Heritage Homes

511 West Main St

This two-story wood framed Victorian home was constructed for Mr. and Mrs. George Fletcher in 1883. It incorporates a simplified Italianate-style front bay window and bracketed cornices. There was originally a portico on both the north and south sides, but the southern portico was enclosed for a sunroom. The window shutters were added after 1895. Otherwise, the home has retained most of its original appearance.

Mr. Fletcher was born in England in 183. He was a silk broker in New York City from 1855 until 186, and then a miner in Nevada until settling in Grass Valley in 1864. Mr. Fletcher became the Secretary and Auditor for the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad. He was a close friend of NCNGRR pioneer John Kidder. They died within a month of each other in 1901.

208 Townsend St

This wood frame Queen Anne Victorian was originally built on Sacramento Street, on Piety Hill in Nevada City around 1880. This home features one front, and two side gables, and a beautifully carved front door. The iron fence across the front yard is from an old home on Church St in Grass Valley that was demolished to allow for an addition to the United Methodist Church.

The house was moved in 1917 to the Berryman Ranch on Highway 49 and Taylorville Rd south of Grass Valley. The reconstructed building sered as a residence until 198, when it was purchased by Lane Puckett and moved in two pieces via Brighton St, to its current location. Mr. Puckett completely restored the home, and added the second floor and front dormer.

519 Walsh St

This single-story wood frame Folk Victorian cottage has a hip roof with a bay window on the south side. The turreted posts and decorative scrollwork brackets accent the portico of this home built sometime between 1870 and 1880. The 872 tax roll shows that Minnie E. McDonald owned a home here valued at $500.

Minnie Phelps married A. J. McDonald, who owned a saloon on Commercial St. in Nevada City. Mr. McDonald died in 1875. In 1879 Minnie married John Willard Relley who had been a carpenter in Grass Valley since the 1860s. Mr. Relley completed dental school in 1885 and established a practice at 16 Mill Street. He died in 1902, leaving Minnie a widow once again. Minnie still owned the home in 1895, but no record of her residency could be located after that date. In 1923, Charles Benjamin Parr purchased the home and it remained in the Parr family until the 1970s.

652 Linden Ave

This two-story farm house was built in 1864 by Benjamin Taylor who was a member of the party of five men who settled in Grass Valley in August of 1849, after crossing the plains from Missouri. The steep gable is typical of the Carpenter Gothic construction style popular at the time in the Midwest. The home also has a modest Georgian style front portico with classical columns and pilasters. Mr. Taylor purchased this property in 1864 and built the home for his wife, Ester Huling. He operated the Taylor Ranch, raising championship horses and dairy cattle.

Taylor also owned the larger Buena Vista Ranch on the old Colfax Road. Taylor also built a Victorian home next door at 636 Linden Avenue. Mary Ann Barker White (great-granddaughter of Ben and Ester Taylor) began restoration of the home in 1995. This home has remained in the Taylor Family.

229 Chapel St

The rear portion of this home is actually a “miner’s cabin” built in 1861 by Melville Atwood. The Queen Anne Victorian was added about 1880. The corner turret, gables and bracketed cornices are typical of the style. The railing on the portico and the front steps were salvaged from a home in Sacramento that was torn down.

John Thomas Trewhella, a miner born in England, built the Victorian. Mr. Trewhella became a U.S. citizen in Nevada County in 1867. This property was originally a large parcel that extended from the Catholic Church to Collins Lane. Mr. Trewhella acquired it as the result of a default on a debt sometime around 1867. Mr. Trewhella also built the home next door at 229 Chapel Street. Ownership of the Trewhella home was later transferred to Annie and her husband, Samuel George. The home was in the Trewhella/George family from 1880 until 1980.

428 W Main St

This grand two-story Queen Anne Victorian was built for local banker and mine owner, Jacob Weissbein in 1893. This home retains much of its original materials including redwood clapboard siding and wood windows. The second floor gables and the two-story turret at the west corner of the home have fish scale shingles The front porch wraps to the east side to a large bay which houses the library. The porch has turned columns and decorative spindles for accent.

Jacob Weissbein emigrated from Germany in 1873. He and his brother Joseph established the Weissbein Bros. & Co. Bank in 1876 with $700 in capital. In addition to banking and real estate, they bought and sold gold mines and were the largest shareholders of the W.Y.O.D. (Work Your Own Diggings) Mine.

The home remained in the Weissbein family until the 1940s. Calvin Palmer restored the home after he purchased it in 1978.

