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 water towers. The tallest building, at 3-1/8 inches, is the Presbyterian Church.
Len Peterson and His Mendocino Model
Peterson studied Mendocino’s topography and spent hours sculpting the foam core base to replicate the surface contours of the town. The model’s streets are paved with actual Mendocino dirt, and each building is carved from balsa wood blocks with basswood planking scribed to resemble siding. The buildings are secured to the terrain with wooden toothpicks.
Peterson’s work incorporates intricate details such as the tramway tracks for the flat cars that carried lumber from the mill on Big River Beach behind the Presbyterian Church and along the headlands to the lumber yard on the Point. Len told the Beacon in a 1990 interview, “I used the basswood planking strips, and cut out every other strip with a razor blade so it would look like railroad ties.” The water towers are glued-together basswood strips.
Other details include livery barns with hay and piles of manure, stacked firewood and logs, and the Kelley House Pond. Len even painted rust on water tanks and pipes. He collaborated with his son Scott, who used computer graphics to design windows, doors, fences, and shop signs.
The model is based on research from maps, photographs, and consultations with local historians, ensuring its authenticity as a representation of Mendocino in 1890. Peterson estimated that he spent well over 2,000 hours on the project.
Kelley House Museum’s Walking Tours of Historic Mendocino include a visit to the Ford House and Peterson’s Mendocino Model. Join our expert docents for a stroll and lively commentary. Saturday and Sunday @ 11AM and Tuesday @ 2PM!