The Stone House of John Marsh is a historic stone house in Contra Costa County, California, built in 1855-56. These are now included in the newly established Marsh Creek State Park. It has not been officially opened to the public due to security concerns, but the restoration began in 2006 and continues in October 2017.
Video Stone House of John Marsh
Histori
John Marsh (1799-1856), who came from Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard University, has been studying medicine for a year at Harvard before deciding to go west to seek his fortune. In the 1830s, he reached the Mexican province of Alta California (now the modern state of California), where he assured government authorities in Los Angeles that a certified undergraduate diploma that he qualified to train as a physician. For several years thereafter he was considered the only white doctor in the province. He soon became very rich and invested his income in land and cattle. After several years, he moved north to the Bay Area, where he continued his training. In 1838, he bought a large piece of land known as Rancho los Meganos, several areas east of San Francisco in what is now East Contra Costa County. He settled in a four-room adobe house near Mount Diablo, and continued to expand his business.
In 1851, Marsh met and married Abby Tuck, a beautiful young and adventurous woman from Massachusetts, then lived in San Francisco. He seems rather weak and suffers from seasickness on the way. Her new husband realized that the adobe house, which lacked modern comfort and even had a ground floor, their Daughter, Amy, born in 1852, made the need for a better home more urgent. He hired the architect of San Francisco Thomas Boyd to design a magnificent home for the family. Abby chose the location of the house next to Marsh Creek, about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of the city now Brentwood, California, with views of the surrounding valley and Mount Diablo.
In 1853, Marsh immediately began the construction of a magnificent mansion built entirely of stone excavated from nearby hills. The Gothic-Revival-style house is 7,000 square feet (650 m) with a 65-foot (20 m) tower and an outdoor terrace supported by octagonal pillars. All home costs do not exceed $ 20,000. Abby died in 1855, before the House of Stone was completed. Marsh eventually moved into a new house about three weeks before he was killed.
Marsh apparently had a heavy debt obligation when he died. According to Craig, Los Meganos is sold to a Jack Williams, powered by the Sanford family of New York. They rented the house for a series of tenant farmers and let the property fall into a rotten and rotten condition. They were visited in May 1862 by William Henry Brewer and California Geological Survey. The farm was purchased by the Balfour-Guthrie Company. The Cowell Company later acquired the house and land. In 1966, the HABS report described the property as a "lonely" wreck. "
The big house, underwent a stabilization since 2006, still stands as part of Marsh Creek State Park, formerly known as Cowell Ranch/John Marsh Property State Historic Park, which is preparing to propose status as a National Historic Monument. The park covers 3,659 hectares (1,481 ha) of natural habitats. This house is on the National Historic Site list, and funds are being sought for recovery. Not open to the public, starting March 2017.
Maps Stone House of John Marsh
Description of Marsh House
According to Craig's report for HABS, the floor area of ​​the house consists of 2,100 square feet (200 m 2 ) on each of the three main floors, 720 square feet (67 m 2 ) in the basement and 144 square feet (13.4 m 2 ) in the tower. The trail of Marsh's house is 36 feet (11 m) long with 30 feet (9.1 m) wide, and 38 feet (12 m) high into the roof ridge. The roof has four large dorms, so the third story space is full. The tower is 47 feet (14 m) tall. A ten foot (3.0 m) veranda or porch surrounds the house on three sides. The porch has a balcony on the second floor level, which is supported by octagonal pillars. The balconies are decorated with balustrades, as can be easily seen in the 1870 photos here. The full length French doors allow access from the porch to each room on the first and second floors.
The house has an exterior wall covered with twelve inch (300 mm) colored sandstone blocks. Inside the stone exterior, there is a void of four inches (100 mm), then another wall built of adobe bricks. Architects choose to use an asymmetrical Victorian floor plan, not a symmetrical Georgian style that is popular in most of the larger California homes built in the 1850s. The first floor contains a hallway staircase that flows from the front door to the back door, living room, dining room, office and kitchen. The living room is 20 feet (6.1 m) by 35 feet (11 m) by 12 feet (3.7 m) high. The second level has a master bedroom located just above the living room and access to the upper level of the foyer. There are two other bedrooms and a second level bathroom that accesses the landing hall. Another staircase leads to the third level, which contains three more rooms. A ladder leads from the third floor hall to the parapet tower.
The original tower was built entirely of stone and designed for defense against unwanted visitors, since the area was considered "bandit state," without any organized law enforcement agencies at the time. The top of the tower was crenellated, giving a fortress-like appearance and providing some protection to defenders. However, the earthquake in 1868, greatly damaging the tower, and it needs to be rebuilt largely. The rebuilt tower has a wooden top that mimics the former castellated stone and the vertical wood surface is covered with shingles. The shingles were painted around 1925.
The main interior partition is a brick couple, the other wall is wooden studs with wooden battens. The walls are then plastered. The ceiling is built from battens and plaster. The roof is framed and the exterior is initially covered with shingles (later replaced with asphalt shingles). During the 2006 reconstruction, the inspection showed the roof was so damaged and leaked from the wreckage that was given a temporary cover from the tin, as shown in the 2012 photograph above.
Current status
In 1960, Henry Cowell, the last owner and operator of the ranch, donated the house to Contra Costa County. In 1979, ownership was forwarded to the California State Parks Department.
The John Marsh House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) with Reference Number on October 7, 1981.
Neither Cowell, country or country can not come with funding even for essential restoration. In 2004, the John Marsh Historic Trust was organized to attract personal donations for that purpose. Meanwhile, nature continues to damage homes. Most of the southern wall collapsed in the 1970s, as a result of an earthquake.
Among the main objectives for future restoration and reconstruction work are:
- Fixed the load-bearing interior wall, which will be retained;
- Rebuild the porch;
- Rebuilding the top of the tower;
- Installing a new roof;
- Add sandstone finishing to the exterior of the south wall.
Nearly a million dollars have been spent to stabilize the house since 2006. This work is needed to keep the sandstone structure from collapsing.
Note
See also
- John Marsh (pioneer)
- Marsh Creek State Park (California)
References
External links
- NRHP Inventory and Nomination Form for Park Services - National Digital Asset System.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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