HomeMy WebLinkAboutBIG BASIN WAY 14605 (2)/2
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13777 FRUITVALE AVENUE • SARATOGA. CALIFORNIA 95070
(408)867-:34:38
July 13, 1988
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Fitzsimmons
13480 Saratoga Avenue
Saratoga, CA 95070
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Fitzsimmons:
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
Karen Anderson
Martha Clevenger
Joyce Hlava
David Moyles
Donald Peterson
The Saratoga Heritage Preservation Commission has recently
completed, a comprehensive Inventory of historic resources in our
community. We are pleased to notify you that your garage and
residence at 14605 Big Basin Way and residence /commercial building
at 14669 Basin Way meets the criteria for being included on this
list.
The purpose of the Heritage Resource Inventory is to establish a
list of documented historic properties in Saratoga. The Heritage
Preservation Commission was assigned the responsibility for
preparing the Inventory by the City Council in 1982. Each
property on the list has been identified as reflecting and being a
part of the unique history of Saratoga. The Inventory has been
prepared in accordance with guidelines established by the State
Office of Historic Preservation, with data gathered from a
variety of sources, including historic documents and books,
interviews with local citizens, and existing county and state
inventories that contain information on Saratoga properties.
Being listed on the Inventory does not carry any form of special
requirements or restrictions affecting the use, improvement,
alteration or even the demolition of your property. As an
Inventory property, however, you will be able to make use of the
State Historic Building Code, an alternative set of building
regulations that are intended to facilitate the rehabilitation and
preservation of historic buildings. In addition, your property
may qualify for designation as a Saratoga Heritage Landmark, a
special category of outstanding and exemplary historic properties
that are identified in the community by a handsome bronze plaque.
We have enclosed the entire Inventory list and the individual
Inventory form for your property, which gives information about
the building, the property and its history. We would appreciate
your review of this form to let us know if there are any changes
or additions to the form you wish to include. We also anticipate
that there are additional historic resources in the community that
we may have overlooked or have not fully documented yet; if you
know of any that are not on the list, please let us know.
If you have any questions, please direct them to the Commission
through Valerie Young, our staff person at City Hall (867- 3438).
One of the Commissioners will be happy to meet with you to discuss
the Inventory and answer any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Members of the Heritage Preservation Commission
Elizabeth Ansnes
Roy Cameron
Norm Koepernik
ShariLandsness
Bar Voester.
.-
Warren Heid, Chairman
w�
HISTORIC RESOURCES INVENTORY ( #11)
IDENTIFICATION
1. Common name: Caldwell House
2. Historic name: Erwin T. King House
3. Street or rural address: 14605 Big Basin Way
City: Saratoga
4. Parcel number: 503 -67 -001
Zip: 95070 County: Santa Clara
5. Present Owner: J. Fitzsimmons Trustee Address: 13480 Saratoga Ave.
City: Saratoga Zip: 95070
Ownership is: Public: Private: X
6. Present Use: Residence Original Use: Residence
DESCRIPTION
7a. Architectural style: Colonial Salt Box
7b. Briefly describe the present physical appearance of the site or
structure and describe any major alterations from its original
condition:
A classic building located in the Saratoga Village, this restored two -
story New England colonial was originally basically square in shape.
During the restoration in 1958 a traditional one -story addition in the
same style was added to the rear. The front elevation is symmetrical
with a plain panel front door, transom centered between two double hung
sash, and three double hung sash on the second floor. All sash are of
the same size and have small paned windows. The siding is horizontal
lapped. The roof is covered with wood shingles and follows the
traditional hipped shape to an area that might represent a "Widow's
Walk ". The yard features a brick walk to the simple wooden front steps
and porch.
8. Construction date:
Estimated: 1875 -76
Factual:
9. Architect: Unknown
10. Builder: Unknown
11. Approx. prop. size
Frontage: 174.25'
Depth: 318.98'
approx. acreage:
12. Date(s) of enclosed
photograph(s): 1988
li
13. Condition: Excellent: X Good: Fair: Deteriorated:
No longer in existence:
14. Alterations: Restored in 1958
15. Surroundings: (Check more than one if necessary)
Open land: Scattered buildings: Densely built -up: X
Residential: X Industrial: Commercial: X Other:
16. Threats to site: None known: X Private development: Zoning:
Vandalism: Public Works project: Other:
17. Is the structure: On its original site? X Moved? Unknown?
18. Related features: Stable at the rear of the residence now used as
garage /storage.
SIGNIFICANCE
19. Briefly state historical and /or architectural importance (include
dates, events, and persons associated with the site).
This residence has stood in Saratoga at this site since 1875 -76. It was
owned by a local wagonmaker and blacksmith, John Chisholm, when occupied
by Mr. Edwin King from 1876 to 1883. Mr. King was a wealthy co- founder of
the Saratoga Paper Mill who departed after the mill burned in 1883. John
Chisholm then reclaimed the house and added a saloon. It was during this
period (1883 -1893) that the house got its "unsavory" reputation with Mr.
Nils "Pegleg" Anderson as barkeep. In 1893, the house returned to
respectability when it became a stage -stop called the Oriental Hotel, under
the management of Mr. M. E. Pettis. After many years of hotel use it
became a residence once again. By 1958, the house was very neglected and
was a challenge to Barbara Caldwell (Mrs. Walter) to restore. She restored
the original building and added rooms to the rear following the classic
simplicity of the building.
20. Main theme of the historic resource:
(If more than one is checked, number
in order of importance.)
Architecture: 1 Arts /Leisure:
Economic /Industrial:
Exploration /Settlement: 2
Government: Military:
Religion: Social /Ed.:
21. Sources (List books, documents,
surveys, personal interviews and
their dates).
Butler, Valley of Santa Clara, 1975;
Santa Clara County Heritage Resource
Inventory, 1975 & 1979; F. Cunningham,'
Saratoga's First Hundred Years, 1967.