220 Colfax Ave

This large two-story Queen Anne Victorian was built in 1894 for local businessman Elam Biggs and his wife, Mary. The architect, W. P. Oliver, designed the home and it was built at a cost of $3,000. The home boasted “the most scientific methods of indoor plumbing” of its day. The two-story octagonal front bay has fish scale shingles on the second floor, regular shake siding on the first floor, and bracketed windows. The gabled roof features bracketed cornices and dentil-style trim.

Mr. and Mrs. Biggs also had the first home telephone installed in Grass Valley. They used it to call their hardware store on Mill Street -- the only other telephone in town at the time. Mr. Biggs was born in San Francisco in 1852 and his family moved to Grass Valley the same year. Mr. Biggs founded the Elam Biggs Hardware Company in 1889 and developed the business into one of the largest hardware stores on the west coast.

515 W Main St

This Greek Revival Victorian era home was built in the 1860s. The home remains as originally constructed except for a roof over the top floor balcony, which was removed sometime after 1895. The home retains its original clapboard siding with fish scale shingle siding on the front roof gable. The portico with turned posts and scrollwork brackets runs along the width of the home. The front windows are tall and shuttered with a stained glass feature above the front door.

The home was built for Judge Miles O’Conner who established the O’Conner Hospital in San Jose. Mr. O’Conner sold the home to John Polglase in 1873 for $3,500. Mr. Polglase and John Glasson operated a mercantile and meat market at 59 Main Street. In 1880 Mr. Glasson bought this house from Mr. Polglase for $4,500. The price included $500 for an organ. The home had chandeliers made of silver and gold from the Comstock Lode with prisms imported from Europe.

310 Henderson St

Typical of an architectural style built in Grass Valley in the 1860s, this one-story Folk Victorian has a gabled roof with a central attic window. The portico extends across the entire front of the home and a central front door is flanked by long windows. The roof is galvanized metal. The home was probably built for John T. Bennett and Sarah F. Whitesides when they married in 1866.

Mr. Bennett was the son of Grass Valley pioneer, John Bennett and Mary (Terrell) who lived in a large home at the corner of Depot and Bennett Streets. Mr. Bennett clerked in his father’s hardware store at 104 East Main Street. He drowned in the Feather River while hunting with his father over Thanksgiving weekend in 1871.

388 Mill St

The Coombs house is a Folk Victorian built for William and Anne (Edwards) Coombs, in the 1860s. The home went through a complete renovation in 1994 as part of the Grass Valley Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. At that time the home was re-roofed, a foundation was added and the porch stairs and decorative porch ornamentation were replaced due to extreme deterioration over the years. This cottage is typical of a miner’s home built in the 1860s. It is one-story with an attic window on the front gable and a covered porch that runs the width of the entire front of the house.

Mr. Coombs was a miner and at one time, the kitchen at the rear of the home served as the office of the Gold Hill Mine. Clarence Coombs, grandson of William Coombs, was a miner at the Empire Mine. He married Evelyn Aver, and at one point they lived on the mine property as caretakers. Mr. Clarence Coombs died in 1968, and the home has remained in the family.

118 Townsend St

This handsome two-story Queen Anne Victorian was built for Grass Valley dentist, Dr. Irving Washington Hays, Jr., around 1890. The 3,500 square foot home retains its original redwood shiplap siding and wood detailing. The home has a hipped roof with cross gables. A band of textured shingles divides the two stories and the same shingles trim the second story balcony and front gable.

Dr. Hays was born in Glasgow, Missouri, in 1843. He studied dentistry in San Francisco and completed his post graduate work at Haskell College in Chicago. Upon returning to California he settled in Grass Valley and opened a dental office with Dr. J.W. Dobbins at 209-West Main Street. Dr. Hays was very active in the community and an avid sportsman and member of the Grass Valley Sportsmen’s Club. He also served on the Grass Valley City Board of Education for eight years.

225 Chapel St

John Thomas Trewhella, as a wedding present for his daughter Annie and Samuel T. George, built this beautiful Victorian Cottage in 1881. The home has a cross-gabled roof and a wraparound front porch that has very attractive spindle work and turned posts. The front cutaway bay has a textured gable with fish scale shingles and decorative brackets supporting the eaves. The front door and surround are very decorative. The home has the original shiplap siding.

Annie Trewhella lived at the family home next door at 229 Chapel Street until her marriage to Samuel George. The George’s daughter, Ann, married the miner Alva Mitchell at the Methodist church in 1908. After the death of Mr. Trewhella, the Georges inherited the home at 229 Chapel Street, and the Mitchells took up residence at 225 Chapel Street.

