Village of Kibesillah in 1879. At one time, Kibesillah was one of the most important of the early north coast towns. First settled in the 1860s, the first business was a blacksmith shop in 1867. In its prime it had twenty to thirty buildings, including three hotels, three saloons, a public school and a Baptist church. Nothing of this is left – not even a [...]
1975 West Main Street in Mendocino, 1975. View looking west along the north side of Mendocino's Main Street in 1975. The farthest building on the left is the old Neto Hotel Barbershop, which in 1975 was occupied by Victorian Vignettes, a photographic studio. Next is the Zacha Building, built in 1965, then the old Lemos Saloon/Store that housed at this time a store called [...]
Studio portrait of Hazel Packard Dennison with parrot toy, c. 1900. Born April 5, 1897, Hazel was the daughter of Charles Oscar and Hannah Cline Packard of Mendocino. (Gift of Hazel Packard Dennison) A little girl in a wicker chair holds a parrot. She is gazing down at the toy and dressed in a white, ruffled gown. Meet Hazel Packard Dennison, born on this [...]
Studio portrait of Mollie Norton, her father William Norton who owned Norton’s Hotel on Main Street, and their dog, Prince, c. 1882. (Gift of Evelyn Larkin) April 4, 1890 - A very interesting and instructive debate took place in Professor W. H. Greenwell’s department of the public school on the question of whether women should be allowed to vote. The Beacon reported on the [...]
Thomas Foster Rowe and Nancy Emeline Rowe. (Gus F. Rowe Family Collection, Kelley House Photographs) April 2, 1929 - Thomas Foster Rowe died at his home near Albion at the age of 91. His passing “takes from the community a beloved neighbor, a loyal citizen and a real pioneer, whose characteristics of industry and integrity were widely known and deserved the utmost respect.” Born [...]
Chalfant Family in Cloverdale. L - R: Alice Porterfield, Mrs. Susan Chalfant, John Chalfant, and Helen Porterfield in front of the Chalfant home at Cloverdale, CA in 1900. April 1, 1905 - The Beacon reported the death of Mendocino pioneer John E. Chalfant at his home in Cloverdale. His health had been failing for some time, and death was not unexpected. John was born [...]
Mendocino Lumber Company engine, Climax, pulling loaded cars at Big River. Woods boss, Ed Boyle, standing on the engine at the far left. (The William Ferrill Collection, Kelley House Photographs) March 30, 1921 - The Mendocino Lumber Company’s locomotive “Climax” fell into Big River, landing in 6 feet of water. The engine had been in the machine shop at the mill for weeks undergoing [...]
Caspar Lumber Company General Store, c. 1900. Left to right: Archie Bailey, C.J. Wood, Walter Higgins. The other men are unidentified. The sign “German American Ins. Co.” was for the German American Insurance Company, founded in 1872. In 1918, when World War I created a wave of anti-German feeling in the United States, the company changed its name to the Great American Insurance Company. (Gift [...]
The Steamer "Brunswick" being loaded with a wire chute at the Mendocino Headlands and the Sea Foam waiting to come in. (Gift of Emery Escola) March 28, 1902 - The wire chute at the Shipping Point was used for the first time to transfer lumber to a waiting ship. Jerome C. Ford supervised the installation. Previously, lumber was transferred to a ship by lighter [...]
The John Q. and Maria Brown family, in front of their house at 45270 Calpella Street, on Pentecost Sunday, 1905. From left to right: Annie, Frank, Maria, John Q., "Spot", Joseph, Mayme, and John J. March 26, 1846 - John Q. Brown, a pioneer of Mendocino, was born at Punto del Gada on the island of Flores, Azore Islands. The Beacon reported, “Of his [...]