22. Date form prepared: 4/88
By (name): SHPC
Organization: City of Saratoga
Address: 13777 Fruitvale Ave.
City: Saratoga Zip: 95070
Phone: 867 -3438
Locational sketch map (draw and label site and
surrounding streets, roads, and prominent landmarks):
NORTH
E. T. King House (Oriental Hotel) and
Pettis Livery Stable
14605 Big Basin, Way, Saratoga
There are a half dozen fascinating tales
connected with this jewel of a house,
and, even though many of them can't
be proved, the house's character and
charm alone would qualify it for any-
one's list of outstanding historical
houses. Most of the credit must go }�}
to decorator Barbara Caldwell, who
bought the house in 1958 when it was i
the neighborhood wreck. A look at "be-
fore" pictures strikes one with disbelief
that this once ugly duckling is the styl-
ish house of today.
Mrs. Caldwell recognized the basi-
cally good lines of the old two -story
redwood frame house. She removed the.
dilapidated front porch, replaced the
turn -of- the - century windows with the
original six-pane ones (which had been
stored in the livery stable at the rear of
the house), gave the place a coat of fresh
paint and ended up with a fine modified;
Georgian farmhouse. In fact, as Mrs.
Caldwell has pointed out, it is related in
general form to the earlier Wythe house
in Williamsburg, Virginia.
The age of the house has long been
the subject of conjecture. A former
owner claimed to have seen the original'
deed "on goatskin" dated in the 1850's.
The foundation timbers, reportedly of
handhewn redwood, and the compact,
low- ceilinged floor plan with one large
central fireplace suggests an extremely
early date. However, reliable residents
of Saratoga in years past recalled its
P. �0 0
construction around 1876. The earliest
occupant has been mentioned as either
wagonmaker- blacksmith John Chis-
holm, or Saratoga's most successful
industrialist, Erwin T. King.
King was a New Yorker who had
made a fortune in mining in the Nevada
territory in the early 1860's and was
proprietor of the Miners Foundry in
San Francisco when he moved to Sara-
toga to open the Saratoga Paper Mills in
1868. He purchased 10 acres of land
along Lumber Street (Big Basin Way)
and invested $50,000 in the paper mill.
At first he lived in Senator Charles
Maclay's house at Bank Mills, half a
mile west of Saratoga. When in 1874
King's company merged with Lick Mills
near Agnew he moved his family there,
while his brother William managed the
Saratoga mill. Deeds to the property
indicate King never actually owned the
parcel of land where Mrs. Caldwell's
house now stands. The paper mill was
across Big Basin Way and around the
rise that is still known as Paper Mill
Hill. He may have rented the house
from John Chisholm, who owned this
lot and another adjoining it, from 1877
to 1889. Chisholm had purchased the
land from a fellow smithy, D. C. Abbott.
If the house predates 1876 a clue to
its origin may lie in a quitclaim deed
granted to Abbott in 1873 from Levi
Millard, McCartysville's first post-
master and 1871 proprietor of the first
Saratoga stage line which ran out Big
Basin Way and over the summit to San-
ta Cruz. Millard had purchased several
McCartysville lots, including this one,
in 1869.
-iq LD.
Perhaps Millard built the house as a
stage stop hotel along the scenic but
dangerous Big Trees Route on Big Basin!
Way (then called the Saratoga- Pesca- l
dero Turnpike). When Mrs. Caldwell
purchased the house it was still divided j
into ten small hotel -like chambers, j
gaslights.lit the unheated rooms, and
the plumbing facilities were all out-
doors. The well worn, steep wooden
stairway to the second floor suggests
heavy use over many years' service as a
hotel (and, according to local gossip, a .
short period as a bawdy house —but i
we're ahead of our story).
The Saratoga Paper Mill continued to
be the town's major industry through- i
out the 1870's and the King brothers
two of its most substantial citizens. By"
1880 Erwin King and his family had re-;!.
turned to Saratoga and were apparently
living in the house in question. Pro-
duction at the mill had begun to slow
down and there were many complaints
about the responsibility for the mill's I
pollution of Saratoga Creek.
Then one quiet Sunday evening in
mid -April 1883, the paper mill sudden-
ly caught fire. Within two hours the
i
entire plant was totally destroyed —its
300 -ton stacks of straw a pile of ashes. i
Newspapers reported the fire was "be-
lieved to have been the work of an in-
cendiary," but no charges were brought.
The Kings were understandably dis-
traught; 15 years of work developing ,
the mill were completely wiped out by
the fire, and the Kings' hopes and for-
tunes as well. E. T. King's health began
to fail. He took a room at the Commer-
cial Hotel in San Francisco and one af-
temoon drove out to Harbor View
on the Bay apparently to take a thera-
Decorator Barbara Caldwell has restored the E. T. King house at 14605 Big Basin Way.
peutic saltwater bath. Twenty feet off
shore he fell forward in the sea, the vic-
tim of a heart attack. Pulled out almost
immediately, he died within minutes.
Back in Saratoga, people thought he
died of a broken heart.
Erwin King's family moved from
Saratoga shortly thereafter but his
brother William, stunned with grief,
remained, a sympathetic figure going
daily to an improvised office —with no
business to transact.
John Chisholm took over the E. T.
Kirrg house again, and added a saloon to
his enterprises. It was apparently dur-
ing this period that the house became a
boarding house of questionable rep-
utation. Along with other rakish ac=
tivities, a lottery was run by "Pegleg"
Anderson, the barkeep'who worked for
Chisholm. The plate appears to have
returned to respectability as the Orien-
tal House, a stage stop hotel from 1893
to 1903. M. E. Pettis was the proprietor,
while W. W. Pettis ran the Santa Clara_
Stage Line, using the handsome old
barn in the rear for maintaining his
stage stock.
