{"nrhp_refnum":"77000362","name":"Dudley House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"4085 Telegraph Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ventura","county":"Ventura County","state":"CA","lat":34.27607050600005,"lon":-119.23994855899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-05-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half story modified stick style farmhouse at 4035 Telegraph Road, Ventura, California, built in 1891 on a nine-acre lemon orchard. Selwyn Shaw was its architect and builder.","why_significant":"The nomination cites the house's architectural significance to Ventura and its association with a prominent agricultural family. It is described as a rare 1890s house in Ventura that remains on its original site. The nine-acre property is called the last remaining pioneer family farm in the city, now surrounded by urban development.","narrative":"Set among nine acres of lemon trees in Ventura, this 1891 farmhouse was designed and built by Selwyn Shaw for the Dudley family, who paid the $2,100 cost in cash. Shaw added a decorated mantel and hand-finished eaves carved with a star and crescent moon. The house has two gables, gingerbread ornamentation, fishscale shingles, redwood tongue-and-groove siding and a veranda. Some changes were made around 1900, including an extended parlor, a sun room and a lean-to kitchen. The Dudleys were among the area's first farmers, trying several crops before finding that lima beans suited the foggy climate, and later planting lemons once irrigation allowed. Benjamin Wells Dudley served on the school board and as a justice of the peace, and worked for the telephone, electricity and a bridge across the Santa Clara River. Few 1890s houses survive in Ventura, and this one remains on its original site as the last pioneer family farm in the city.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Selwyn Shaw","architectural_style":"Modified stick style farmhouse (also described locally as a salt box farmhouse with Victorian gables and gingerbread ornamentation)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied as a private residence by the fifth generation of the Dudley family; the original 1870 house behind it was recently dismantled due to disrepair.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.607231-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/77000362.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000362/7569be7fd3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000362/7569be7fd3-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Fettlemap","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dudley_House_from_Southeast.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Fettlemap</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dudley_House_from_Southeast.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123862328","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudley_House_(Ventura,_California)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14681880"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/ventura-county/dudley-house-77000362/"}