{"nrhp_refnum":"85002196","name":"Post, Joseph W., House","other_names":["Post Homestead","Post Ranch"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"CA 1","address_restricted":false,"city":"Big Sur","county":"Monterey County","state":"CA","lat":36.228904889000034,"lon":-121.76417618999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-09-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A redwood homestead house on State Highway 1, about four miles south of Big Sur in Monterey County, California. William Brainard Post built the original one-storey part in 1867, and his son Joseph William Post added a two-storey Saltbox wing in 1877.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the homestead is significant for its link to the Post family, one of the first American families to settle the Big Sur coast, and to local developments such as the Point Sur Lighthouse road (1888), the first continuously operating post office (1889), and the first Big Sur School. It also holds that the 1877 Saltbox wing is architecturally notable as a New England form placed on the California coast, and it cites the house's high integrity and setting.","narrative":"Four miles south of Big Sur on State Highway 1, the Post Homestead is a redwood house that grew over several generations of one pioneer family. William Brainard Post, who came to California from Connecticut, built the first one-room, one-storey section in 1867 on a crown of what became known as Post Grade, at the end of the old trail from Monterey. In 1877 his son Joseph added a two-storey wing in the form of a traditional New England Saltbox, meant to recall the family's Connecticut roots. The house also served the region: it held Big Sur's first continuously operating post office and, from 1889 to 1905, the first Big Sur School. Joseph Post later built the wagon road and hauled rock for the Point Sur Lighthouse in 1888. The exterior remains largely intact, though the interior was altered by later occupants. Today the house sits beside the entrance to the Ventana Inn.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"W.B. & Joseph Post/none","architectural_style":"Traditional New England Saltbox (two-storey wing)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Marked occupied and in good condition. The property is owned by Ventana Inn, Inc. and used by employees, and rehabilitation is planned. The interior has been altered over time.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.600589-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/85002196.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002196/3d81cb53ed-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002196/3d81cb53ed-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"McGhiever","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joseph_W._Post_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">McGhiever</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:Joseph_W._Post_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859956","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_W._Post_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q124516346"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/monterey-county/post-joseph-w-house-85002196/"}