A spotty career as a boarding house,
summer home, and residence followed,
while the structure fell into disrepair,
until it was restored by Mrs. Caldwell
in 1958. =
L& _r
At IY 6
F, r
rly
Cld."�
CL--�
Cl-
L& _r
At IY 6
. c,v "-� /V c�- :.��,. i�s� C;...) � °�_ lo� �•-✓S �t ---�. �-- o- � -..,,. r�l Q� -
- - 7
- --.. ��. �-c� -h � -. _ � 1 _._ . _ �.._. �i. _
-- -- � - �✓ •. - � � � -- �. -eta' - -- — - --- ------ - - - -- -- - - - -
G �•.- �e,`\; -� So�..c, c4.e� `iw� o.,,... eS {�2-
/ H D V �s Jy IV� So,fG�
I
�` 3.w.' }fit `o #'old New England" still lives on, ut
ak �_ �� f tp 'set''back from tlie street °and framed with giant �r� f
•.,
.one of the ,oldest ;,houses still .standing
Caldwell said she. is,not
it-Wa.. s 6:u'�ilt' but that she e. nd,,old
IN
1:10 4F%v ep
newspa pers in the attic dated in the .1850 's
%
)Mo�wn an
and Kerry blue'1efrier; 'Barbara' has d loved S
h
j as `.q:,�'Placksmith shop a, small child and used .visit
-
since,-
she was
he Gilbert ays'--.-, -h'e�'�&cle who at that time owned't
7
....... on Big
F,
Nir . 2;hom 'Basin. She told us `j
-,May,,
r
-remember wooden. street
V
Hotel at -the
lamps and even the old Italian `-
i
cornef of F.6urth.'Street 'which had an arcade
'-pV66-the
sidewalk."
7
acquii6d the." property �,in - 1957 drid;, -
bein extremely knowledg6able on- the: su "Ject '
01 N k England farm' houses; ..,besides pos e
C ss�-
., �,jl
lisiderabl6 artistic talent
a and flair- sit
An d
a b u
q o restore it
o
M
aratoka's Lumbering Days
..........
house was built
by Erwin T King w h
rn.
d was one 4'of
came:
Fo tithe East: ,an
Paper:.'Md`..,Jt 'W'd"s
-found S of A
the .SaratOg
"l
spir by a Vermont farmhouse,. ibi tune
, e
-1 r he c6mmunity.jn".t�
aratiD a was a - riving
th
'T n
mown as I
uibei
act g Basin was then kj�b
g
` Q "ii,
Street,
e 14,
Th lumber for the -house. i
Ba' r ara n
or.
VR. -ills right. up the,
for te, us'. carne'-. from. om. the, rh
of the f4 redwood,
street'.� f os 6
-"almost
on-existent in the
3 He previous" homd'; incidentally, had been
-C. arty's .barn `.*Wch�-sh 6 purchase._*
'h
n 1934 had moved e.site of what is` .kzt 0 I's iAqdor...St6r6 on Big Basin Way to
4,D v 0 oi&. Her two children, 'N.
wk� w , p
krki�
g3
're , ear 'arid-Petei:Caldwell were reared:
here .,,�.,
N
M;
.........
A3 1
Post Victorian
eWher6 '.the -way --so mjeon had ong 1
to' add VIC orian flourish as e:L,,*;,.
-J,porch,4pd gingerbre, ot. eter,.q.,
h'.
however. S e stripped it to e
w originals lapboard colonial sli restore
ss dNidedrwindows -which, merc
away th barh�'.all`t.hese
FXt -ly, had I stbred e..,
been
with assistance from her -architect
hassis
Cliffor'd.Conly'.,Jr:,;:- the :knocke
R.� ,.;,,jwalls 6ft added 'a
�Iuj
tied, in: We 1,bdep,�A
ars,,
dntervenmg,ye
b6arqiri house' ce.known.as' rien
Hotel " std there-are even stories about, at
,'having en a "hduse of ill repute j.',�_. . . ... ....
The ern, which is painte d red with white ��
'
., .trim around the %,windows ',,and' doors, was. 5�
4",
'here the
4,'a blacksmith shop gg,-j-
origina
the mil workers were shod and also served
g
.7".;Oas Pettffl livery 'stable '-
-'Christmhs .'.--,-there :Are. ,�
Dec d out 16r`
i': (Concluded od'baik Page, this SOCHOW
J,
%
A
A :1
4,
1;j
p!
Y
TW
[r' s
).r. a
Lomei
��, :t"
7
x
FROM I r1M X
N
V:a.
_t5 R
4
i'g
A
V '11 r-W"
1P 1: 1 % i f iq
t..% "AM
I Weii
dv` A ard H .r
[on)
1 iContinuedfrom Page 1, this $act
ar w ic '�she said cia_meft6m�&,s"t,
Sara ga a avi h
n
Y as6l
wreaths`,,�_�j Lisle place- _(66w"thdFederated Ch
-greens with red appl�q��"., . 11 , . .:41
ai the De
an
ve', more friends d'
•bows:acrosis."1he- front of
'parking fullyt':�
the house, givm* g,,it-.,*a' n-J."_ 'lot).- The master is taste
-b- COuntry..-,Cousins!��'.-'an-'�ntiqiiez
-_`-.donem in powder' lue:2nd:,-_,.whi e with
look
ure post card j J''�.
�hold,th6ii-�-,Chrisiri�as�'.partyi..:her
1-,_,`�4�,A.Posten and t-th d t
xt
n,� 476cor 'Barbara-"has I'staye
&.�,With e r-oo" --is"
--gues '�in a blde;:;�,,.
