Until the 1870s, the Mendocino coast was isolated except for the schooners that sailed between San Francisco and Eureka. Travel inland was on foot or by horseback over narrow ridge trails worn by the local native peoples. During the 1860s, roads began to be built between Mendocino and Ukiah and Mendocino and Cloverdale. According to Elsa E. Thompson’s 1973 Early Settlers of Comptche Along Its Many [...]
Part 3 of our “dark and stormy night” series, this article continues the story from last week’s column and first appeared in the Mendocino Beacon on December 6, 2007 When we left the storm-battered little steamer Pomo, she and her rescue boat, Adeline Smith, were waiting to cross the treacherous seas at the bar to San Francisco Bay on the night of January 2, 1914 [the [...]
Given our recent weather, we’re continuing the “dark and stormy night” theme from last week with this article that first appeared in the Mendocino Beacon on August 30, 2007. Captain Orlando "Ole" Lilleland was master of the wooden steam schooner Pomo, which operated along the Mendocino coast hauling redwood and farm goods south and general freight north. Pomo was of modest size, built to be handy [...]
A long-time pillar of the Kelley House passed away in early December, and we wish to acknowledge her work for the museum and the community it serves. Both as a tireless volunteer and a dedicated employee, Megan Coddington Smith did much to make the Kelley House Museum the institution it is today. Megan was born in Lawton, Oklahoma in January 1942, the youngest of four children, [...]
Exhibit runs through 11/27/2022 Members only reception and viewing Friday, October 21 at 5:00 PM “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes." Dr. James Milliken’s casket in the parlor of the Milliken house, in 1909 The Kelley House Museum invites you to explore one of life's certainties—death—through a new exhibit on funeral customs followed throughout Mendocino’s history. Far from [...]
August 14, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM $5 members/$7 non-members Illustrators have long been a vibrant part of the Mendocino art community. The Kelley House is excited to interview several whose work in the ‘70s and ‘80s appears as part of the Cat Mother exhibit currently on display in the museum. Mervin Gilbert, author of the comic collection Life in the Northwest Nowhere will talk about [...]
Walking or sitting, you will pick up some fascinating facts in two new tours for history lovers at the Kelley House Museum. David and Katy Tahja, a team of Kelley House docents from Comptche, have developed tours about the areas of Mendocino history that interest each of them most. Beginning on July 10th, David will lead a two-hour walking tour called “Stump to Ship: Logging in [...]
The Kelley House pays tribute to legendary local ‘70s band Cat Mother and their impact on the Mendocino Coast with a collection of ephemera, albums, artwork, and articles. Cat Mother was an eclectic rock band formed in Greenwich Village, New York in 1967. They toured with Jimi Hendrix who co-produced their first album which featured the hit "Good Old Rock N Roll" in 1969. By 1970 [...]
Monday, July 4th. HOURS: 11AM - 3PM Celebrate the Fourth of July on the Kelley House Lawn! Our biggest fundraiser is back after a two year hiatus. Dance to live music from the Mixed Nuts and watch the parade. Food will be courtesy of Miss KJ’s Bangin’ Bites food truck, serving street tacos, corn, fruit and churros. We’ll be selling margaritas, sangria, beer from North Coast [...]
On display at the Kelley House Museum’s current exhibit are several clay pipes. Most are incomplete – missing a stem or the bowl – but are nonetheless intriguing – as are the old glass bottles and other remnants of an earlier times that we have dug out of our archives for this show, “Neighbors Across The Pond.” A white clay smoking pipe with copper [...]