Woodside Store
Also known as: Tripp Store
Why it's listed
Built in 1854 from local redwood, this board-and-batten store sits at the corner of Kings Mountain and Tripp Roads near Woodside, at the meeting point of two old logging trails. It began as a two-story frame building and gained a shed and feed barn by the 1870s, with a small barn added around 1900. Its founders, Dr. Robert O. Tripp and Mathias Parkhurst, started as shingle splitters and loggers. The store held a post office from 1854, and over time also functioned as a bank, dental office, toll station, winery headquarters and the site of the county's first library, established in 1858. Tripp owned it until his death in 1909. The county bought it in 1940, and it has operated as a limited-hours museum since 1947. It is valued as a rare surviving example of an early California rural store, and for the account books and library records that document local commerce and life.
Significance in brief: Dating from 1854, it is one of the earliest tangible remains of American settlement on the San Francisco Peninsula and a rare, notable example of a redwood board-and-batten rural store. It is tied to pioneer Dr. Robert O. Tripp, who ran it for decades. It served as store, post office, bank, dental office, library site and community center, and its account books and library records survive.
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 85001563, listed July 18, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 471 Kings Mountain Rd., Woodside |
|---|---|
| County | San Mateo County |
| Listed | July 18, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85001563 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1854-1909 |
| Architect / builder | Dr. Robert O. Tripp, M. A. Parkhurst |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Transportation, Health/Medicine, Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | County-owned and open on a limited basis as a museum since 1947; fair condition, relatively unaltered apart from a modern restroom and picnic tables; restoration work is ongoing. |
| Acreage | 1.2 |
| Coordinates | 37.43024, -122.27715 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 85001563.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q35766100
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.