A
French print. ',The��d Jhis�w�
ari-
fruit, in farmhouse.,:itradi white,.-" of
---;9r! - w�. �1: ;�'J*f� gr t
c. - 9SPY.' eeitsi'�iand eew:andi Ahi
esigfi��of.
r
per- as -'re M pe . on the bedspreads; "t%4
'�with d iating ;'-On--am pine :table t a inghotis6
tioty-:- 6d4pre omir
-slipcover fternoon,
an� the�' W
the-, entrahcj6, &M th rt
in .is a tree..666�ate4��
exii ains
"o A. chair:.-' �`Before�ithe,'ia a
re app e& _7"'t �f:� . • �.,�'�TheAinipg,room:wa 'liveliest, -,"Nancy Bear droppE
d
S_�robably.the,
aughter,
Th ack'iron' oom`of all With'red--'apple q 9�a great `�- excitm
There. are I or s ,kr
'Z. nd�',greens on the ent for :-JonathE
"nd-.'in the-
weathervane
omm e.-w te-wa s-and.-the stairs le'adink-t'6'the..,,.-.'--,.-,5,;%�,,I,manteI over the fireplacen'�A window --'-s'4;�-7�`houndAnd Rosie, the lively-Ker
h
d Germahili�musidii,- ox:-_paint'ed,red'- Even 3"Thomasina, ,the grey' P0
was �-.an o
-second,flbitr, - which ai'e, p4inted.blaclE%re so
e years that as."our'h '��bevolvin "white fir. eie'-i"rimmed Vith� red'��:_:._' had completely"igno
n.r
ostess put it;
red us as .'s
S
Th ey.j. obk like at's w a Y-b a 6 k horse A� b ir d
d
win ow'showed signs of life 3
e-'green- tree which fills 6
On-thm
''Me
Aiving.room. are Swedish, straw ornaments .Fetes ,,
The' round.., pine table .-was' set -i or.�,.A
a. bed of g r e-en:s - acro s-s the mant6l,!of
z"I ;""'. the °firepla'ce"!; were ,,"a.' fire' -blazed,-'-'were -',,"-�---,4-", luncheon.: she "Vas giving ..the .-�next- - da y -f or.�.
arf-'-'pottery-, fruit - (actuallylpig I]rik -group who call--_them�elve-s'Ahe_
Mqxic 9 Y�.' bl i J.- - Old timer's"
�)2 s)
-Clikistmas tree d
aiiis
here were
an� somieItalian stone fruit. '--:T 11sh 7Sante
�A 1�._
she plans
to
Th6'
`5
'oup will W s 6-, •
-SO ! mally"Mill,
.-an
rm-
by,'' creating
A,
to r)er
;ian cat ', vtho, ;712
'slept by the ` 'V!`5
Qual.itt1jetoglersfo) 67 2'ears in Saiij
cutron.. ..,
alt-and: p6pper',� shakers ',;-and, 'atop -the I z
The e Caldwell, Touch
susan, red candles in a basket of red apples.'
In
Each room has its own special charm. !r -, _di�s I.
Arriong,-those invited were Mmes. Jose t
thgwhite .-And.- - black sitting. room
-,where a
Caldwell, Carolyn Winston, Edward Vinslow,.
a' television' is `hidden ---in--. -Aw old VF�k'
a oi4�pai�ted-
idr )lack: In the garden ,"room, -"2
off the - kitchen .-Avai: still another touch; of -old-t-
.
--SENIO R GO S. QN THE
7
ule :: Pa rte ,
�I
_ _ C ,eer=
`C ,h il* s t m`. "a s 'party will chorus presents Christmas
005 C
Presents...
a children's book bonanza! NEWI..
Books; .records and other exciting,
.4 education items from SESAME-
STREET. Prepared in collaboration
with the creators of the award-Win-
ning "Sesame StreLW' TV program,
and Oblished 4 Random HoUSIL
SESAME -,STREET'.
Four-color paper puppets of.three favorite Sesame Sfreet char.'
asters —Bert, Ernie, and Cookie Monster—thot rinn into 1-
zff:.'s 6 si on`,
: 'r
ers, 'Club meets * MondaY,afl,
noon," in - SLr -James iaii.
:Commuziity.,Genter�.�',-Mem-"-"'
gibers'.: are to-t bring - aitsacks`=
j4pch ee..will be, served
, 'W
LOS: Sunday,'Dec.'U9_, 14
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31019ASINWAY.SARATOGA
867-1200 -14.
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1"BIG GIFT
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if his time is precious 'give him A ccutron the
watch that has no balance wheel,. no. -mainspring,
no hairspringAnstead there's a tiny, ,'t ctron!F
powered tuning fork.
liCCUTROM DATE AND DAY ACCUTRON DATE AND DAY "S"—
ISK ".14 611.1 f;'I •1.1 ------ — . . . --
rf
02 KV.
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zff:.'s 6 si on`,
: 'r
ers, 'Club meets * MondaY,afl,
noon," in - SLr -James iaii.
:Commuziity.,Genter�.�',-Mem-"-"'
gibers'.: are to-t bring - aitsacks`=
j4pch ee..will be, served
, 'W
LOS: Sunday,'Dec.'U9_, 14
.� -It
oil
q
villa":
9
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31019ASINWAY.SARATOGA
867-1200 -14.
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f
A
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1"BIG GIFT
45 .,
i n 1.
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.M iu
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;0
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a
-4
7
if his time is precious 'give him A ccutron the
watch that has no balance wheel,. no. -mainspring,
no hairspringAnstead there's a tiny, ,'t ctron!F
powered tuning fork.
liCCUTROM DATE AND DAY ACCUTRON DATE AND DAY "S"—
ISK ".14 611.1 f;'I •1.1 ------ — . . . --
rf
Possible City of Saratoga Heritage Resource: 14605 Big Basin Way
Commonly known as the Erwin T. King house and the Pettis Livery
Stable
This two -story Saltbox style house was built in 1875 -76 by Mr.
John Chisholm. The corresponding period of Saratoga history we have
designated as the Milling or Industrial Period (1850- 1880). The house
has hand -hewn redwood timbers, a low ceiling and a large central fire-
place. It was rented to Mr. Erwin T. King, a co -owner of the Saratoga
Paper Mill, until the Mill was destroyed by fire in April of 1883.
