Meeting members of old Mendocino families is always a delight at the Kelley House. Previous residents, who are often only names and dates on our index cards, come alive when their descendants return to the museum to learn more about their ancestry. Theresa Vanni Motroni and her sister, Lisa Vanni Melin, visited back in 2012 in order to get a fuller picture of their great-great-grandparents, John [...]
A Carleton Watkins photograph of the John and Susan Chalfant house, which was located near the southeast corner of Lansing and Main Street in Mendocino. The people in the foreground are probably Susan Chalfant with her daughter, Mattie. Susan's house was very similar to the Ford House, located a few hundred feet to the west and occupied by her sister Martha's family. Alice Earl Wilder [...]
When CalTrans rerouted Highway 1 in 1966 and completed the Caspar Creek Bridge, the new stretch of road ran through what had been the posh Caspar neighborhood of Nob Hill. It’s difficult to think of Caspar as having a notable hill, much less one with fancy houses and high property values, but back in the day it was where the men with the best-paying jobs lived [...]
A northeastward view of Mendocino's Main Street from The Point on the Headlands, taken between 1968 and 1972 by Eastman's Studio, Susanville, California. In the foreground are wooden remnants of the structures that once occupied this lumber company shipping place. Some of the upright parts embedded in the ground may have been used by unknown sculptors to create totem or Tiki-type posts that persisted for decades [...]
Henry Shaw at the Mendocino Centennial Celebration, 1952. A frequent participant in local parades, Shaw’s striking appearance - draped in fur skins, complemented by a long white beard and flowing hair - earned him admiration as the embodiment of a primitive man. Born in Liverpool, England in 1880, Henry immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s, settling in Elk in 1906. He was a [...]
David and Charlotte Lansing in 1865 with their five daughters. Back row: Mary and Franny. Front row: Kate, David holding Helen, Julia, and Charlotte. (Alice Earl Wilder Collection, Kelley House Museum) Continued from last Thursday… When David Lansing arrived in Mendocino in 1852, his plans included bringing his family up from San Francisco as soon as possible. To make this possible, he built one [...]
Family picnic on the Albion River with the Stevens, Gray, and Pullen families. Rachel Stevens Sampson stands at left in her tall black hat with white feather. Etta Stevens Pullen stands back center with her hands held together and a shawl on her shoulders. Her husband, Wilder Pullen is sitting in front of her, holding a bottle. Rosilla Stevens Gray is far right with a checked [...]
Dick's Place, Mendocino, California. December 2024. (Photographer: Robert Dominy) Today @11AM! Walking Tours of Historic Mendocino - Join our expert docents for a stroll and lively commentary. You’ll pass by early pioneer homes, historic meeting places, and buildings that make up the the Mendocino Historic District. Holiday Tour Schedule.
This 1863 Carleton Watkins photo shows David Lansing (left) and Jerome Ford (right) posing by the cabin they lived in when they first arrived in Mendocino. (Kelley House Museum Photograph) Historians agree that what gold did for California, redwood timber did for the Mendocino Coast. A rough and tumble group of men and women came to California in search of gold and wealth. Many [...]
View looking eastward at the remains of the Mendocino Mill after the building caught fire during its dismantling. The main steam engine has yet to be scrapped. The third Mendocino mill was a prominent feature of the town’s lumber industry. Built in 1865, the two-story structure housed saws on its upper floor and a planing mill below. It operated for decades, enduring periodic shutdowns, but could [...]