127 Race St

This Queen Anne Victorian home was built alongside its twin at 123 Race Street by Frederick James Thomas, prominent Grass Valley businessman and native Californian, around 1900. The homes were built as rentals. Typical of the Victorian style, the home has a hipped roof with lower cross gables. A cutaway bay on the east side of the home has spindle work bracketing over the windows. The rounded front porch is also very decorative.

Mr. Thomas was born in Santa Clara County in 1860 and moved to Grass Valley with his father in 1868. He purchased the property and an existing home from the estate of James Glasson, a miner from Redruth, Cornwall. Mr. Thomas moved the Glasson house to the rear of the property facing Kate Hayes Street and built the two cottages. A successful businessman, by 1895 he had an office at Mill and Bank Streets representing the Port Costa & South Vallejo Company, manufacturers of high quality flour. Mr. Thomas died in 1922 and his son Carroll and wife Ida inherited all three homes. Ida sold this home in 1951.

307 S Auburn St

This large Queen Anne Victorian was built around 1897 for William S. May and his wife, Anna Conaway May, who inherited the property from her father, pioneer Carville Conaway. Mr. Conaway came to Grass Valley in 1851 from Maryland. He built one of the first quartz mills and at different times managed the Scadden Flat, Gold Hill, North Star and Massachusetts Hill Mines. Mr. Conaway also owned a boarding house for miners and a lumber mill on Wolf Creek. The home retains many original materials including the clapboard siding as well as retaining the original footprint. Typical architectural features include the hipped roof with lower cross gables, and a band of textured shingles.

Mr. May was a master millwright and engineer; most notably he designed the Narrow Gauge Railroad trestle over the Bear River. He died in 1950 at the age of 99, his wife having died in 1934. Mr. and Mrs. May’s daughter, Helene, born in 1885, graduated from Mills College in 1905, and worked in the Nevada County Libraries. She remained in the home till her death in 1977 at the age of 92.

636 Linden Ave

This Queen Anne Victorian was built by Benjamin Taylor in 1897 as a wedding present for his daughter, Mary Jane. The two-story house has a hipped roof with cross gables. The front cutaway bay has brackets over the corner windows with a finial accent. A partial porch wraps around the west side of the home and has straight columns with lace-like brackets and decorative cutout wood balusters. There is a second floor balcony over the rear kitchen entrance to the home. The home retains its original footprint.

Mary Jane and her husband, rancher Charles Barker lived briefly in the home. They moved back to the family home on Linden Avenue in order to care for Benjamin Taylor in his elderly years. The home fell into disrepair and was purchased in 987 by Anita and Bill Christenson. They began the restoration process retaining many of the original materials. The home was then purchased by Keith and Pamela Jackman, who completed the restoration.

111 Conaway St

A charming example of Victorian cottage design, this two-story home has a cross gabled roof. The front gable has an arched window, fish scale shingles and decorative trim at the peak of the gable. The full wraparound porch has turned posts and decorative brackets. Extensive onestory porches are common in Victorian homes and accentuate the asymmetry of the façade. A common architectural feature of the porches is the delicately turned porch supports and decorative ornamentation. The spindle work detailing in the gables is sometimes referred to as “gingerbread ornamentation.”

The home was most likely built for local miner, Alfred Kinsman, in 1890. Mr. Kinsman had been in the area as early as 1867 and is listed as a miner living on Kate Hayes Hill. In October of 1897, Mr. Kinsman married Elizabeth Kneebone. Alfred Kinsman died in 1912 and Elizabeth died in 1931.

418 Kate Hayes St

This stately two-story Queen Anne Victorian was completed about 1888 by Thomas Brockington for his mother, Martha. The home has a hipped roof with cross gables and a front two-story cutaway bay. The bay gable has fish scale shingle siding and there are decorative brackets over the second story corner windows. The cornices have decorative brackets with finial accents. The half wraparound porch has turned posts and decorative brackets. The side porch has turned posts and spindle work with a balcony above.

William and Martha (Hayman) Brockington, of Devonshire, England, came to America in 1850. Mr. Brockington worked the copper mines in Michigan before moving to Grass Valley in 1864. He was foreman at the North Star Mine in 1865 and also worked the Empire and Idaho mines. Mr. Brockington died in 1871. He and Martha had six sons, but by 1924 only two survived, Charles and Thomas. Charles organized the W.Y.O.D. Mine (Work Your Own Diggings) in the 1880s. He also sunk the shaft for the Golden Center Mine in the yard at the rear of his home, in the “center of Grass Valley.”

