Gibson, William B., House

About this property

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. 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. 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. William and Mary had three sons: Robert (1859-1941), Thomas (1861-1914), 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 Ballard 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. Thomas died on Sunday, 11 October 1914. Not much is known about the youngest son, Joseph, who died at the age of 34 in 1897. 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.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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