The Lathrop House, also known as the Lathrop-Connor-Mansfield House, was built in

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...

and is one of the

San Francisco Peninsula The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Mountain View, south of Palo Alt ...

's oldest mansions. Mary C. Lathrop, wife of Benjamin G. Lathrop, bought the land for the 11 room house in 1858 and construction was completed in 1863. The museum has historically existed in three locations, within a few blocks radius in Redwood City.

History

Benjamin Gordon Lathrop was the first clerk, recorder, and assessor of

San Mateo County, California San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Dal ...

, as well as one of the original investors in the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

to San Jose railroad. This wealth allowed his wife, Mary C. Lathrop and him, to buy up many parcels of land in Redwood City, one of which they constructed the house upon in 1863. It was originally located where the Fox Theatre is now constructed, 2215 Broadway, Redwood City. The house was constructed in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style was becoming more popular at the time with tall gables and arches pierced by quatrefoil designs. More specifically it was designed in the Steamboat Gothic style designed to resemble the

steamboats A steamboat is a boat that is propelled primarily by steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S (for 'Screw Steamer') or PS (for 'Paddle Steamer'); however, thes ...

of the era. Lathrop House passed through many owners over the years including

Patrick Edward Connor Patrick Edward Connor (March 17, 1820Rodgers, 1938, p. 1 – December 17, 1891) was an American soldier who served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He is most notorious for his massacres against Native Americans during th ...

, who had been a Union General, and Sheriff Joel Mansfied, who purchased the house in 1905 and moved it to 627 Hamilton Street. San Mateo County acquired the house in 1968 to make it part of a heritage center. The Lathrop House was restored on the exterior through joint efforts of the Redwood City Heritage Association and the county. The Lathrop House was operated as a museum by the Redwood City Heritage Association and was open to visitors twice monthly to view the interior of the house. In 2017, it was closed in advance of a planned move of the structure to be adjacent to the San Mateo County History Museum. In May 2019, the house was moved to nearby 701 Hamilton Street.

Gallery

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in California Redwood City, California National Register of Historic Places in San Mateo County, California Gothic Revival architecture in California Residential buildings completed in 1863

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links