319 Neal St

This one and one-half story Victorian vernacular style home was built about 1870- 75. The wraparound porch has a shed roof with straight balusters and no ornamentation. The home appears to have the original shiplap siding. The home was most likely built by Edward Coleman, owner of the Idaho Mine for his mine superintendent.

The home is best known as the residence of Caroline Mead Hanson. An invalid, she would sit in the bay window to watch the children walk to school. Ms. Hanson knew the Ladies Relief Society needed help for Christmas, so she suggested each child bring a potato and a stick of wood. The Donation Day parade was born. It is still celebrated every December with the Ladies Relief Society and local elementary school children parading down the streets of Grass Valley bringing food to share with the needy.

400 W Main St

This two story brick Tudor Revival home is an uncommon architectural style for Grass Valley. The main entrance at the corner of West Main and School Streets features an arched entry to the porch. The living room and kitchen nook have angled bay and multiple pane windows that are original to the home. The original brick exterior is in excellent condition. Designed by Sacramento architect Harry J. Devine, the home was built for Ernest and Clara George in 1926. It was noted that brick masons were brought in from San Francisco, to construct the home. Mr. George was born in 1881 in Grass Valley and attended local schools. He joined the family auto business, George Brothers Auto Company, founded in 1914. Dealing in Dodge and Plymouth cars, the business was located at 149 East Main Street and was one of the first dealerships in California. In 1907 Ernest married Clara Reynolds and they had two sons, Lloyd and Ralph. Mr. George lived in the home until his death in 1947. Mrs. George remained in the home until 1963.

318 Neal St

This two-story clapboard Gothic Revival home, has a cross-gabled roof and was built for Edward Coleman in 1867. The style is sometimes called “Gold Rush Style” due to its popularity during the era.

The house retains much of the original appearance as pictured in the 1880 Thompson & West’s History of Nevada County, except for an addition to the rear of the house and the removal of the shutters.

A large wraparound porch displays turned posts and balusters and is enhanced by the distinctive ivy topiary, original to the home. The curved porch supports echo the curve of the arched window in the front bay. A decorative iron fence surrounds the yard, which is decorated with a large fountain.

The millionaire Coleman brothers were born in England, John Crisp Coleman in 1823 and younger brother Edward in 1830. They immigrated to Canada in 1846, then New York City in 1852 and finally Grass Valley in 1860. The Coleman brothers organized the Idaho Quartz Mining Company in 1867, and the name later changed to the Idaho-Maryland Mine. Edward Coleman’s home in San Francisco is a registered city landmark.

602 W Main St

Built in 1895, this Queen Anne Victorian cottage has a hipped roof with lower cross gables and a square tower with a pyramidal roof. The asymmetrical roof is quite distinctive. The front gable has patterned shingles and a spindle work gable ornament. The cutaway bay has corner trim accented with knobs and rosettes.

The current owners possess a photograph of the home with Mary J. Clements (1833-1902), Walter Giles Thomas (1864-1944) and Marie Clements Thomas (1871-1950). Walter Thomas was a dentist practicing in San Francisco before moving to Grass Valley. His wife was Marie Clements Thomas whose father was L.B. Clements, a California pioneer of 1849. Dr. Thomas and his wife both died at the W. C. Jones Memorial Hospital. They were survived by their daughter, Mrs. Harold Hartung, and sons Lambert and Everett Thomas and their descendants.

505 W Main St

This mid-1800s Folk Victorian is a two-story wood frame house with a cross gable roof. The front gable has fish scale siding and a very attractive spindle work gable ornament. The wraparound porch has turned posts and decorative brackets.

This home was originally owned by Thomas J. Pearce, who was the first butcher to be employed in the Grass Valley Slaughterhouse. He operated a market known as the People’s Market at the corner of Main and Auburn Streets. Born in England in 1844, he came to Grass Valley in 1864. In 1871 Mr. Pearce married Miss Honor Wedge, also a native of England and they had one son. In 1910, the property was owned by Irvin W. Carson, who was a miner. Family members, Thomas W. Carson and Alice Carson worked for the Clinch Mercantile.

429 Henderson Street

Built in 1900, this two-story wood frame Folk Victorian has a gable-on-hipped roof with lower cross gables. The front cutaway bay has patterned shingles on the gable and an attractive spindle work gable ornament. The corner bracket trim over the windows has dimensional carving and knobs.

The turreted front porch has spindle work ornamentation on the frieze as well as turned posts and balusters. The two-story side porch also has spindle work trim.

