Welcome to Kelley House Museum!

About the Kelley House Museum

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.

Did You Know?

We offer Walking Tours of the Mendocino National Historic Preservation District. Tours leave from the Kelley House Museum every Saturday and Sunday at 11 am, and last for 1 1/2 hours.

History Mystery

Wonacott's Studio Unknown Couple

Unknown Mendocino Coast Couple

Unknown Mendocino Coast couple taken at Wonacott’s Studio in Fort Bragg. Circa 1920 – 1930

 

Father Time and the Maiden Big River Logjam Racing on the Mendocino Headlands in the 1930s The J.M.Griffith in Mendocino Bay Kwan Tai Temple Loggers working a Tall Redwood Closeup of Loggers on a Redwood Point Cabrillo Lighthouse Wells Fargo Stage in Mendocino Logging Camp on Big River

Around the House
—Director’s Blog—

Matching Challenge

March 8th, 2012 by nancy

Easy Fundraising IdeasJoin the challenge and help us achieve our goal of $10,000 towards repair and improvements to the Kelley House Museum. Two of our members have pledged $1,500 towards a matching grant, and now we need community members to step up to “meet the challenge.” Send a check today and do your part to save this valuable community resource for future generations.

Thank you, Rotary!

January 26th, 2012 by nancy

Rich Brandes and Nancy Freeze

On Thursday, January 19, Nancy Freeze, Executive Director of the Kelley House was presented a check for $1300.00 from Richard Brandes of the Rotary Club of Mendocino. The money will go towards the next phase of our structural project replacing supports, rails and skirting of the 150 year old house.