Mr. King then moved to San Francisco and we are left with a ten year
gap in the house's history. It is on record as being used as a hotel
from 1893 until 1903. It was called the Oriental House Hotel, and one
wonders how a saltbox - styled house could be made to look even remotely
oriental.
We now come to the largest gap in the available knowlege about
this house. I have a friend in the commercial real estate business who
has offered to have a title company (that owes him a favor) try to track
down the names of the owners of the house from 1903 until 1958. We
do know for certain that Mrs. W.R. (Barbara) Caldwell, an interior
decorator, purchased and restored the house in1958. It was apparently
in a pretty bad state of disrepair at the time. She also restored the
Pettis Livery Stable that stands behind the house at this time.
As this house was onjR the market for a long period of time last
year (asking prices$600,000.), I assumed that it had been sold when
the signs were removed. I took the Assessors Parcel Number kka to the
County of Santa Clara Records Department and went through the micro-
fiche records of deeds etc. I discovered that Mrs. Barbara Caldwell
still owned the house as a co- trustee with her daughter, Nancy Caldwell
Bear. Needing to contact Mrs. Caldwell directly, I went to the door and
was greeted by a young man who said he was renting the place. He told
me that Mrs. Caldwell was in a nursing home and he would see to it th at
she was given my name and phone number and what it was I was interestZd
in. Well, that was it. So far no contact has been made with Mrs.
Caldwell who, I'm sure knows all the secrets of the history of this
beautiful old place, but who is being protected by her family because
of her fragi 1 health. If we can make contact, I am very hopeful of then
outcome. This is very definitely a precious historical resource in the
Saratoga Village area. It should meet with all of the criteria for the
National Register of Historic Places if it has not already done so.
Also, I was given to understand by the rented that the family would
be putting the house back on the market in the near future. As far as
I can determine, a City of Saratoga Historical Resource designation
would only make this property more valuable. Also, it should be
protected by any means at our disposal and km the next owner might not
be so historically responsible Kxx as Mrs. Barbara Caldwell.
R. V. Garrod's Saratoga Stories
PAPER MILL WAS FORMERLY OPERATED
ZW—BIG BASIN WAY IN SARATOGA
By R. V. Garrod
kumA On the s o u t h w e s t corner of Sixth Street and Big
Basin Way there was a flat of s ix acres of land. In
the 1870's it was used as the receiving, storage, and
processing yard for the wheat straw deliveries need-
ed to make paper.
Jim Blackwell used to deliver straw to the Saratoga
Paper Mill in 1881 and 1882. B e f o r e his death, he
told me his story.
He was b o r n in San Francisco in 1864. His right
name was McGovern. A year after his family moved
to San Mateo County his father died of typhoid fever.
H is mother worked on a farm as housekeeper, met
a Mr. Blackwell. They were married, and Jim took
h is stepfather's name. The stepfather both rented
and owned land, at one t i m e owning a farm at the
junction of Highway 9 and El Camino Real.
Jim, after a. grammar s c h o o l education, worked .
on ranches. ' One of his summer jobs, was h a u 1 i. n g
straw to t he Saratoga Paper Mill. This mill in the
1870's and up to 1883, when it was burned, was owned,
and operated by the King brothers, who at that time
were both middle -aged. The King-brothers had a
cousin, John Corpstein. John came from the Sara-
toga pioneer family of t h at name. The Corpsteins
took up 160 ac re s of government land, situated on
both sides of the Pierce Road, through which the Cal -
abazas. Creek runs. John Corpstein traveled to the
wheat - growing farmers andbought their wheat straw
for $1 per ton. Only.t he longest wheat straw of the
very b e s t quality w a s purchased. This straw was
then hauled, for another d o I I-a r a ton, to the Sara-
toga Straw Mill.•o%It was weighed, dumped, then, with
Jackson forks, put in big water tanks and fermented.
After being further p r o c e s s e d, it w a s made into
heavy brown paper, mainly u s e d in meat wrapping,
and consequently known as butcher .paper.
The entrance to this p a e r mill flat waste_ on Sixth
S11 b�teenta1112x 12 posts. There the - weighing
scales were placed. All loads were weighed. The
flat was sometimes filled to capacity with straw and
tanks.
The mill itself was in the southwest corner, some
of it being built on the flat and some of the buildings
below the bank, 7
There the road going up into the mountains between
the m I I I and the c r e e k macle a t u 71-1. o e right.
There was quite a grade in the road from where the
mill was and where the straw was piled. This was
called Paper Mill Hill.
I A specimen of the banyan tree in India has a main trunk 13
feet in diameter, 230 trunks as large as oak trees, and more than
3,000 smaller ones. It is said that 7,000 'people once stood be-
neath it!
A fruitful
.. holiday_
season
Kathy Fitzsimmons decorates her mother's home at 14605 Bi
Way in the Early American style suggested by Gary Espin
expert on the Colonial period. According to Ann Fitzsimmons
of the house, Americans more than two centuries ago star
tradition of decorating for the holidays by using fresh fri
pineapple symbolizes hospitality, while the apples and orani
resent bounty. The house is an historical landmark, built so
between 1850 and 1880, and once owned by Erwin T. King, a
of the Saratoga Paper Mill.
14 N [I&/
g r a p h i c design - S ha r o n L a n s n e s s
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which is the gift of the
prescnt. and the tarnish & p n � L �S
of time. Emerson
SARATOGA HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION
g r a p h i c design - S ha r o n L a n s n e s s
Welcome...
KS
Many T to our
We want to take this opportunity,to thank
you for your support and participation in
today's Saratoga Heritage Home Tour. We hope
Fernwood Florist
Donors.
that you will enjoy yourselves and come away
18840 Cox Avenue,
with a new, or renewed, enthusiasm for
Saratoga
historic preservation in Saratoga.