In 1872, Charles Barker owned the property. In 1900, the miner John Williams purchased the property from Mr. Barker for $350.00. Mr. Williams married Rosenea in 1876. They had five children, Mary, Amy, Else, Jack and Marjorie. Marjorie became the owner of the property about 1950. Marjorie’s son, Jack, later inherited the property.

129 Richardson Street

This Folk “miners” cottage was built about 1860-1870 and is typical of construction at that time. The one-story home with a centered attic window has a gable front design. The full width porch is clad with clapboard siding like the house. The porch posts are square with chambered corners.

An 1891 map shows this “dwelling” on the property owned by E.R. West and S.D. Avery, who operated a livery stable at this location called the Palace Livery. It is probably this same residence that shows up on some of the birds- eye-view drawings of Grass Valley. Mr. West had a feed store and Mr. Avery owned a livery. (In 1872 the property was the northeast corner of property owned by E.R. West, and the northwest corner of property owned by Samuel D. Avery.) In 1867 Mr. Avery operated a foundry on East Main. He was also a town officer and an officer of Eagle Hose Co. #2 in the 1860s through the 1870s. In 1876 he married Miss Flora Edwards, a native of Virginia.

315 Pleasant Street

A decorative metal fence connects three homes in a row – 315, 319 and 321 Pleasant Street – which were all built and occupied by the Sampson family. 315 Pleasant Street is a Queen Anne style home built in 1900. The family patriarch, Martin Sampson, is credited for much of the home’s craftsmanship. The gables are accented with fish scale shingles and double-hung windows. The integrated recessed porch is flanked by a bay on one side, and a glassed-in turret supported with delicate spindles on the other. Both sides are accented with a canthus-themed scrollwork.

Mr. Sampson was a native of Cornwall England, and like many of his contemporaries, he came to Grass Valley as a young man to work in the gold quartz mines. His obituary described him as, “the type of man that builds towns out of villages and cities out of towns.”

135 Carpenter Street

This circa 1895 single-story Queen Anne Victorian has a hipped roof with lower cross gables. There is a partial width front porch with turned posts and a beaded spindle-work frieze. The small side porch has matching ornamentation. A picket fence and rose arbor enclose the cottage garden. Peabody Creek runs through the back yard, which includes a large sequoia tree planted in the early 1920s.

The records pertaining to the original owner of the home were lost in a fire in Nevada City. According to local lore, the street’s name was changed from Woods Avenue to Carpenter Street in honor of the first owner’s occupation. John Thomas Bradley, a miner and subsequently a mail carrier, purchased the home in 1905. William Moffat Wilson purchased the home in 1956. Mr. Wilson was descended from two generations of California gold miners. Mr. Wilson retired as the Grass Valley Superintendent of Schools.

130 Richardson Street

This single-story Queen Anne Victorian was built prior to 1871. The front-facing gable is accented with decorative verge board and fish scale wood shingles which surround a single attic window. Other ornamentation includes corner brackets on the bay, a frieze at the porch ceiling, and classical porch columns. The garage behind the house has three stories and may have originally been a carriage house.

John Crocker was born in New York in 1827. He came to California in 1853 and worked at mining and blacksmithing. In 1864, he recruited Company K of the Eighth Regiment California Volunteers and moved to Grass Valley. Mr. Crocker ran a general blacksmith business at the corner of Mill and Neal streets, and was the Chief Engineer of the Grass Valley Fire Department.

The 1872 assessed value of this property was: Lot = $200.00, Frame house = $300.00.

510 W Main Street

This two-story Queen Anne Victorian circa 1890-1900, features a steeply pitched hip roof with three large gables, one on the front and one on each side. Each gable has a dormer window and ornamental woodwork at each peak. The front door is similar to the “Garfield” model as listed in a Montgomery Ward catalog of the era. A vintage stained glass window accents the front door. Featuring turned columns, newel posts, and stiles separated by half-keyhole spacers under the railing, the front porch wraps to the right side. In a style typical for the era, the double-hung windows do not have mullions.

The 1871-1872 Nevada County Directory lists W. H. Benson as the proprietor of the Benson House at 133 (later 510) Main Street. The 1878 directory shows Mr. Benson operating a feed stable at the same address.

According to Thompson and West, Mr. Benson was born in Pennsylvania in 1828. He married Jane Bryant, also a native of Pennsylvania, in 1848 and they had one daughter. Arriving in California in 1857, Mr. Benson was a merchant in Marysville until 1866 when he settled in Grass Valley. The land parcel was originally listed as Lot 16, Block 11 in the 1872 Grass Valley Townsite map.

