Elmshaven is a
historic house museum
A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...
at 125 Glass Mountain Lane in
St. Helena, California
St. Helena ( ; Wappo language, Wappo: ''Anakotanoma'') is a city in Napa County, California, Napa County, in the Wine Country of California. Located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the ...
, United States. Also known as Ellen White House or Robert Pratt Place, it was the home of
Ellen G. White
Ellen Gould White (née Harmon; November 26, 1827 – July 16, 1915) was an American woman author and co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Along with other Adventist leaders such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, she wa ...
from 1900 until her death in 1915. She was notable for
her prophetic ministry, which was instrumental in founding the Sabbatarian Adventist movement that led to the rise of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church, and for her advocacy in favor the establishment of medical clinics. It is currently owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church as an Adventist historic site, and was designated a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1993.
Description and history
Elmshaven is located in a rural-residential area north of downtown St. Helena, on the east side of Glass Mountain Lane. The main house is a two-story frame structure built out of redwood and finished in
shiplap
Shiplap is a type of wooden board used commonly as exterior siding in the construction of residences, barns, sheds, and outbuildings.
Exterior walls
Shiplap is either rough-sawn or milled pine or similarly inexpensive wood between wide with a ...
siding. Stylistically it is a vernacular expression of Victorian architecture, with a square turret at the right front corner, capped by a pyramidal roof. The central portion of the main facade is a projecting gable section, with the main entrance to its left, sheltered by a porch with decorative railings on two levels. The interior retains many features original to either its construction or the period of Ellen White's ownership. The property also includes a tank house for a large water tank, and a two-story wood-frame outbuilding used as an office, library, and storage vault.
The house was built in 1885 by Robert H. Pratt and was initially known as the Robert Pratt Place. Ellen White purchased the home in 1900, naming it "Elmshaven" after the row of
elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...
trees at its front. She lived there until her death in 1915. Of the places White lived, it is the best-preserved, and the one where she lived the longest. It was declared a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1993.
[ and ]
In 2020, wildfires threatened Elmshaven but it was not damaged.
See also
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List of National Historic Landmarks in California
This is a complete List of National Historic Landmarks in California. The United States National Historic Landmark (NHL) program is operated under the auspices of the National Park Service, and recognizes structures, districts, objects, and simila ...
*
References
See also
*
Sunnyside Historical Home the Australian residence of E. G. White, also a museum.
External links
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{{National Register of Historic Places
History of Napa County, California
National Register of Historic Places in Napa County, California
Ellen G. White
Museums in Napa County, California
Houses in Napa County, California
Historic house museums in California
Religious museums in California
St. Helena, California
Houses completed in 1885
1885 establishments in California