Gibson Mansion

Last updated
William B. Gibson House
Gibson Mansion.JPG
USA California location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location512 Gibson Road; Woodland, California
Coordinates 38°39′44.42″N121°46′24.77″W / 38.6623389°N 121.7735472°W / 38.6623389; -121.7735472
Built1857;167 years ago (1857)
Architectural styleMixed (more than 2 styles from different periods)
NRHP reference No. 76000542
Added to NRHPNovember 7, 1976

The Gibson House (also known as the Yolo County Historical Collection, YCHC, the Gibson Mansion, or the Gibson Museum) is a historic house that now serves as a museum in Woodland, California. It exemplifies several architectural styles, including Georgian Revival, Italianate and Neoclassical. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. [1]

Contents

History

The Gibson Family

William Byas Gibson (1831–1906), originally from Virginia, moved from Missouri to California in 1850 with other "overlanders" seeking fortune in California's gold laden hills. He travelled via covered wagon and settled on Cache Creek in 1850, where he built a modest home. In October 1850 he went to Scott Bar to mine gold, but found little success. He returned to Yolo County in 1851 and bought a plot of 160 acres four and a half miles north east of Woodland, where he grew grain and raised livestock. He sold this property in 1857, and purchased 320 acres of land adjoining the southern part of Woodland, CA. He built a small 16' by 20' structure on this land, which, later became the center of his 3,000 acre estate. He specialized in raising high-grade cattle, like Shorthorn Durhams. [2] [3] Near Christmas of 1857, William married Mary Isabel Cook (d.1915) of Kentucky. Mary was no stranger to living on farming estates. The Cook family emigrated to California in 1853 and established their own successful farm in Yolo County. [2]

William Byas Gibson.png
William Byas Gibson
Mary Isabel Gibson (nee Cook).png
Mary Isabel Gibson

William and Mary had three sons: Robert (1859-1941), Thomas (b.1861), and Joseph (1863-1897). William and Mary lived in the estate's main property until their deaths in 1906 and 1915. Before his death, William handed management of the estate over to his eldest son, Robert. Robert Gibson earned a business degree from Heald's Business College in San Francisco, California, and continued operating the estate's grain and livestock cultivation following his father's death. He and his wife Elnora (born Elnora Root) lived on the property until their deaths in 1941 and 1963. The second child, Thomas Gibson, also remained in Woodland. He opened a successful hardware store while also promoting the Woodland Creamery Company. Thomas remained a prominent figure in Woodland throughout his life. He served on several boards concerning local politics, education, businesses, and agriculture. He was also a member of the Native Sons of the Golden West. Not much is known about the youngest son, Joseph, who died at the age of 34 in 1897. [2] [4]

The Gibson House and Ranch

Lithograph of the William B. Gibson House. Found in the Illustrated Atlas and History of Yolo County, California. De Pue & Company, 1879. Courtesy of Yolo County Archives YCA-Scan DePue Plate-No.-34-Gibson-Farm-1879 small-e1552520514879.jpg
Lithograph of the William B. Gibson House. Found in the Illustrated Atlas and History of Yolo County, California. De Pue & Company, 1879. Courtesy of Yolo County Archives

The Gibson House started as a 16' by 20' structure on a 320-acre estate. After William and Mary had children, the first structure became too small. William used his increasing wealth from a successful agricultural business to enlarge the house. He made several extensions between the 1870s and the 1900s, adopting architectural styles popular during each period. The first extension, completed in 1877, included adding two large parlors on the first floor, and a second story with four bedrooms. By 1891, the Gibson estate had grown from the initial 320 acres to 2,400 acres. The farmhouse was surrounded by many outbuildings to help make the operation self-sustaining. Along with a kitchen, pantry and dining room addition to the main house, a root cellar, cook's house, tan house for water storage, workshop, smokehouse, and a bunk house for hired workers were added to the property. [5] [6] [3]

The house entered a state of stasis between 1900 and 1963, with no major extensions or alterations. Meanwhile, the surrounding estate was sold for residential, commercial and agricultural development. Following Elnora Gibson's death in 1963, the home and acreage was uncared for and dilapidated. Some labeled it a haunted house during this vacancy. [6] [7] In 1975, efforts to purchase the house and the 2.5 acres it resides on were directed by the County of Yolo to establish it as a county park and the first countywide historical museum. Yolo County Historical Museum Corporation was incorporated in 1986, and their board of directors operated the museum on behalf of the county. In 2018, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors transferred stewardship of the house and grounds to YoloArts, the County arts organization, to change the usage of the property. The main house remains a museum, open to the public on weekdays. Two of the barns were transformed, one into a gallery space and another adapted with temperature control for archival and collection storage. [7] [8]

