Photo of ship passengers boarding a barge using ropes and pulleys at the Shipping Point in Mendocino between 1883 and 1902. One woman is being lowered in a chair. Another man is climbing down a rope ladder while several men stand on what appears to be a stack of lumber in the barge below him.

In the background the Mendocino Headlands rise above a beach then known as Point Beach and later called Portuguese Beach. We are looking northeast at the rear of the buildings located along the south side of Main Street. The Lumber Company’s big water tower is visible on the middle-left amongst the buildings – a distinctive silhouette with lots of stairs, built in 1883.

Near the right-middle is a white house, likely the Ford House with its narrow tank house and tank that stands clear of other buildings. The trees around the Freundt House are on the right, and between those two houses, the steeple of the Church is visible.

Photograph’s date is based on presence of Company water tower built in 1883, and the use of apron chutes and lighter barges rather than wire loading that began in 1902.

Meet the quilt artists behind our summer exhibit at our Sunday Afternoon with the Ocean Wave Quilters event on Sunday, August 15 at 4 PM. If you are interested in owning one of these one-of-a-kind quilt squares as part of a Kelley House fundraiser, please contact info@kelleyhousemuseum.org for more information.