Cotoneaster on the south side of the Kelley House, January 2025. (Photographer: Robert Dominy) Visit our garden anytime, and drop by our current exhibit on the Northern Pomo this weekend. The museum is open 11AM to 3PM Friday through Sunday.
Construction of the second Heeser Water Tower, 1983. (Bill Wagner Collection) The construction of the second Heeser Water Tower in 1983 was a significant undertaking, following the destruction of the original tower in 1974 by a fierce storm. The first Heeser Water Tower, located on the southeast corner of Ukiah and Kasten Streets in Mendocino, was built around 1903. This two-tank tower provided water [...]
The current exhibit at the Kelley House Museum, “Northern Pomo: Mendocino’s First People,” explores the history and rich culture of the local Indigenous people through the oral traditions passed down through generations and with stories still told by tribal elders. Before they were credible sources of their own history, much that was known about it was pieced together by anthropologists and archaeologists who learned about it [...]
The Kelley House Museum is proud to present an online exhibit in conjunction with our current exhibit “Northern Pomo: Mendocino’s First People.” "Portraits from North American Indian Life," Edward Curtis, Promontory Press, 1972. Explore the history and rich culture of the Northern Pomo, who have lived on the Mendocino Coast for thousands of years. Discover the Pomo language, read about early coastal villages, admire [...]
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 [...]