Architectural Features and Styles

Initial Construction and Modified Georgian Revival

The Gibson House's northern facade; camera facing south-east The Gibson House; Yolo County.jpg
The Gibson House's northern façade; camera facing south-east

The Gibson house reflects multiple architectural styles. The oldest part of the present structure was a rectangular 16' by 20' wooden building. It is unknown how many stories it had, and whether it displayed any significant features associated with a particular architectural style. In 1872, William Gibson added a 31' by 37' brick structure north of the building, consisting of two stories with porches and balconies on the north and west sides. He next added a smaller two-story brick building to the south end of the old wooden structure, approximately 17' by 35' large. These extended several feet off each side of the old building. Gibson built around the original building instead of demolishing and rebuilding on the same plot. He incorporated the initial house into the additions. It is visible today only upon a structural inspection, mainly seen in the difference in wall thickness. The initial building's exterior walls, which were thicker than the interior walls, are visible in the doorways between the dining room and kitchen.

The 1976 National Register of Historic Places assessment identified the style of the main brick structure as modified Georgian revival due to its massing, hipped roof, and floor plan consisting of a central hallway with two rooms off to each side, each having a fireplace on the outside wall, and four bedrooms upstairs. However, Georgian style was popular in California around 1830, which is far outside of the Gibson House's construction period. A more appropriate style would be Italianate, which was popular from 1840 to 1885 and fits the house's style and construction period. [9] [10]

Italianate

An 1879 lithograph reflects features consistent with Italianate style. Italianate style began in England as part of the Picturesque movement. The movement responded to the formal classical ideals in art and architecture that had been fashionable for the last 200 years. It emphasized the features seen in informal Italian farmhouses, such as their square towers. In the United States, the style took on regional characteristics. In general, the style can be identified by multiple stories, a low-pitched hipped roof, and often a polygonal or square cupola placed on the roof. Other Italianate features visible on the present property include the balustraded balcony, tall double-hung windows with hood moulds, and the paneled front door with a decorative entablature and pilasters. [9] The original square cupola was removed during the Neoclassical remodel, done between 1890 and 1900. [10]

Neoclassical

Example of an Ionic Capital from the Temple of Minerva Polias at Priene. IonicCapitalPriene.jpg
Example of an Ionic Capital from the Temple of Minerva Polias at Priene.

Neoclassical style rose in popularity from 1895 to 1955. The interest in classical architecture can be attributed to the World's Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago in 1893. The planners emphasized a classical theme, and the central court consisted of colonnaded buildings designed by some of the periods best known architects. The fair was widely attended and documented, with photos of the exhibits shared throughout the country. The monumental sized buildings influenced the construction of commercial and residential classical buildings. Some of the identifying features include full height porches supported by classical columns (with Ionic or Corinthian capitals), and a symmetrically balanced windows and central door. The Gibson House's most dominant Neoclassical features are the four columns on the northern façade. The columns have Ionic capitals, identified by the volutes. An oak leaf motif was added to the capital, likely for the surrounding oak trees that still stand on the property today. With the addition of the columnated porch, the house lost its hipped pyramid roof, at present it now has a front gable with patterned wood shingles. [9] The original hipped shape is still visible in the attic space, suggesting the original roof was not removed during the reconstruction but instead covered. The Neoclassical additions were the last major alterations done to the house. [10]

As a museum

Gibson House was Yolo County's first countywide historical museum. [7] It was designated by the National Park Service to be on the National Register of Historic places on November 7, 1976, about a year after the County of Yolo purchased the house. The museum houses changing exhibits relating to the history of Yolo County, designed by the County museum curator with items from the Yolo County Historical Collection. [7] The collection consists of 11,000 objects dated between 1830 and 1930. It includes textiles, agricultural equipment, paintings, archival materials, ephemera, photographs, archaeological items, tools, ceramics, household items, furniture, and personal items. On the museum grounds, in addition to the main house there is a functional blacksmith shop and dairy display focusing on the Woodland Creamery Company. [11] [6]

In 2018, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors transferred stewardship of the house and grounds to YoloArts, the County arts organization, to change the usage of the property. Two of the barn spaces were remodeled during the transition. One barn became a modified gallery space, while another was adapted with temperature control to create a stable environment for the historical collection. [7] [8] [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victorian architecture</span> Series of architectural revival styles

Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. Victorian refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian were used in construction. However, many elements of what is typically termed "Victorian" architecture did not become popular until later in Victoria's reign, roughly from 1850 and later. The styles often included interpretations and eclectic revivals of historic styles (see Historicism). The name represents the British and French custom of naming architectural styles for a reigning monarch. Within this naming and classification scheme, it followed Georgian architecture and later Regency architecture and was succeeded by Edwardian architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italianate architecture</span> 19th-century phase of Classical architecture

The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture with picturesque aesthetics. The resulting style of architecture was essentially of its own time. "The backward look transforms its object," Siegfried Giedion wrote of historicist architectural styles; "every spectator at every period—at every moment, indeed—inevitably transforms the past according to his own nature."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Jackson Davis</span> American architect

Alexander Jackson Davis was an American architect known particularly for his association with the Gothic Revival style.

