The Lyford House is a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

house located in Tiburon, California. Built in 1876, the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Prehistory

The earliest human habitation of the local area was by hunter-gatherer Native American peoples. The clearest extant record of such habitation in the vicinity is on the nearby Ring Mountain, where rock art and grinding stones are found on some of the large boulders.

History

The Lyford House on Richardson Bay in Tiburon, California, was the home of Benjamin Lyford (1841–1906), a doctor in the Union Army who was born in New Hampshire and raised in Cabot, Vermont. He migrated to San Francisco after the American Civil War to practice medicine. He married Hilarita née Reed (1839–1908), the daughter of John Reed, an Irish immigrant who was granted the ''

Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio was a Mexican land grant in present day Marin County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to John (Juan) Reed. Corte Madera del Presidio means the "lumber mill of the Presidio". The grant enco ...

'', literally "the place where wood is cut for the Presidio", which today comprises the peninsula incorporating Tiburon,

Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa *Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco *Belvedere, Harare, Zim ...

and much of southern

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

.History of Early Mill Valley, Mill Valley Historical Society
The Lyford House was originally located at Strawberry Point as part of Lyford's Eagle Dairy Ranch. It was moved by barge in December 1957 when threatened with demolition and is now owned by the

National Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organ ...

. The new home's location was on eleven acres belonging to Rose Verrall, who'd lived there for decades and eventually donated the land and property that would become the Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary. The Benjamin Lyford House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. In December 2002 the house was damaged when a tree crashed through the roof. It was closed for a year of restoration, reopening in 2004.

References

External links

Richardson Bay Audubon Center and SanctuaryLyford HouseTiburon Heritage & Arts Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyford, Benjamin and Hilarita, House History of Marin County, California Houses completed in 1876 Second Empire architecture in California Victorian architecture in California Houses in Marin County, California National Register of Historic Places in the San Francisco Bay Area Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California Tourist attractions in Marin County, California