Is this Mendocino’s first selfie? Family group photograph taken in the north side yard of the Maxwell home on Kasten Street, c. 1915. On the left, Elsie Maxwell is holding her son Kenneth Maxwell, and Joshua Grindle (Elsie's step-father) sits in a chair with her small daughter, Grace Maxwell. In the rear, Eliza Grindle (Elsie's mother) stands with a man that is perhaps Henry Jarvis. On [...]
Hellsgate Dam with a full head of water. (Kelley House Collection, Kelley House Photographs) July 18, 1922 - John Norberry went to Hellsgate logging dam on the Southfork of Big River to increase the height of the dam by two feet and add another gate to the structure. The improvements would increase the volume of water driving logs down the river during freshet time. Constructed by [...]
July 17, 1930 - J. W. Moore and P. W. Cleary flew their airplane from Ukiah to Mendocino. What had been a day-long trip in a horse-drawn carriage only a few years before was now completed in just 25 minutes. Aerial view of the town of Mendocino and mouth of Big River looking east, c. 1941-1958. (Kelley House Collection, Kelley House Photographs) The aviators taught at [...]
July 16, 1921 - Work began to dismantle Saint Vincent’s, the first Catholic Church building in Mendocino County. Located on Little Lake Road, the church site is now part of Hillcrest Cemetery, and a tall white cross marks the approximate place where the building once stood. St. Vincent's Church in Mendocino. View is looking northeast up Lansing Street. Next to the church and to the right [...]
With the 2021 Wimbledon Tennis Championships wrapped up, let’s take a look at where tennis was played in Mendocino. Mendocino High School Tennis Champs, 1927 - 1928. L-R: Louis Borgna, Grace Nichols, Morton Swales, Thelma Silvia and Clarence Hamblin. Kelley House has documented five tennis courts in town, starting in 1892 at the Morgan residence on Little Lake Street. At present, this is the site of [...]
Mule team and wagon hauling freight from the Shipping Point in Mendocino, c. 1900. Portuguese Beach is in the background. The first two mules have a set of bells on their harnesses to warn others along the road of their approach. The driver is unknown. This is probably one of Ed Boyle's outfits taking supplies to Boyle's Camp up Big River. (The William Ferrill Collection, Kelley [...]
July 13, 1912 - The Farmers & Apple Growers Association announced plans to build Apple Hall. This 40 by 100 foot exhibition hall was built to house the annual Apple Fair. 1912 Parade at Apple Hall. Parade in front of Apple Hall in Mendocino celebrating the second annual Apple Fair and the first time the fair was held in this newly constructed building. (Emery Escola, Emery [...]
Liberty Theatre on the left, 1923. On the right, this photo shows the demolition of the former Switzer and Boyd Livery Stables on the northwest corner of Albion and Lansing Streets. The building was torn down by George Daniels to make way for his large automobile garage, now referred to as the Shell Building.The building farther down the street at the intersection with Main Street is [...]
The Jerome B. Ford barn and Jersey cows east of Ford house on the bluff in Mendocino. The Ford barn later became the Mendocino Lumber Co. barn. (Alice Earl Wilder, Alice Earl Wilder Collection, Kelley House Photographs) July 11, 1936 - One of Mendocino’s oldest landmarks, the Mendocino Lumber Company Barn, was destroyed in a fire. Located south of the intersection of Lansing Street and the [...]
You won’t want to miss the Kelley House Museum’s summer exhibit, “Quilted Iconic Buildings of Mendocino,” which runs July 2 – August 31. In an extraordinary display of history meets art, 26 iconic buildings are brought to life on quilt squares, including the Temple of Kwan Tai, the Presbyterian Church, the MacCallum House, the Mendocino Hotel, and the Kelley House Water Tower. Each building is colorfully [...]