If there’s one thing I’ve learned from walking around the charming town of Mendocino, it’s that the town itself is alive. It breathes. It moves. Mendocino even talks to us. As I take people around town and tell them about the haunted houses, phantom horses, and the hotel guests that refuse to leave after 150 years, I realize that the ghosts also talk to us. They [...]
On display at the Ford House on Main Street is a meticulously detailed scale model of Mendocino as it appeared in the late 19th century. Created by master craftsman Lennard "Len" Peterson between February 1989 and December 1990, the model spans a four-by-eight-foot base, with a scale of 1:384 (3/64 inches to the foot). It features 358 buildings, including hotels, businesses, homes, and outhouses, alongside 34 [...]
Coming home from a hard, day-long job, it’s likely that you want to sink onto your couch and pour yourself a beer. The loggers of Mendocino felt the same way 150 years ago. After chopping, milling, and shipping tons of redwood trees, sipping a cold one was a perfect way to relax and forget about the limbs you almost lost. Luckily, the area was not short [...]
“J. E. Packard is having a neat cottage built on his lot near the school house grounds. We have no building boom, but several new houses are being erected about town.” Thus it was reported in the Mendocino Beacon on March 21, 1891. What has become known as the Packard-Johnson House was one of two houses built for Justin Packard in the east part of town, [...]
Herman Fayal, a lifelong resident of Mendocino, became known for his intricate miniatures that captured the spirit and history of the town he loved. Born in 1893, just a year after his parents Manuel and Maria Costa immigrated to California, Herman grew up with deep ties to the Mendocino coast. (Herman later changed his last name to avoid confusion with other Costas.) Herman Fayal in [...]
According to the late Charlotte Hoak, daughter of one of the first settlers in Comptche, the town was named after Compatche, a Pomo chief who brought his people through that beautiful area seasonally, as a part of their hunting and gathering, nomadic life. The Pomos told her his name means, "in the valley among the hills, beside the river of potholes"—quite a lot for only one [...]
Kelley House Lattice Arbor with Abalone Shells. Undated photo of a wooden arbor with decorative abalone shells in the Kelley House yard. This small arbor was located next to the Kelley House water tower. A handmade chair made from sticks sits empty to the left of the arbor. (Gift of Margaret Kelley Campbell) Saturday and Sunday @ 11AM! Walking Tours of Historic Mendocino - [...]
[John and Elizabeth Carlson, proprietors of the City Hotel, raised their twin daughters and son in the hotel along with John Kupp, Elizabeth’s son from her first marriage. As the children grew, they helped out with the hotel’s operation.] Daughters Elizabeth (Bessie) and Catherine (Katie) managed the hotel dining room but that did not interrupt their educations at the Convent of Notre Dame in San Jose, [...]
In August 1952, Mendocino celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of the town. The festivities drew an estimated 5,000 attendees and showcased the rich history and community spirit of Mendocino. The Centennial weekend kicked off on Saturday at Kellieowen Hall, on the southwest corner of Lansing and Ukiah Streets, where local residents proudly displayed a remarkable collection of antiques and heirlooms. The exhibit offered a [...]
A clip from the Independent Dispatch of March, 1871 reads: "The outside of Carlson's Hotel is now receiving the finishing touch of the mechanic's skillful hand. When finished, this magnificent structure will reflect no little credit on Mr. Carlson. If all would display as much enterprise as has this gentleman, a lapse of six months would leave no trace by which one could discover that that [...]