Area Museums

There are 2 great local museums in Mendocino: the Kelley House Museum and the Ford House Visitor Center, as well as the Guest House Museum in Fort Bragg. The Temple of Kwan Tai in Mendocino preserves the legacy of the large local Chinese community during the lumber years.

The Kelley House Museum is the repository of the history of Mendocino Village. The museum is located in the historic Kelley House, built in 1861. Among other assets, the Kelley House has over 8000 old photographs of the area dating from the 1860s on. They have been scanning these for some time now, and their Web site has a searchable index of photos. If you are interesting in old logging operations, or coastal life before 1900, this is a rich collection. The museum also offers walking tours of the Mendocino Historic Preservation District.

The Ford House Visitor Center for the Mendocino Headlands State Park is located across the street from Kelley House. The Ford House is packed with information about the area and its history, including a large (10 feet by 10 feet) scale model of the town as it was back in the lumber days. Before 1900, there were buildings on the south side of Main Street, as well as a lumber mill, lumber yards, roads, and a railroad for hauling lumber to the point for shipping. The Ford House is staffed by a great crew of knowledgeable docents, so this is a great place to get your questions about Mendocino answered.

Also located in Mendocino, the Temple of Kwan Ti offers living evidence of Mendocino’s 19th Century Chinese community. Four generations of its founders’ descendants have preserved this original Taoist temple, a site now recognized as California Registered Historic Landmark Number 927. It is located at 45160 Albion Street.

The Guest House Museum is located on Main Street in Fort Bragg. Once a boarding house for lumber people, this beautiful Victorian building is now a museum. This building was a showplace for wood and design work, including stained glass windows. They even have a giant redwood slice (14 feet in circumference) displayed outside the building. The Guest House Museum is also adjacent to the terminal for the historic Skunk Train on Laurel Street.