W. Fairbanks (photographer), Gift of Rene Borgna Tanner, The Rene Borgna Tanner and Ann Borgna Pesula [...]
Thomas Petersen Shipyard at Little River, with schooners under construction, c. 1875. The ship on the left is nearing completion while the other has been planked up to the deck and her bulwarks ready for planking. The shipyard was located on the side of Little River Harbor. (Gift of Cora Hervilla, Ole and Cora Hervilla Collection, Kelley House Photographs) September 15, 1878 - The [...]
J. D. Johnson's Water Tower, 1948. (Kelley House Collection, Kelley House Photographs) J. D. Johnson, the prolific Mendocino building contractor, built this water tower on his property just north of the Masonic Hall on Lansing Street in June 1885 to furnish water to his nearby construction and undertaking buildings. By January 1949, the tank had not been used for a number of years, and [...]
The south side of the Ford House facing Mendocino Bay, c. 1867. (Gift of Alice Earl Wilder, Alice Earl Wilder Collection, Kelley House Photographs) Jerome B. Ford was one of the pioneers who came to Mendocino in 1852 to establish the lumber mill at Big River. In April 1854, he returned to Connecticut to marry Martha Hayes. They arrived back in Mendocino on July [...]
Apple Fair Parade, c. 1913. Apple Fair Parade in front of Apple Hall on Kasten Street in Mendocino. The driver is James Bowman. Next to him is Joshua Grindle. In the rear seat, left to right: John Ross, Auggie Heeser, and Albert Brown. The decorated float following the lead automobile is a group of Mendocino High School girls. Photograph taken by local photographer, Perley Maxwell. [...]
Pentecost Parade in Mendocino, 1898. The Pentecost Parade or the "Celebration of the Holy Ghost" coming down Lansing and turning onto Main Street in Mendocino in 1898. The group is marching past the Brown & Gray General Merchandise Store, formerly the place of business for William H. Kelley's general merchandise store. Note the wooden sidewalk on both Main and Lansing Streets. (Kelley House Collection, Kelley [...]
William Wetherbee Gibbs, whose nickname was “Sam Slick,” operated a saloon out of the front of his Main Street home in the 1870s. Originally, built about 1866, Sam Slick’s Saloon was located just west of the Mendocino Hotel, in the space now occupied by its restaurant. The Buffalo Saloon, c. 1886. Note the buffalo head over the door. Standing (L - R): Ed Hatch, Billy [...]