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 [...]
March 25, 1896 - A tennis tournament was held on the property that is now the Mendocino Art Center. The Beacon reported, “The strife for the supremacy in the tennis contest last Saturday was a very interesting affair, and highly exciting at times. Our sporting reporter was present from the tossing of the coppers, and states that during the first inning Julius Allen and his accomplice [...]
Take a look at any panoramic photo of early Little River and you’ll notice that where once stood many structures – houses, the mill, hotels – there are now a lot of trees and bushes. Of the several vanished landmarks of long ago, there is one that wasn’t readily seen even when it existed: the shipyard of Thomas Petersen. The Point Arena and Bessie Kimball [...]
Photo: Mendocino High School Orchestra of 1928. Back row (L - R): Ernie Handelin, Henry Triplett, Harold Reep, Pete Lemos, Miss Amerman (Director) Front row: Thelma Silvia, Della Sumner, Dave Paoli, Grace Nichols, Ruby Carvalho. Photograph has been cut out and pasted onto a black paper background. From the reunion album, "A Backward Glance from 1898 - 1983" (Gift of Bertha Mason Estate) March [...]
Studio portrait of Walter and Edna Jackson, c. 1930. March 22, 1920 - Walter Jackson opened the Jackson Vulcanizing Company in the old Flanagan Saloon, which he rented from the Kelley estate. This building faced Lansing Street on the west side of today’s Rotary Park and was torn down in 1929. Jackson’s company advertised Archer, Dayton, and Sampson Tires for sale, and he also [...]