A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and expensive architectural works today, though most were more utilitarian, working farmhouses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sycamore Historic District</span> Historic district in Sycamore, Illinois, USA

The Sycamore Historic District is a meandering area encompassing 99 acres (400,000 m2) of the land in and around the downtown of the DeKalb County, Illinois county seat, Sycamore. The area includes historic buildings and a number of historical and Victorian homes. Some significant structures are among those located within the Historic District including the DeKalb County Courthouse and the Sycamore Public Library. The district has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since May 2, 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon Commercial Historic District</span> Historic district in Illinois, United States

The Oregon Commercial Historic District is a historic district in Oregon, Illinois, that has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2006. The district is roughly bordered by Jefferson, Franklin, 5th and 3rd Streets in Oregon. It is one of six Oregon sites listed on the National Register and one of three to be so listed since the turn of the 21st century. The other two are the Oregon Public Library, listed in 2003, and the Chana School, listed in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smith-McDowell House</span> Historic house in Asheville, North Carolina

The Smith-McDowell House is a c. 1840 brick mansion located in Asheville, North Carolina. It is one of the "finest antebellum buildings in Western North Carolina." Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it was the first mansion built in Asheville and is the oldest surviving brick structure in Buncombe County. Since October, 2023, the building is home to Asheville Museum of History.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houses in Sycamore Historic District</span>

The houses in the Sycamore Historic District, in Sycamore, Illinois, United States, cross a variety of architectural styles and span from the 1830s to the early 20th century. There are 187 contributing properties within the historic district, 75% of the districts buildings. Many of the homes are associated with early Sycamore residents, usually prominent business leaders or politicians. Houses within the district are known by, either their street address or by a name associated with a prominent owner or builder. For most of the houses, the latter is true.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montgomery Place</span> Historic house in New York, United States

Montgomery Place, now Bard College: The Montgomery Place Campus, near Barrytown, New York, United States, is an early 19th-century estate that has been designated a National Historic Landmark. It is also a contributing property to the Hudson River Historic District, itself a National Historic Landmark. It is a Federal-style house, with expansion designed by architect Alexander Jackson Davis. It reflects the tastes of a younger, post-Revolutionary generation of wealthy landowners in the Livingston family who were beginning to be influenced by French trends in home design, moving beyond the strictly English models exemplified by Clermont Manor a short distance up the Hudson River. It is the only Hudson Valley estate house from this era that survives intact, and Davis's only surviving neoclassical country house.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cedarmere-Clayton Estates</span> Historic houses in New York, United States

The Clayton-Cedarmere Estates are located in Roslyn Harbor, New York, United States, listed jointly on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Clayton, the bulk of the property, is the large landscaped Bryce/Frick estate, now home to the Nassau County Museum of Art. Cedarmere, the smaller of the two, is William Cullen Bryant's estate, currently undergoing interior renovation, is located on the west side of Bryant Avenue; overlooking Hempstead Harbor, now a historic house museum. The grounds are open to the public. The two combined properties, with input from several notable architects, illustrate the development of estates on the North Shore of Long Island over a period of nearly a century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodland Opera House</span> United States historic place

The Woodland Opera House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a California Historical Landmark, is one of four fully functioning 19th century opera houses in California. It is a contributing property to the Downtown Historic District of Woodland, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gable Mansion</span> Historic site in Woodland, California

The Gable Mansion is a Victorian mansion in Woodland, California, listed as a California Historical Landmark, that was built in 1885 for Amos and Harvey Gable, two Yolo County pioneers and ranchers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yolo County Courthouse</span> United States historic place

The Yolo County Courthouse was a courthouse for the Superior Court of California in Yolo County in Woodland, California until 2015. The original building was erected in 1864, and was used for 37 years until condemned in 1911. The edifice, built in the same location in 1917, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, and is also a contributing property in the Downtown Woodland Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hotel Woodland</span> United States historic place

