In honor of the 160th anniversary of the Kelley House, a permanent exhibit showcasing the home’s original inhabitants opened in December 2021 at the museum. Rediscover the Kelley Family: parents William and Eliza, and their four children, Daisy, Russell, Elise, and Otis, along with their extended family. A beautiful, hand-embellished family tree helps visitors understand their relationships to each other.
Among the exhibit’s highlights is a one-of-a-kind scrapbook with postcards, clippings, snap shots, and other memorabilia that reveal scenes from the family’s everyday life.
On the large exhibit screen, visitors can enjoy a new slide show of historic family portraits. Says Museum curator Karen McGrath, “The Kelleys were a close group who loved to travel together all over the world. But Mendocino was home base, the place they returned to visit frequently, even those that lived in San Francisco.”
The exhibit is now a permanent addition to the other educational displays found throughout the two-story, 160-year-old Victorian-era house museum.