{"nrhp_refnum":"10000394","name":"Ford, Jerome B., House","other_names":["Company House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"735 Main St","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mendocino","county":"Mendocino County","state":"CA","lat":39.30467856900003,"lon":-123.79999546799996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-06-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History","Industry","Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1 1/2 story wood frame house at 735 Main Street, Mendocino, California, with an original front-gabled section built 1853-54 and an east wing added in the 1860s. It was built as the home of the Mendocino Lumber Company's manager and now serves as a museum and visitor center.","why_significant":"It is the only surviving building of the large Mendocino Lumber Company complex and was home to the mill managers, beginning with Jerome B. Ford, who shaped Mendocino's social and cultural life. It also illustrates the importance of redwood lumbering in early California. Its Greek Revival form with Gothic Revival ornamentation and its intact original south porch add architectural interest.","narrative":"Overlooking the Big River estuary and the site of the sawmill that gave rise to Mendocino, this 1 1/2 story wood frame house was built in 1853-54 as the home of the lumber company's manager. An east wing was added in the 1860s, moving the kitchen and dining room up from the basement. Jerome B. Ford managed the mill from 1852 to 1872, and his son Chester later lived here until 1902. Successors such as John Simpson Ross II continued the manager's role in the town's social life. It is the only structure left from the once vast Mendocino Lumber Company complex. The house combines a Greek Revival form with Gothic Revival ornamentation. Much of the original gingerbread trim, shutters and finial are gone, but the south porch, with its sawn brackets and dentils, remains largely original. California State Parks acquired the house in 1972, rehabilitated it, and now uses it as a museum and visitor center. Its profile is still recognizable from photographs of the 1860s.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Eric Albertson is credited in a 1977 newspaper account with building the south porch; the original house was built under the direction of E. C. Williams.","architectural_style":"Greek Revival/Early Gothic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Well maintained and landscaped; in use as a museum and visitor center for Mendocino Headlands State Park, acquired by California State Parks in 1972.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.807232-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/10000394.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000394/3707133f69-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000394/3707133f69-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Don DeBold","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mendocino_Visitor_Center_-_6182845439.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Don DeBold</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mendocino_Visitor_Center_-_6182845439.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859793","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q56255707"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/mendocino-county/ford-jerome-b-house-10000394/"}