Hotel Woodland is a historic hotel located in Woodland, California and designed by William Henry Weeks. The hotel is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a contributing property of the Downtown Woodland Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Griffith Mansion</span> 19th-century house in California, United States

The Griffith Mansion is a historic residence which remains a private family home on 14 acres (5.7 ha) in Yolo, California, built by Abram Griffith in 1886.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fyler–Hotchkiss Estate</span> Historic house in Connecticut, United States

The Fyler–Hotchkiss Estate, also known as the Hotchkiss-Fyler House Museum, is a historic house museum at 192 Main Street in Torrington, Connecticut. Operated by the Torrington Historical Society, its main house is a well-preserved and distinctive example of Chateauesque Victorian architecture. It is also significant for its association with Orsamus Fyler, a prominent local politician and businessman. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valparaiso Downtown Commercial District</span> Historic district in Indiana, United States

Valparaiso has retained an active downtown. It remains a mix of government, retail and business center, with a mixed residential and service area. Numerous economic changes have not changed the basic character, historic courthouse area. The historic district retains the distinctive turn-of-the-19th-century architecture, supporting numerous small specialty shops, shaded sidewalks, and a people friendly environment. The Downtown District, is anchored on the Porter County Courthouse. It includes 14-blocks surrounding the square, bounded on the north by Jefferson Street, on the east by Morgan Street, on the south by Monroe Street, and on the west by Napoleon Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shirenewton Hall</span> Country house in Monmouthshire, Wales

Shirenewton Hall, originally Shirenewton Court, is a country house and estate adjoining the village of Shirenewton, Monmouthshire, Wales, about 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Chepstow. The 29.5-acre (11.9 ha) estate is located on a hillside, and commands views across the "Golden Valley" to the west and the Severn Estuary in the south. The main building was constructed around 1830, and partly rebuilt around 1900–1910, on the site of an earlier house which was the birthplace of William Blethyn, Bishop of Llandaff. The house is now a Grade II listed building, and the teahouse in the adjoining Japanese garden is listed as Grade II*. The gardens are included on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. The estate is not open to the public.

<i>DEstaville</i> House / Mansion in Victoria, Australia

d'Estaville, also spelled D'Estaville, is a large bluestone Italianate-style heritage-listed house located at 7 Barry Street in the Melbourne suburb of Kew, Victoria, Australia. Designed by architects Knight & Kerr for politician and long term Chief Justice of Victoria, Sir William Foster Stawell, d’Estaville was completed in 1859. d’Estaville is a fine and unusual example of the Italianate style, and the only residential work of Knight & Kerr, designers of the Victorian Parliament House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Pousette-Dart House and Studio</span> Historic house in New York, United States

The Richard Pousette-Dart House and Studio is a historic property located northeast of Suffern in Rockland County, New York. The American Craftsman and Bungalow-style, stone building was originally erected c. 1916 as a carriage house for a country estate owned by New York City merchant Henry Potter McKenny. From 1959 to 1992, the structure served as the family home and studio of Richard Pousette-Dart (1916–1992), an American abstract expressionist artist and founding member of the New York School of painting. In 2019, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

References

  1. "CALIFORNIA - Yolo County". NationalRegisterofHistoricPlaces.com. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
  2. 1 2 3 Gregory, Thomas Jefferson (1913). History of Yolo County, California. Los Angeles, California: Historic Record Company. pp.  284.
  3. 1 2 "General Background". Yolo County Historical Museum. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
  4. "Major Events Timeline - Gibson House Museum | Woodland, CA". Gibson House Museum | Woodland, CA. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
  5. Walters, Shipley (1995). "Hey Day of Woodland". Woodland a City of Trees: A History. Woodland, California: Yolo County Historical Society. p. 34.
  6. 1 2 3 "Yolo County Historical Museum". Museums USA. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "The House and Property". Yolo County Historical Museum. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  8. 1 2 Yolo County Historical Museum Corporation (1989). By-Laws of the County Historical Museum Corporation.
  9. 1 2 3 McAlester, Virginia, 1943-2020 (2013). A field guide to American houses : the definitive guide to identifying and understanding America's domestic architecture. McAlester, A. Lee (Arcie Lee), 1933-, Jarrett, Lauren,, Rodriguez-Arnaiz, Juan (Revised and expanded edition/second ed.). New York. ISBN   978-1-4000-4359-0. OCLC   842350851.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. 1 2 3 Department of the Interior. National Park Service. California SP Gibson, William B., House. File Unit: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: California, 1/1/1964 - 12/31/2013.
  11. "Yolo County Historical Collection". Yolo County Library. 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  12. "Public Programs – Yolo Arts" . Retrieved 2020-12-08.