Guest House Museum Fort Bragg, California

Mailing Address

PO Box 71
Fort Bragg, CA 95437

Street Address

343 N. Main Street
Fort Bragg, CA 95437


Admissions

Adults $2/Students 13-16 $1/Under 13yrs free

Description

Inside the Museum one will find pictures and artifacts telling the history of the forest products industry on the Mendocino Coast and the city of Fort Bragg. Pictures include water shipping, railroads, mills and wood scenes and the earthquake of 1906.

Of shingled Queen Anne style, the Guest House was built primarily in coast redwood in 1892 for Tom Johnson, a family business partner in Fort Bragg Redwood Company, as his private residence. All wood used in the structure was milled by Fort Bragg Redwood Company. Before the house was finished and by direction of the company's founder, Charles Russell Johnson, it became the lumber company's home for senior officials and VIP guest visitors to the Fort Bragg mill and logging sites. Fort Bragg Redwood Company became Union Lumber Company in 1905 and the Guest House continued in its role until ULCo sold to Boise-Cascade Corporation, and later still to Georgia-Pacific Corp. G-P donated the home to the City of Fort Bragg on closing their Fort Bragg plant in the 1990s.

The house facade and layout remains much as built with the exception of its towering brick chimneys which toppled in the great earthquake of April 18, 1906 and these were never rebuilt. A unique feature on the Third Floor (not open to the public) is a westerly facing sun porch that overlooked the pacific Ocean, the millsite and shipping harbor maintained by the lumber company. As many as three coastwise schooners could load lumber and general trade goods at the company pier, which operated from 1885 to 1936.

Artifacts Collections

The society maintains and curates under lease agreement with the City of Fort Bragg photographs, maps, documents and artifacts related to Fort Bragg Redwood Company, its successors Union Lumber Company, Boise-Cascade and Georgia-Pacififc corporations, affiliated businesses including National Steamship Company and California Western Railroad, and the C.R. Johnson family, founders of FBRCo and ULCo.

Research Collections

A portion of the achival collections are stored and maintained off-site. There is presently no formal library or research room.

Library

Access: Scholars, Members
Appointment required: True

Publications

·	Voices of the Past, a periodical illustrated newsletter.

Programs

guided tours

Staff

Mark Ruderich, President, FB-MCHS

Cindy Vanwormer, Staff
Phone: 707-961-2823
Fax: 707-961-2802
Email:

Sylvia Bartley, Archivist
Phone: 707-964-6485


Museum Type

History
Historic House
Historical Society

Governance

Governing Authority: City


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Museum Info courtesy of California Association of Museums.

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