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A welcoming multitude of red, pink and apricot roses, yarrow and Lamb’s Ears peek through the white picket fence of this Stick Style two story house. Built by Peter and Rhoda Fisher in 1893, the home features a boxed cornice with brackets and a decorative frieze under the main and porch rooflines. The frieze and porch braces are reminiscent of an oriental motif. The Bohans moved to Woodland in 1990 with their four teenaged children and were charmed by the older Victorian homes and early bungalows. They fulfilled one of their life’s ambitions when they found this home, and feel fortunate to live in a home that has been loved by so many people over the years.

This home, built in 1868 by Usual Shellhammer, is one of Woodland’s oldest, and Mr. Shellhammer, born in Ohio, was one of the city’s earliest settlers. He was attracted, as were so many, to the gold fields of the Mother Lode and so traveled to California via the Isthmus of Panama. When the promise of gold faded, instead of returning to the East, he saw potential for wealth of a different kind in the fertile soil of the Sacramento Valley. Through hard work, he became a successful farmer and served as an active member of the Christian Church and the young Hesperian College. Usual married Mary Lawson, daughter of Joshua Lawson who founded the Christian Church of Woodland. The Shellhammers occupied the home until 1904. In 1907 they sold it to Dollie Eakle whose family lived there until 1948, and subsequently turned it into a rental. The house stood empty for 8 years before being discovered and purchased by Alan and Michele Mitchell in 1994.

This elegant Mediterranean Revival house began its life as a Victorian in 1879. The original owner was J.W. Peek. In the 1880s this intersection of Cross and College Streets was known as “Harling Corners” because all four houses were Victorians owned by M.O Harling and occupied by members of the Harling family. M.O. Harling and family lived in the home from 1883 – 1894. Mr. Harling was a banker and a businessman, owning the mercantile company of Harling, Frazier & Co. He was active in civic affairs; twice elected County Clerk and Auditor, and served on the Board of Education.

This Italianate Victorian was built in 1876 for Charles Frederick Thomas. His father, Charles S Thomas was an early Woodland Grain broker and owned a general store and grain elevator in Knights Landing before moving to Woodland in 1872. He built a Victorian mansion to the north of this house, now the site of Dunnottar Hall. The plot of land these homes occupied ran from 1st to 2nd streets halfway from Lincoln to Oak Ave. Lloyd and Ida Ingraham were long-term owners, renting to many families through the years. Warren and Shirley Meyer, next-door neighbors, bought the property in 1999 to rescue it from a fate as a declining rental. The Riley’s purchased the home in 2000 after the Meyer’s initiated the restoration; they have continued the process of restoring it toward its former luster.

One day in 1996, Bob and Carole Scibienski were walking on First Street with a realtor friend, when they looked up at the house at 546 and asked the realtor what the chances were for purchasing it. The realtor replied, “Not good, but it never hurts to ask.” The Scibienski’s purchased the house and the rest is history. They began a four-year intensive restoration of a promising home that has become a benchmark of historic preservation. As you walk through this house, you will understand why it was a 2001 Heritage Home Award recipient and has been featured on HGTV’s “Restore America”, KVIE’s “Central Valley Chronicles” and the magazine, “Victorian Decorating”.

Architect Wm. Henry Carson designed this single story, Italianate cottage for Mr. and Mrs. J.M Garoutte in 1882. This seven-room house shows to advantage the decorative friezes, brackets, window and doorframes popular at the time, and a trademark of Wm Carson. The next owner, Helen Griffes, lived there with her daughter, Mabel. Mabel married John Woodard in 1920 and by 1935 the house was owned by Woodard and Dorothy Bigelow, possibly a nephew. The Bigelow’s owned the house until 1955 when it was purchased for rental property. It slowly declined and stood vacant for a number of years until it was finally condemned. Michael, an environmental attorney and Elizabeth, a homemaker, had been looking for an older home to restore for some time. Woodland residents and friends, Mark and Karen Harrison, told them they should look at this property. Lucky for Woodland! In 1995 the Brady’s rescued the house and began an intensive eight-year restoration.

This Queen Anne Eclectic style home was built in 1893 for T.S. Spaulding, a local grocer. Builder, William Henry Curson and Joseph Johnson Hall, architect, featured prominently in Woodland’s early building boom. Hall’s career was short-lived, but dynamic. He came to Woodland in August of 1892, just one month after the disastrous fire that consumed the Opera House and the Exchange Hotel on the corner of 2nd and Main. In four short years he built the Merchant & Farmer’s Bank, three commercial buildings adjoining the bank, the Julian Hotel, and two exquisite homes: the picturesque Diggs-Adams home and the equally impressive Boyer-Johnson home