379-1950 Acorn Florist & Accents
For years, Saratoga's fine heritage homes
The Saratoga Florist 21275 Stevens Creek Blvd.
have hosted various fund-raising activities
14572 Big Basin Way Cupertino
by outside organizations. Today, in a joint
255-0360
venture with the California History Center
Saratoga
Foundation at De Anza College, you will be
867-4400
the guests of the City of Saratoga for the
express purpose of promoting historic pres-
La Maison du Croissant The Plumed Horse
ervation projects both here and in the Santa
303 N. Santa Cruz, 14555 Big Basin Way,
Clara Valley at large.
Los Gatos Saratoga
As you read about the homes you visit, try
395-4441 867-4711
to imagine what the town was like when they
Saratoga Plaza Bakery Gene's Quito Market
were built and the gracious lifestyle they
14440 Big Basin Way, International Deli
represent. We invite you to go back in time
Saratoga 18850 Cox Ave.,
with us to a simpler, more agricultural,era,
867-9606 Saratoga
when fruit trees grew where families are now
Marjolaine French Pastries 374-5198
being raised.
At the Spanish Colonial home on Glen Una
14441 Big Basin way, Paul Masson Vineyards,
Drive, where you will be served refreshments,
Saratoga 13lbO Saratoga Ave.,-
we would welcome your comments and suggestions
867-2226 Saratoga
on how we can all work together to preserve
257-7800
Village Rendezvous
our architectural heritage. This is a task
14420 Big Basin Way,
that needs the help and support of the entire
Saratoga
community, not just the efforts of a few.
867-2932
There will also be literature available on
the California History Center and its many
educational tours and programs dealing with
NN'c -tvant to cxtend a special vvor(]
state and regional history.
We want to thank the owners of our four
t 11 ii k s t INI A I a 111 P i 1. I'
heritage homes, as well as the members of the
O1 a o r. nc o
Saratoga Historical Foundation at the Museum,
for their generous co-operation. This entire
enterprise has been a volunteer effort for the
X
FO CARSKADON,
sake of a town we all love - a town whose
heritage we feel is worth saving. without
the help of these homeowners, today's Tour
could not have taken place.
for t1lC gciicrous
Sharon Landsness Seonaid McArthur
dollat ioll 111, It ClI abled Its to print,
'
Chair - Saratoga Director - California
Heritage Preservation history Center &
t11C !nvi tat iolls.
Commission Saratoga Heritage
Commissioner
Rcsidential IS'ervices Division
Jean Kvamme
Saratoga Heritage
12,0219 Saratoga- Still llyva le R(l .
Preservation Commissioner
Sara 1 o g it. 408) 9 96" 1 10 0
California History Center Foundation
Board of Trustees
Morton I. Levine
Carole Pavlina
Anthony Lopina
Austen Warburton
Seonaid McArthur
David Bennion
Stephen White
Yvonne Jacobson
Wardell Winslow
Will Lester
Robert Smithwick
Madeleine Malovos
Michael Sullivan
Roy Roberts
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
For more information on the
California History Center,
call: (408) 996 -4712
Saratoga Heritage Preservation
Commissioners
Sharon Landsness - Chair Roy Cameron
Seonaid McArthur Jean Kvamme
Warren Heid, (one member pending
Barbara Voester appointment)
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
For more information on the Saratoga
Heritage Preservation Commission,
call: (408) 867 -3438 - City of Saratoga.
Mr. Michael Flores, in the Department
of Planning and Community Development,
will be able to assist you.
A note before you start...
Last - minute tickets will be on sale at
the Saratoga Historical Museum.
We hope that those of you who are able
will take advantage of the spacing of the
four sites around Saratoga Village and WALK!
This old- fashioned method of transportation
will not only give you a better feeling for
the historic core area of Saratoga and lots
of exercise, but it will greatly relieve
traffic congestion and take the burden off
our limited parking spaces!
f° CO
02 r,o
3 0
1• a
05
Saratoga-Los Gatos Rd. S
a,.
4 • 'eo9
a dDe.
April 14, 1985
loam -4 pm
1. Saratoga Historical
Foundation Park &
Museum
20450 Saratoga -
Los Gatos Rd.
2. 14605 Big Basin Way
3. 20601 Brookwood Lane
4. 14280 Saratoga Avenue
5. 19490 Glen Una Drive
We ask that you please refrain from using
the bathroom facilities in these homes. The
town of Saratoga is blessed with several gas
stations and we request that you utilize them
for your needs.
Please visit the homes on the Tour in
any order you wish.
00
Fr
L
Un
-------
Saratoga Historical Foundation •
14605 B i g Basin Way
Museum and Park -
E R W I N T. K I N G H O U S E
20450 Saratoga - Sunnyvale Rd.
The Saratoga Historical Museum, a store-
A stage-stop hostel, an elegant residence,
front structure built in about 1904 or 1905
a respectable hotel for local school teachers
served as a drugstore, grocery, creamery an�
and even a brief existence as a house of ill
restaurant, a variety store and for twenty--
repute - this "grand dame" of the Saratoga
five years as a dress shop called "Swanee*s".
village has had a life at least as varied and
The property was sold in 1975 and the build-
as colorful as the town itself. Although known
ing donated to the Saratoga Historical
to many as the "Erwin T. King House", we know
Foundation which had it moved from its orig-
from the Santa Clara County records that this
inal Big Basin Way location to its present
wealthy co-founder of the Saratoga Paper Mill
I site in the Saratoga Historical Park. This
never actually owned the property. It was, in
Park was-established by the City in 1976 as
fact, owned by local wagorimaker and blacksmith,
I a Bi-Centennial project.
Mr. John Chisholm, at the time of Mr. King's
residence there from 1876 until 1893, when
the paper mill burned to the ground.
The actual date of construction is somewhat
vague, but educated conjecture places it rather
early in the life of the town - about 1850 or
a bit later - because of the hand-hewn redwood
foundation timbers and the low-ceilinged floor
plan. Other references use the date of Mr.