306 Kidder Avenue

This home was built in 1886 by Sarah Kidder, president of the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad and used as a commercial building for the railroad until 1917. It is Folk Victorian style, with a second story gable on the front, and two dormers on the west side. The wrought iron railing around the front of the second story was originally part of the Kidder Mansion, which was located across the street (now demolished). The porch has turned posts and heavy wood balusters.

Alma Zembech purchased the home in 1917, and converted it to a residence for herself, her husband and her parents, James and Lizzie McCormack. Mr. McCormack went to work for the Narrow Gauge Railroad in 1876 at the company’s inception. The Grass Valley railroad station and company headquarters were located across the street, next to the old Kidder Mansion. Mr. McCormack retired in 1931 after 55 years of service to the railroad.

374 Mill Street

Built in 1906, this Folk Victorian style home has a cross-gable roof with a dominant front facing gable decorated with patterned wood shingles. The wraparound veranda has delicate spindle work porch supports and balustrades. Paired double-hung windows are decorated with shutters and a transom accents the glazed front entry door.

The 1867 Bean’s Directory indicates that Ellen Aldersay had a school in the residence which specialized in the “English branches, modern languages and vocal and instrumental music,” with an enrollment of 30 students. The Provis family owned the property from 1914 until 1977. Frank Provis died in 1945 and The Union newspaper wrote that he was a mill man and involved in the operation of mining reduction plants. He was active in the Methodist church, serving as historian and record keeper while also assisting with the building and grounds. In addition, Mr. Provis was a successful amateur gardener, maintaining beautiful gardens at his home. The house was occupied by their daughter, Mrs. Evelyn Carter, a music teacher, until 1977.

107 Mohawk Street

This two-story Free Classic subtype of Queen Anne architecture has a hipped roof with lower cross gables and a large, front-facing hipped dormer. The substitution of a large dormer for the more typical dominant front-facing gable is most frequently found in homes built after 1890. The home has a cutaway bay window with bracket and knob trim and a wraparound porch. The porch columns are raised to the height of the porch railing, supporting arched solid brackets. The paneled front door has a stained glass window in the upper portion and in the transom above. A carriage house at the rear of the property may pre-date the home.

Reuben Leech was born in New York. He married Marion V. Compton, also of New York, in Grass Valley on November 5, 1862. Mr. Leech was a State Assemblyman for Nevada County for two terms in the 1860s as a member of the Republican Party. He was one of the first officers of the Grass Valley Library Association. Mr. Leech was in the lumber business and was associated with John Crisp Coleman and Edward Coleman in the ownership of the Mohawk Lumber Company. The tax roll of 1913 lists Mr. Alexander Bunney, Jr. as the owner. He was a carpenter and the Bunney family owned the home for over 40 years.

303 Chapel Street

This Folk Victorian home circa 1881, has a gable-on-hip roof with lower cross gables and a dominant front facing gable. The bales have patterned wood shingles and gable ornaments.

The home was originally occupied by Henry Scadden and his wife Mary Jane Yendel whom he married in 1855, when he came to California. Mr. and Mrs. Scadden had eight children. Mr. Scadden purchased 108 W. Main, in 1861 for $5200 to set-up a grocery business. This location is now the Nevada Club. He was also a partner in the Scadden Flat Mine, acting as the Superintendent, as well as partnering with Thomas Hodge in the City Brewery. Purchasing the Faulknor Livery stable in 1895, he and his son conducted a grocery business at the same location. The home has remained in the family.

505 Linden Avenue

This Queen Anne Victorian built in 1890, was originally the home of William Elliott Deamer. It’s half-timbered style with steeply hipped roof and lower cross gables were common on one and one-half story Queen Anne’s built during the late 19th century. The left front gable has patterned wood shingles and decorated verge boards. Classical columns supporting the porch are enhanced with ornamental bracketing. This decorative detailing is also apparent in the porch and stair railings. The corner bracket detailing above the cutaway bay windows is also typical of Queen Anne’s of this era. The home appears to have many of the original materials and to retain its original footprint.

Mr. Deamer was a manufacturer of ginger ale, soda water and cider. Born in England in 1830, he was orphaned at an early age and taken to sea by a brother-in-law as a cabin boy. After five years at sea he arrived in San Francisco at age 21. He lived in Auburn and Nevada City before traveling to Europe in 1855 where he married Miss Martha White. They resided ten years in Oroville before returning to Grass Valley in 1865. Mr. Deamer’s residence in Grass Valley was listed as Bean Street (later Linden Avenue). Mr. Deamer opened another successful soda water establishment named Alta Soda Works at the corner of School and Richardson Streets. The Deamer’s lived at Bean Street and ran their business until shortly before Mr. Deamer’s death in 1895 at the age of 62. Their only son later became a professor and lived in Berkeley. Mr. Deamer, his wife and their daughter are buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Grass Valley.

