The questions posed most frequently by visitors to the Kelley House Museum have to do with Mendocino’s water towers: why are they here, how do they work, why are some so tall? What were once utilitarian devices that conducted water into houses have become charming and iconic objects of fascination and mystery. To satisfy the curiosity of tourists and locals alike, the Kelley House has just [...]
Fourth of July parade in Mendocino headed east down Main Street. Horses are pulling decorated wagons carrying people. Seen on the left side of the image are the Ford property's fenced gardens. Note the wooden sidewalk and the square wooden utility poles along the street. On the right side is the Kelley house property with large cypress trees along its fenced frontage. On the far right [...]
Local woodcarver Byrd Baker and Jacqueline McAndrews in 1976, standing in front of Baker's Land Rover and Whale Bus with a sign that reads, "Crusade to Save God's Whales." Jackie and Byrd were activists in the Mendocino Whale Wars environmental action movement. This photograph, taken from an elevated position, may have been made from the MacCallum House water tower on the south side of Ukiah Street. [...]
J. D. Mayhew models the Save The Whales T-shirt he designed for the Mendocino Whale War. He was aboard the Whale War boat Phyllis Cormack in San Francisco preparing to go on the 1976 anti-whaling voyage. (Photographer: Nicholas Wilson) Each year when the Mendocino Coast Whale Festival kicks off, I am filled with memories of my artist grandfather, J.D. Mayhew. He fell in love [...]
On Wednesday, January 20, 1886, a fierce storm battered the Mendocino coast, leaving destruction in its wake both on land and at sea. Strong winds and relentless rain swept through the region before gradually subsiding. According to the Beacon, the storm “broke upon us quite suddenly, although the cold weather and extremely low barometer of the three previous days were the sure harbingers of an approaching [...]
These two photographs, taken 40 years apart, show the John & Annie Maria Silveria House located at 10470 Kelly Street in Mendocino. This home was built in 1916 by Pete Hansen and Ray Valentine for John and Annie Maria Silveria. John and Annie Maria Silveria House, 1985. (Photographer: Bill Wagner) John and Annie Maria Silveria House, 2025. (Photographer: Robert Dominy) Annie [...]
Look Tin Eli and his brother, Look Poong Shan, in a photograph taken at a Fort Bragg studio circa 1900. (Photographer: W. T. Fitch; Gift of Mrs. Archie Gordon in 1973) With birthright citizenship everywhere in the news these days, it’s an opportune time to remember the local boy who set the first legal precedent in the process that led to the 1898 U.S. [...]
On November 5, 1917, the steamer Prentiss met with a catastrophic accident while loading cargo at Albion when a sudden and powerful southwest swell caused the ship to crash into the wharf. Despite Captain Iverson and his crew’s efforts to maneuver the vessel into open waters, the strong undertow dragged the stern line into the propeller, leaving the Prentiss helpless. Steamer Prentiss Ashore at Albion, [...]
It was pouring rain on February 1st when Averee McNear arrived in town to start her new job at the Kelley House, and it’s been pretty much nonstop for a week now, but she claims it hasn’t diluted her eagerness to settle in. Moist gloom is part of the Mendocino vibe, after all, so she’s determined to make it her friend. Most recently, she lived in [...]
Evergreen Cemetery, Mendocino, California. February 2025. (Photographer: Robert Dominy) Today! 11AM - Walking Tour of the Mendocino Historic District. $25. The Kelley House Museum is open from 11AM to 3PM Friday through Sunday. Come by to see our current exhibit on the Northern Pomo.