Timeless designs, old or new, depend
King's tenancy there as the date of construe-
i upon constants; proportion, excellent
tion.
I workmanship, beautiful materials.
After Mr. King's departure, John Chisholm
j That's why they endure and give us
apparently reclaimed the house and added
1 endless pleasure.
saloon keeping to his other endeavors. It was
California Edition,
at this period (1883-1893) that the house got
American Home Magazine, Sept.,1966
its unsavory reputation as a brothel and gam-
bling den, with Mr. "Pegleg" Anderson, barkeep,
running a lottery.
. L
In 1893 the house returned to respectability
once again, this time as a stage -stop called
the Oriental Hotel, under the management of
Mr. M.E.Pettis. His relative, Mr. W.W.Pettis,
ran the Santa Clara Stage Line and used the
wonderful old barn at the rear of the property
to shelter his stock. Today this barn is
referred to as the Pettis Livery Stable.
In 1958, the house, neglected and in
"eyesore" condition, was purchased and restored
by Mrs. Barbara Caldwell. The old house, even
after the removal of the dilapidated front
porch, still retained the lines of classic
simplicity and the charm of age. However it
took the persistence, hard work and clever
designer's eye of Mrs. Caldwell to bring this
J:-
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� ��r��l r•, :t - °�.
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grand old home back to its present form as
—
a prized Saratoga landmark. This was accom-
plished at a time when prevailing attitudes
made restoration difficult at best, encourag-
• 2 0 6 0 1 Brookwood Lane
ing developers to raze buildings rather than
The Kahle House was built in 1916 by a
Mr. Willard, then head of the elegant City
of Paris department store in San Francisco.
The home was part of the fashionable trend
of such wealthy city dwellers as Fremont
Older, Senator James Phelan and the Blaneys
to move out of the city to the clean air of
preserve them.
The "Caldwell House ", or the "Erwin T.King
House ", was sold to its present owners in 1984.
We are delighted to report that this new owner
is following in Mrs. Caldwell's conscientious
footsteps as steward of an important part of
Saratoga's heritage.
the "country" whenever possible.
The structure and the interior of the
house are entirely original, hence preserving
the character of the redwood construction,
_
interior wood craftsmanship, intimate spaces
and simple window detailing typical of the
We two kept house, the Past and I,
style known as "California Craftsman ". Con-
The Past and I;
temporary with Julia Morgan designed structures
I tended while it hovered nigh,
and other redwood and shingle bungalows adjacent
11
Leaving me never alone.
to the village, this house exemplifies the
Thomas Hardy
trend to utilize native building materials
!
and natural landscape settings to create a
warmth and character promoted as the "Calif-
ornia spirit ".
The Willards remained in the home until
Yes, yes; I am old. In me appears
The history of a hundred years.
London Observer, 1926
approximately 1950 when Dr. McKuen purchased
it for a summer house. In 1959 it was pur-
chased by the Kahle family. The interior decor
is largely influenced by the Kahles' exten-
1 sive travels with the State Department. Here
you will see treasures they have collected
from many different parts of the world.
A new house has no sense of the has -
beens.
Thomas Hardy
III jj�
CGyf
CU C
[Lill I
__._� �- .s,.c �_c ��� 1?'�:Jl;` -�
� �_e���` ~.�'�7 -f PPY�'����' I �t� • Y !J _
• 142 8 0 Saratoga Avenue•
LUTHER CUNNINGHAM'S STONE HOUSE
I
1 9490 Glen Una Drive •
The original part of this beautiful Spanish
The multifaceted Mr. Luther Cunningham was
a Saratoga rancher, inventor of farm machinery,
Colonial home was in 1924 -25 for the
and founder of the firm of Cunningham and
.built
Knorp family. Mr. Knorp kept his Fairchild
Barngrover, a predecessor of F.M.C.
Developing his father's farm acreage into
airplane parked across Saratoga -Los Gatos Rd.
residential lots, called "Cunningham Acres ",
(the landing strip was on Pepper Lane). The
Luther moved his family into the old 1880
home was later sold to Mr. Fred Carter.
farmhouse that still stands today next door
The Carters added the chauffeur's quarters
to the south of the Stone House.
over the garage after they moved in in 1938.
The original part of the Stone House was
As president of the National Lead Co., Mr.
built later in the 1920's as a tool and work
Carter was apparently quite wealthy, for the
area for Luther's many mechanical inventions.
house was staffed not only by a maid and a
It turned out to be so costly, however, that
chauffeur but also three full -time gardeners.
he rented it out as a home instead. Incorporated
Subsequent owners had their own ideas about
into the walls are rocks he collected in his
how the house should look. when the McKinnon
extensive travels] rocks from 15 countries
family bought it in 1967 it was very rundown,
(including Japan), 43 states in the U.S, and
with turquoise and lavender walls, dark car-
some from virtually every county in California.
pet on the handmade tile floors and heavy
Here you will find cobblestones from the old
drapery on the fine large windows. The McKin-
San Francisco streets, fragments from the
nons remodeled the kitchen and began the re-
Stanford University Chapel which had been
storation of the grounds. They sold the home
destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, Indian
to its present owners in 1972.
mortars and pestles and abalone shells. Two
J
The present owners have continued the sym-
r doors of solid black walnut come
iromfrom
pathetic restoration efforts of the McKinnons.
on
one of Santa Clara's oldest homes which
They have restored the gardens to former glory,
.
had belonged to the Spanish- Mexican pioneer
adding a tennis court, and the house has been
family, the Arguellos.
extended with a cabana, a billiard room and
The Luther Cunningham Stone House as you
three garages. The original garage is now a
see it today has been added to over the years,
library, a sub - basement is a small wine cel-
but here, again, we see a fine example of new
lar. Ironwork fixtures and woodwork have been
additions consistent with the original design.
restored. All changes and additions have been
As for style, it has been called everything
rendered in character with the original Span -
from a Gingerbread House to a Tudor (because
ish Colonial design of the house and present
of the half- timbering and the roof). One
a harmonious blend of old and new.
thing that is known for certain is that
(Interior design by Ken Poisson
Luther's Stone House is very definitely Unique!