123 Race Street

This Queen Anne Victorian cottage has a hipped roof with lower cross gables, a cutaway bay with spindle work bracketing over the windows and an angular front porch. It was built alongside its twin in 1900 for Frederick James Thomas, a prominent Grass Valley businessman. Mr. Thomas was born in Santa Clara County in 1860. William Thomas, his father, moved to Grass Valley with his family in 1868. As a young man, Fred Thomas clerked for Mr. William George and eventually bought an interest in his business. He left the employ of Mr. George in 1884 and became a local agent for the South British Fire & Marine Insurance Company of New Zealand. He was also an agent for the Sperry Flour Company for twelve years. In 1895, he represented the Port Costa & South Vallejo Company. His office was located at Mill and Bank Street. In 1900, Thomas Henry Glasson sold a lot on Race Street to Mr. Thomas. It was Mr. Thomas’s intention to move the building on Race Street to Kate Hayes and build two cottages, later advertised “For Rent: New six-room, hard finished house, with modern appliances…Apply to F.J. Thomas.” (See Heritage Home No. 14.)

203 Pleasant Street

This two-story Queen Anne Victorian built in 1900, has a cross-gable roof. The dominant front facing gable is decorated with patterned wood shingles, gingerbread ornamentation, and the double-hung windows are trimmed with decorative casings. The front porch wraps to a side entry and has delicate spindle-work porch supports and balustrades. The front entry has a carved wooden door complete with a transom and decorative crown.

James Rowe acquired this land in 1900 as a wedding gift from his father, Joel Rowe. It was part of a two-acre parcel that extended east on Neal Street. The three adjacent Rowe family homes were built close together and used the same driveway for access. Mr. Rowe was born in St. Allen, Cornwall, England, and came to Grass Valley at the age of 10 months with his parents. Mr. Rowe and his friend, James Sampson, constructed the home themselves with lumber from the Rowe family sawmill in West Point. (See Heritage Home No. 26.)

153 Race Street

This 1880s single-story Queen Anne Victorian prominently features a roof gable that overhangs a cutaway bay window. The partial-width front porch has turned posts and ornamental brackets.

William Trevor Garland purchased this home in 1910 for $1650. Born in England in 1855, he immigrated to the United States at the age of 19.

Traveling extensively, Mr. Garland arrived in Grass Valley in 1889. He married Jane Bishop and they produced three children. Mr. Garland had a long and successful career as a gold miner including foreman of the Pennsylvania and the W.Y.O.D. (Work Your Own Diggings) mines. After his retirement, he devoted much of his time to gardening and it was reported that “his variegated flower beds were the inspiration for much praise from passersby.” The home remained in the Garland family until 1972.

128 High Street

This house was built for Joanna Murphy and William Provis, Jr. when they were married in 1894. The Nevada County Mining Review of 1895 called it, “an elegant new home at the corner of Neal and High Streets.” It is one of the Grass Valley residences pictured on page 175 in the Pictorial History of Nevada County. The cross-gabled hip roof, porch style and ornamentation identify the home as a Queen Anne Victorian.

The Provis home was built adjacent to a large home owned by Mrs. Murphy which had subsequently burned down in 1900. Mr. Murphy owned the Owl Saloon on Mill Street. Mr. Provis Jr. established the Provis Grocery on Mill Street next door to the Owl Saloon in 1891 at the age of 29. His picture appears among the “Prominent Grass Valley Business Men” in the Mining Review. He served several terms on the board of city trustees for the City of Grass Valley. When he retired in 1920, his store became the Andrew Grocery, which is now the site of The Owl Grill. Mr. Provis Jr. retired to San Francisco where he lived for only four years before he died just short of his 58th birthday. The home served as a boarding house for several years and was extensively restored in 1992.

104 Walsh Street

Built in 1881, this front-gabled Folk Victorian was owned for approximately 30 years by Richard and Annie Polkinghorn. This Folk Victorian style of architecture was popularized with the advent of the railroad, since building materials were more readily available and affordable.

