Looking northeast towards the Eugene Brown House, located at 45120 Main Street, Mendocino, c. 1973. (Gift of Beth Stebbins)
Albert Maxwell constructed this two-story home for Eugene Brown in 1878. At that time, Eugene owned and operated the mercantile store just to the west. Eugene and his mother were living in Pine Grove, but his mother wanted to live in town.
Eugene Brown died in 1920, and the property went to his wife, Emily van Dusen Brown. There were no children born to the Browns, so Emily transferred the property to Eugene’s nephew, Howard Brown of San Francisco, in 1941. The house has had many owners since that time.
The Eugene Brown House, June 2022
Other structures visible in this photograph include, left to right: the Village Barn Gallery then in the rebuilt Eugene Brown Store (where Circa is located in 2022) on the left, Zacha’s Bay Window Gallery (before the ornate railing was placed on the upper balcony) on the right side of the Brown house, the Jarvis-Nichols Water Tower on Albion Street, and the west side of the Bank Building (today’s Out of This World).
Eugene Brown, Mendocino Wells Fargo Agent by William Strobridge. A Kelley House Publication. From the 1860’s to 1914, Wells Fargo agents were the business links to the outside commercial world. Learn about Wells Fargo’s presence in the town of Mendocino and their contributions to the Coast. $15.