New woodwork craftsmanship by Steve Van Diest)
(New masonry and brickwork by Michael Ensley)
I
E. T. King House (Oriental Hotel) and
Pettis Livery Stable
14605 Big Basin Way, Saratoga
There are a half dozen fascinating tales
connected with this jewel of a house,
and, even though many of them can't
be proved, the house's character and
charm alone would qualify it for any-
one's list of outstanding historical
houses. Most of the credit must go
to decorator Barbara Caldwell, who
bought the house in 1958 when it was
the neighborhood wreck. A look at "be-
fore" pictures strikes one with disbelief
that this once ugly duckling is the styl-
ish house of today.
Mrs. Caldwell recognized the basi-
cally good lines of the old two -story
redwood frame house. She removed the
dilapidated front porch, replaced the
turn -of- the - century windows with the
original six -pane ones (which had been
stored in the livery stable at the rear of
the house), gave the place a coat of fresh
paint and ended up with a fine modified
Georgian farmhouse. In fact, as Mrs.
Caldwell has pointed out, it is related in
general form to the earlier Wythe house
in Williamsburg, Virginia.
The age of the house has long been
the subject of conjecture. A former
owner claimed to have seen the original
deed "on goatskin" dated in the 1850's.
The foundation timbers, reportedly of
handhewn redwood, and the compact,
low - ceilinged floor plan with one large
central fireplace suggests an extremely
early date. However, reliable residents
of Saratoga in years past recalled its
i
construction around 1876. The earliest
occupant has been mentioned as either
wagonmaker- blacksmith John Chis-
holm, or Saratoga's most successful
industrialist, Erwin T. King.
King was a New Yorker who had
made a fortune in mining in the Nevada
territory in the early 1860's and was
proprietor of the Miners Foundry in
j San Francisco when he moved to Sara-
toga to open the Saratoga Paper Mills in
1868. He purchased 10 acres of land
along Lumber Street (Big Basin Way)
and invested $50,000 in the paper mill.
At first he lived in Senator Charles
Maclay's house at Bank Mills, half a
mile west of Saratoga. When in 1874
King's company merged with Lick Mills
near Agnew he moved his family there,
while his brother William managed the
Saratoga mill. Deeds to the property
indicate King never actually owned the
parcel of land where Mrs. Caldwell's
house now stands. The paper mill was
across Big Basin Way and around the
rise that is still known as Paper Mill
Hill. He may have rented the house
from John Chisholm, who owned this
lot and another adjoining it, from 1877
to 1889. Chisholm had purchased the
land from a fellow smithy, D. C. Abbott.
If the house predates 1876 a clue to
its origin may lie in a quitclaim deed
granted to Abbott in 1873 from Levi
Millard, McCartysville's first post-
! master and 1871 proprietor of the first
Saratoga stage line which ran out Big
! Basin Way and over the summit to San-
ta Cruz. Millard had purchased several
McCartysville lots, including this one,
in 1869.
Perhaps Millard built the house as a
stage stop hotel along the scenic but
dangerous Big Trees Route on Big Basin
Way (then called the Saratoga- Pesca-
dero Turnpike). When Mrs. Caldwell
purchased the house it was still divided
into ten small hotel -like chambers,
gaslights lit the unheated rooms, and
the plumbing facilities were all out-
doors. The well worn, steep wooden
stairway to the second floor suggests
heavy use over many years' service as a
hotel (and, according to local gossip, a
short period as a bawdy house —but
we're ahead of our story).
The Saratoga Paper Mill continued to
be the town's major industry through-
out the 1870's and the King brothers
two of its most substantial citizens. By
1880 Erwin King and his family had re-
turned to Saratoga and were apparently
living in the house in question. Pro-
duction at the mill had begun to slow
down and there were many complaints
about the responsibility for the mill's
pollution of Saratoga Creek.
Then one quiet Sunday evening in
mid -April 1883, the paper mill sudden-
ly caught fire. Within two hours the
entire plant was totally destroyed —its
300 -ton stacks of straw.a pile of ashes.
Newspapers reported the fire was "be-
lieved to have been the work of an in-
cendiary," but no charges were brought.
The Kings were understandably dis-
traught; 15 years of work developing
the mill were completely wiped out by
the fire, and the Kings' hopes and for-
tunes as well. E. T. King's health began
to fail. He took a room at the Commer-
cial Hotel in San Francisco and one af-
ternoon drove out to Harbor View
on the Bay apparently to take a thera-
Decorator Barbara Caldwell has restored the E. T. King house at 14605 Big Basin Way.
peutic saltwater bath. Twenty feet off
shore he fell forward in the sea, the vic-
tim of a heart attack. Pulled out almost
immediately, he died within minutes.
Back in Saratoga, people thought he
died of a broken heart.
Erwin King's family moved from
Saratoga shortly thereafter but his
brother William, stunned with grief,
remained, a sympathetic figure going
daily to an improvised office —with no
business to transact.
John Chisholm took over the E. T.
King house again, and added a saloon to
his enterprises. It was apparently dur-
ing this period that the house became a
boarding house of questionable rep-
utation. Along with other rakish ac-
tivities, a lottery was run by "Pegleg"
Anderson, the barkeep who worked for
Chisholm. The place appears to have
returned to respectability as the Orien-
tal House, a stage stop hotel from 1893
to 1903. M. E. Pettis was the proprietor,
while W. W. Pettis ran the Santa Clara
Stage Line, using the handsome old
barn in the rear for maintaining his
stage stock.
A spotty career as a boarding house,
summer home, and residence followed,
while the structure fell into disrepair,
until it was restored by Mrs. Caldwell
in 1958.