Richard Polkinghorn was a native of Truro, England. Employed as a custodian at the former Columbus School on South Auburn Street (now the location of the Hennessy School), he worked there until his retirement. His obituary in The Morning Union stated, “Polkinghorn … held the complete confidence and esteem of the students through several decades and was as highly regarded by Grass Valley townspeople.” Polkinghorn was a member of the Knights of Pythias, Olympic Lodge, and the Ancient Order of Foresters. Annie Polkinghorn lived in the home until 1949.

257 South Auburn Street

This two-story wood framed Queen Anne Victorian, built in the early 1900’s, has shiplap siding, a hipped roof with lower cross gables, and a gabled dormer. The most unusual feature are the two turreted porch roofs. This two-story wood framed Queen Anne Victorian, built in the early 1900’s, has shiplap siding, a hipped roof with lower cross gables, and a gabled dormer. The most unusual feature are the two turreted porch roofs.

Ernest Hiram Hocking was a native of Grass Valley, born in 1883. He married Theresa White in 1908. Mr. Hocking was an amalgamator and millman for several local mines including the North Star, the Champion and the Empire Mines, as well as the Tightner Company Mine in Alleghany. Mr. Hocking also operated several local businesses including a fountain and candy store called “Hi’s” at the corner of Mohawk and South Auburn Streets, as well as a nursery and farmer’s market next door to his home. The property was eventually sold for the construction of the Veteran’s Memorial Building. The Hocking family occupied the home for 55 years until 1977.

216 Pleasant Street

Built circa 1891, this pyramid style Folk Victorian remained in the Nettell family for over 70 years.

Edwin Nettell immigrated to the United States from Cornwall, England, at the age of 21. After pursuing work in Nevada and Arizona he arrived in Nevada County in 1885. He and his wife Elizabeth had one daughter and two sons, one of whom was John Nettell. At the time of his death in 1914, Mr. Nettell was the foreman at the Champion Mine in Nevada City and had worked at the North Star Mine.

Edwin’s son, John, resided in the home with his son J. Edwin Nettell, until his death. John Nettell served as under-sheriff for Sheriff George Carter and as county recorder from 1938 to 1958. He was a member of the Grass Valley Concert Band, president of the Nevada County Historical Society and a World War I veteran. He died on October 12, 1964 on a tour of the Empire Mine as part of a weekend historical symposium.

322 South Church Street

This side-gabled, two-story Folk Victorian with a one-story wraparound porch was built in 1867 by M.C. Taylor. The style is identified by the presence of Victorian detailing on simple folk house forms. They have symmetrical facades without the varied and textured wall surfaces of the Queen Anne style. As is common with many homes of this style, this home’s decorative detailing shows Italianate inspiration in the use of corner quoins, cornice brackets and elaborate window surrounds. The appearance of the home has changed considerably over the years, but it still retains much of the decorative detailing from the original design. For example, the bracketed porch supports were replaced with classical columns and a large, spindle work trimmed front gable was added.

Michael C. Taylor was born in Ireland in 1828. He came to the United States in 1847 and after working in several locations, arrived in San Francisco in 1854. By 1856 he had moved to Grass Valley and started the Mill Street Foundry with James M. Lakenan and Philip Francy. Mr. Taylor soon became the sole proprietor and specialized in the manufacture of quartz mining machinery, steam-engine boilers, building castings, wrought iron pipe and mine pumps. Mr. Taylor was also very active in local politics. He married Maria (Mamie) Quinn, a native of Ireland, in 1865. They had three sons, Charles H., Edward F., and Earl. Charles and Edward joined their father in the family business.

In 1906 the Mill Street Foundry was incorporated under the name of the Taylor Foundry and Machine Company. The home was owned by the P. W. Mitchell family in the early 1900s but was purchased by Lawrence E. Taylor, grandson of M. C. Taylor in 1944. His family lived in the home for 40 years.

415 West Main Street

This classic Queen Anne Victorian, circa 1890, features a dominant front facing gable with decorative patterned shingles and cutaway bay with corner brackets. The hipped roof has lower cross gables. Flat jigsaw cut brackets and turned porch supports enhance the entire porch.

Albert Quick was born at Badger Hill on February 23, 1877. He was one of six children of Paul Quick Sr. who with his partner, W. E. Parsons operated Parsons and Quick Cigar Store at 209 West Main. Parsons and Mr. Quick manufactured White Labor cigars starting in 1888. Mr. Quick married Elizabeth Wetterau in 1897 and sometime between 1907 and 1910 they moved to the house on Chester Street. The Quick’s remained in the home until their deaths, Albert in 1950 and Elizabeth in 1964. The house was vacant for many years but celebrated a re-birth in the late 1990s and was fully restored by David Good and Mela Green.