Brown, John Stanford, House
Why it's listed
Orchard Gables is a brick Tudor Revival house on a 2.5-acre property below the Sacramento River levee across from Walnut Grove. Completed in 1925 to designs by architect Arthur Reginald Widdowson, it has a U-shaped plan, a Gladding McBean tile roof, multiple-flue chimneys, and a Palladian terra cotta entry porch with Batchelder pavers. French doors open onto brick terraces, and a tiled swimming pool built with the house survives at the rear. A service wing uses Cotswold-style picturesque details. The house was built for John Stanford Brown, who led the Bank of Alex Brown and the Alex Brown Company. Through them he managed family farmland, an asparagus business, a hotel, the local movie theater, and the electric company, and he provided banking to Japanese and Chinese farmers in the delta. He lived here until his death in 1952, and the house remains in excellent, minimally altered condition.
Significance in brief: Listed under Criterion B for its association with John Stanford Brown, head of the Bank of Alex Brown and the Alex Brown Company, a major figure in the finance and business life of Walnut Grove and the Sacramento delta until his death in 1952. He managed family agricultural and commercial holdings, including the region's largest asparagus business, and the bank served both white landowners and Asian farmers. The house is also described as a well-preserved example of 1920s Tudor Revival design.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 04000733, listed July 28, 2004. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 13950 CA 160, Walnut Grove |
|---|---|
| County | Sacramento County |
| Listed | July 28, 2004 |
| Reference number | 04000733 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1925-1952 |
| Architect / builder | Widdowson, Arthur Reginald, Architect; Williams, Frank P. "Squeaky", Builder |
| Architectural style | Late 19th & 20th Century Revivals: Tudor Revival, Elizabethan Revival |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Commerce, Agriculture, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as in excellent condition and minimally altered since construction in 1925; used as a single-dwelling residence. |
| Acreage | 2.6 |
| Coordinates | 38.24807, -121.51235 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 04000733.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q133445016
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.