Making History Blog

Apron Chute at Mendocino Shipping Point, 1896

By |2023-09-10T12:32:29-07:00September 11, 2023|

Photograph of a ship being loaded at the Mendocino Lumber Company's shipping point. A smaller loading boat called a lighter is nearby. The structure on the far left is the freight shed. Rail cars loaded with lumber supplied by the nearby lumber yard (seen in the background) would enter it from the back side. The wood would then be sent out the front on an apron [...]

Mendocino Hospital Company

By |2023-09-07T14:32:57-07:00September 8, 2023|

September 8, 1894 - Dr. James W. Milliken joined the Mendocino Hospital Company as a consulting physician and surgical doctor. Dr. Milliken, an 1877 graduate of the New York Medical College, had arrived in Mendocino in 1883 and started a medical practice here the following year. Mendocino Hospital Building located at 10481 Howard Street, 1887-1910. A white picket fence surrounds the yard of this corner [...]

Here’s to Nana and Big Dad!

By |2023-09-02T12:00:35-07:00September 7, 2023|

Back in early May and June we discussed the histories of Mother’s and Father’s Days, respectively, and since we’re coming up on National Grandparents Day, it’s a good time to complete the trilogy. The newest, and least known, celebration of parental units, the observance was designated by Congress as the first Sunday in September after Labor Day, and it was proclaimed a national holiday by President [...]

Ukiah Street looking Southeastward, 1912 – 1922

By |2023-08-31T17:02:03-07:00September 2, 2023|

An elevated view along Ukiah Street looking southeastward, taken from Perley Maxwell's water tower on Calpella Street near Kasten, 1912 - 1922. The building on the left is Apple Hall, built in 1912 and removed in 1944. Beyond it is the very tall Hagenmeyer water tower and J. D. Johnson's tower to its right, both now also gone. The Masonic Hall with its rooftop statuary is [...]

THEN and NOW Photos: Justin Packard House

By |2023-08-29T11:39:18-07:00August 31, 2023|

These two images, taken about 135 years apart, show the Justin Packard House on the northeast corner of Main Street and Evergreen Street in Mendocino. Justin E. Packard married Emma Zella Young in 1879, and O. B. Ackerman built this home for the Packard family in 1882. Justin was a jeweler and watchmaker who owned a Main Street shop with his brother Charles O. Packard, who [...]

The Radio Days of Miles Paoli by Anne Cooper

By |2023-09-02T11:54:33-07:00August 29, 2023|

Miles Paoli, born in Mendocino in 1906, was instrumental in bringing radio to the Mendocino Coast. As a young man, Miles was not drawn to school particularly. Miles’ parents, Raffaelo and Emelia, were hard working immigrants who had found opportunity in the logging industry. Later, the Paoli family purchased the hotel on Mendocino’s Ukiah Street, which had belonged to the Borgnas, and had been known as [...]

Mendocino Old Timers, 1973

By |2023-08-25T12:04:19-07:00August 27, 2023|

Mendocino Old Timers at Saint Anthony's Sunday Potluck, 1973. While the men were being photographed, they added up their ages and came up with 472 years of Mendocino living. They referred to themselves as "Redwood Stumps.” (Photographer: Beth Stebbins) L - R: Joe Lenhares, Herman Fayal, Ernest "Bear" Madeira, Miles Paoli, James O’Donnell, and Tony Lenhares. MENDOCINO WATER TOWERS TOTE BAG - Fifteen of Mendocino’s iconic [...]

Water: Our Future and Our Past by Katharine Nelson

By |2023-08-22T12:27:20-07:00August 24, 2023|

August 20th-24th marks this year’s World Water Week, a non-profit conference held annually by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). Since its inception in 1991, World Water Week has become the leading conference devoted to global water issues, featuring a variety of participating organizations, including the United Nations. Each year, the conference seeks to bring together a diverse array of people and professions to develop solutions [...]

Mary Brien Boyle Kenny

By |2023-08-20T15:30:32-07:00August 21, 2023|

Studio photograph of the Kenny - Boyle family, c. 1888.Seated in front, L to R: Thomas Kenny (step-father) and Mary Brien Boyle Kenny, mother of the children.Standing in back, L to R: Mary "Mayme", Charles "Charlie", Francis "Babe", Jennifer "Jennie", and Walter "Fred". (Gift of William and Marie Ferrill) August 21, 1911 - Mary Brien Boyle Kenny died at the age of 69. She [...]

A New Donation: The Wedding Dress of Carrie Costa-Fayal

By |2023-08-15T12:28:58-07:00August 17, 2023|

Manuel Costa-Fayal and wife Carrie Correia-Silva (standing) with Antone Costa-Fayal and Maria Costa-Fayal (mother) seated. From the Annie Silveria Collection. This past week the Kelley House Archives received an exceptional donation from the Costa-Fayal family, the wedding dress of Carrie Costa. This dress consists of a skirt and detached bodice in pale blue with a decorative border of blue and gold sequins and beads, [...]

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