Gibson Mansion

William B. Gibson House
Location 512 Gibson Rd., Woodland, California
Coordinates 38°39′44.42″N 121°46′24.77″W / 38.6623389°N 121.7735472°W / 38.6623389; -121.7735472Coordinates: 38°39′44.42″N 121°46′24.77″W / 38.6623389°N 121.7735472°W / 38.6623389; -121.7735472
Built 1857
Architectural style Mixed (more Than 2 Styles From Different Periods)
NRHP Reference # 76000542[1]
Added to NRHP November 07, 1976

The Gibson Mansion (also known as the Yolo County Historical Museum and the Gibson Museum) is a historic mansion that now serves as a museum in Woodland, California. Exemplifying several architectural styles, including Georgian Revival and Neoclassical, it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.[2]

History

William Byas Gibson moved from Virginia to Yolo County (at this point, just outside Woodland) in 1850 and began to farm and raise livestock. In 1857, he purchased 320 acres (130 ha) of land south of Woodland with a small home on the property, which would later be the center of his 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) estate.[3] As his family grew and as their wealth increased they enlarged the house several times in the 1870s, remodeling it into a mansion.[4][5] Gibson died in 1901 and the home was occupied by his family until 1963.[3][6] Between 1963 and 1975 the home and the acreage it is on was uncared for and dilapidated, and some labeled it a haunted house during this vacancy.[5][7] In 1975 efforts to purchase the house and the 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) it resides on were directed by the Yolo County Historical Society to establish the first countywide historical museum. Yolo County Historical Museum Association was formed and their Board of Directors now operates the museum, which is open to the public on weekends.[7]

As a museum

The Gibson Mansion 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 Yolo County Historical Society purchased the house.[1] The museum houses rooms of historical furniture and items dating from the 1850s through the 1930s. There are also changing exhibits relating to the history of Yolo County.[7] On the museum grounds there is a functional blacksmith shop, as well as a barn with usable historic wood-working and agricultural tools.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Staff (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "CALIFORNIA - Yolo County". NationalRegisterofHistoricPlaces.com. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
  3. 1 2 Gregory, Thomas Jefferson (1913). History of Yolo County, California. Los Angeles, California: Historic Record Company. p. 284.
  4. ↑ Walters, Shipley (1995). "Hey Day of Woodland". Woodland a City of Trees: A History. Woodland, California: Yolo County Historical Society. p. 34.
  5. 1 2 3 "Yolo County Historical Museum". Museums USA. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
  6. ↑ "The Gibson Home". Yolo County Historical Museum. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "History of the Museum". Yolo County Historical Museum. Retrieved 2009-05-03.

External links

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