{"nrhp_refnum":"04000620","name":"Babcock, Dr. Raymond, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"96 S. Humboldt St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Willits","county":"Mendocino County","state":"CA","lat":39.41234899500006,"lon":-123.35319830599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-08-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Health/Medicine"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story wood-frame house at 96 South Humboldt Street in Willits, Mendocino County, California, built in 1905 by Roy Whited and remodeled in the early 1930s. The property also has a playhouse, garage, wishing well and bell tower.","why_significant":"The house is significant for its long association with Dr. Raymond Babcock, who lived there from 1914 until his death in 1961. He was a country doctor who helped establish Howard Memorial Hospital and helped found the Frontier Days celebrations. A room behind the house served as Willits' makeshift hospital before the first real hospital opened.","narrative":"This two-story wood-frame house at 96 South Humboldt Street in Willits was built in 1905 by Roy Whited as a single-story Queen Anne Vernacular home. In the early 1930s Dr. Raymond Babcock added an upper story and adapted the details to a Classical Revival Vernacular style. The lot also holds a playhouse, a garage that was once his small hospital room, a stone well and a bell tower. Babcock lived in the house from 1914 until his death in 1961. He was a country doctor who served patients across Mendocino County for nearly five decades, helped get Howard Memorial Hospital built in 1928, and helped found the Frontier Days celebrations. Before the hospital opened, a room behind his home served as the community's makeshift hospital. The bell tower, built in 1945 and rebuilt in 1984, displays his collection of town, school, locomotive, ship and team bells. The house is built largely of redwood, which was central to the town's development.","period_of_significance":"1914-1954","architect_builder":"Whited, Roy (architect and builder)","architectural_style":"Late 19th/20th Century Revivals (Classical Revival Vernacular)","criteria":["B"],"status_note":"The house has remained in the family and been well maintained. No architectural changes have been made since the early 1930s, though the wiring, roof and fence have been updated. The bells on the tower are in excellent shape and can be rung.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.665594-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/04000620.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859789","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Raymond_Babcock_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q85757589"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/mendocino-county/babcock-dr-raymond-house-04000620/"}