The mission of the Kelley House Museum is to collect, preserve and share the rich history of the Mendocino Coast. Founded in 1972, Kelley House Museum, Inc. maintains a beautiful house museum and gardens, as well as the Mendocino Coast’s only museum-quality storage facility and staffed research office. Our research archives represent over 150 years of Mendocino coastal history. Collections include historic photo collections, local genealogical data, research documents and publications. Over 3000 entries of maps, documents, books, photographs, oral histories and artifacts from our collection are searchable through our site.
The Kelley House Museum is an historic house museum in the heart of Mendocino, California, a picturesque town of 1,000 people. The home was built in 1861 by William Kelly (sp), one of Mendocino’s founding fathers, and now contains 19th Century furniture. The ocean-view home sits on an acre of gardens, with a pond and three resident geese. William had the pond built and stocked so that the neighborhood children could fish.
We offer Walking Tours of the Mendocino National Historic Preservation District. Tours leave from the Kelley House Museum every Saturday at 11 am, and last for an hour and a half.
John Uhlar captured this image of a waitress at the Bay View Cafe in the late 1970's. Who is this lovely lady?
October 1 & 2, 2010
Over 1,ooo items to bid on, including new merchandise, gift certificates,
collectibles and estate sale items.
Preview Night – Friday, October 1, 6-8 pm $17 pp
Plenty of wine, fabulous hors d’oeuvres donated by local restaurants and first-chance bidding!
Silent Auction and Cash & Carry – Saturday, October 2, 10 am – 2 pm – Free!
Drawing for winner of dinner for 4. Final bidding.
In 2009, the Kelley House received a gift of approximately 300 negatives from Dot Johnson, the daughter of Fort Bragg merchant, Everett Racine. Racine was a man of many interests and had numerous hobbies, photography being just one of them. During the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, he traveled up and down the Mendocino Coast photographing the scenes of his time: redwoods, fishing, mills, ships, and the activities of daily life in towns such as Caspar, Cleone, Manchester, Little River and Westport.
Everett was born and raised in Fort Bragg. After leaving to attend college in Stockton, Racine returned and eventually bought the shop, started by his father in 1904. From tobacco to fishing gear and souvenirs, Everett expanded the shop to sell musical instruments, bicycles, art supplies, stationary, and toys for all ages. Everett died in Fort Bragg in 1988 at the age of 82.
In Spring 2010, thanks to generous donations from the Kelley House community, we raised enough money to purchased a new multi-purpose scanner, and now we are able to share these exciting images of the Mendocino Coast captured through the eyes of Everett Racine. Thank you, Mr. Racine, for giving us a window back in time.Thank you, Dot, for sharing it with all of us.
A Sunday Afternoon With…Coast Poets of the 70s and 80s
A Sunday Afternoon With is a series of local history conversations sponsored by the Kelley House on the 4th Sunday of the month from April through October. Programs begin at 3 pm at the Kelley House Museum, 45007 Albion Street, Mendocino. Cost: $5 members and $7 non-members. 707-937-5791
