HomeMy WebLinkAboutSaratoga Hills Road 21060HISTORIC RESOURCES INVENTORY
IDENTIFICATION
1. Common name:
2. Historic name: (Dover) Bonney- Abernathy House
3. Street or rural address: 21060 Saratoga Hills Road
City: Saratoga Zip: 95070 County: Santa Clara
4. Parcel number: 503 -29 -101
5. Present Owner: Blanche Walton, Trustee Address: 21060 Saratoga
Hills Road
City: Saratoga
Ownership is: Public:
6. Present Use: Residence
Zip: 95070
Private: X
Original Use: Farmhouse
DESCRIPTION
7a. Architectural style: Craftsman
7b. Briefly describe the present physical appearance of the site or
structure and describe any major alterations from its original
condition:
This is a two -story house built of redwood with horizontal board
siding; it is level with grade at the rear and, following the hill; is
6 -8 ft. above grade at the front. The roof is hipped, with parallel
gables on either side of the entrance; the roof has two large, shallow
sloped shed dormers, one facing front and one to the rear, both with
exposed rafter ends. The windows are mainly double hung casement. A
large screened porch at the entrance was an addition, built in the
1930's. A more recent addition is a deck on the north side off the
dining room, forming a carport below. An open porch at the rear of the
house was enclosed to make a sunroom. There are old stone terraces and
rock walls behind the house; these have been expanded and a deck added.
Also on the property is the original carriage house with a hip roof
similar to the residence, and an aviary. There are remnants of an old
carriage road circumventing the property up a hill to a 3 -sided open
shed building that was used in the past for gatherings. The tank house
came down in 1983.
8. Construction date:
Estimated: 1913 -1920
Factual:
9. Architect: Unknown
10. Builder: Unknown
11. Approx. prop. size (ft)
Frontage:
Depth:
approx. acreage: 1.2
12. Date(s) of enclosed
photograph(s)
#83
Page 2
13. Condition: Excellent: Good: X Fair: Deteriorated:
No longer in existence:
14. Alterations: Deck /carport underneath, enclosed porch.
15. Surroundings: (Check more than one if necessary)
Open land: Scattered buildings: Densely built -up:
Residential: X Industrial: Commercial: 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: Carriage house, stone terraces, aviary, big sycamore
trees, basement.
SIGNIFICANCE
19. Briefly state historical and /or architectural importance (include dates,
events, and persons associated with the site).
The first known owners of this property were Ed Gloyd and John Dover who
came to Saratoga from Dayton, Ohio in the 1890's and purchased 40 acres.
They raised prunes, apricots, peaches and grapes and lived on the ranch.
Gloyd then sold his share to Dover; the Craftsman house was built sometime
between 1913 and 1920 and may have been the first house on Saratoga Hills
Road (formerly Shumer Road). John and Bertha Dover lived on the ranch with
their children, then sold the property to Bruce Bonney, a diamond expert
with Shreve Jewelers in San Francisco. They used this house, which had a
wonderful view of the hills and south end of the Bay Area, as a summer
residence. The Bonneys owned the house until 1921 when Frank and Nettie
Abernathy purchased the house and 55 acres. Frank was a prune grower and
manager of Sorosis Orchards. They had two daughters, Frances and Florence.
After Frank died in 1946, 45 acres were sold to a group of naval officers,
including Captain Lewis of Los Gatos and Admiral Fred Crisp. They subdi-
vided the land and sold the house to Fred and Elsie Melani, who in turn
sold it in 1968 to the current owners. The house now sits on a little over
an acre of land.
20. Main theme of the historic resource:
(If more than one is checked, number
in order of importance.)
Architecture: Arts /Leisure:
Economic /Industrial:
Exploration /Settlement: X
Government: Military:
Religion: Social /Ed.:
21. Sources (List books, documents,
surveys, personal interviews and
their dates). Interview with Blanche
Walton, 11/88; Letters of Frances
Abernathy, 2 /89;Saratoga Story,
R.V. Garrod.
22. Date form prepared: 4/89
By (name): B. Voester
Organization: HPC
Address: 13777 Fruitvale Avenue
City: Saratoga Zip: 95070
Phone: 867 -3438
Location Sketch Map
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