This is the story of my old house. My house was built in 1889, 120 years ago. I have often wondered who lived here before my family did. Whose room did I sleep in? What was it like to live here 120 years ago? My parents moved here in 1947 right after they were married and rented the lower flat. They purchased the house in 1952 from the elderly owner who died later that year in the upper flat. The house became a place where many relatives and their families could come whey they needed a place to stay. I am fortunate that the house I grew up in is still in the family and I hope it will be here for the next generation. She has weathered the years well and has provided shelter to many generations.
Research
How does one even start to research the history of an old house? My parents are both dead so I could not ask them. I have cousins that are in their 80’s living in San Jose that were very helpful and have good memories. I had attended several meeting given by local historians that gave advice on where to start, the library and the county recorders office The internet proved to have a lot of information available through genealogy web sites. I made contact with a cousin in Idaho that helped me located a lot of information from the 1800’s (thank you Loree). I was fortunate to know the name of the first owner and then to find the date of his death printed in the city directory. With the date available I could go to old newspapers and I found his obituary on microfilm at the library. As near as I can tell there have only been three owners of the house so that made things a little easier.
I also found research information on Chinatown and Japantown. I never knew I grew up 2 blocks from the last Chinatown in San Jose.
Architecture
The house is located in the Hensley Historic District in San Jose, California. The architectural style is Queen Anne. It was built from virgin redwood from the Santa Cruz Mountains. The outside has stayed original but the inside has undergone may changes. The original wallpaper was removed and the ceiling medallions are long gone. Fortunately the window, doors and molding survived modernization attempts. The wall, door and window moldings are made of redwood that was faux grained to match the fireplaces. Under many coats of pink, white and green paint I found exquisite golden oak faux graining that can not be reclaimed. Most of the walls are still the original lath and plaster.
I even have one of the original bathtubs that was made in 1905 and the original porcelain finish is still in near perfect condition. I remember using the bathtub as a child. It ended up in the garage years ago. It was covered with dirt and paint when I pulled it out. It cleaned up beautifully.
Five years ago I had the foundation replaced. The original foundation was bricks. There are about 8,000 bricks here that were salvaged when the old foundation and chimney were removed. An equal amount were damaged and had to be thrown away. The old mortar had to be removed by hand with a mason's hatchet. These were the same type of bricks that were used to pave the streets and to line the sewers in the 1880's. The bricks came from the San Jose Brick Company.
The garage started out as a barn with 2 horse stalls and 2 carriage bays. It was built with no foundation, and of board and batten construction. In 1989 it was rebuilt of modern materials to look exactly like the original.
