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Historic Resource Study HAWTHORNS HISTORIC STRUCTURES ASSESSMENT Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Windy Hill Open Space Preserve Portola Valley, California Deliverable 1: Historic Resource Study October 2013 FINAL October 2013 Hawthorns Historic Structures Assessment FINAL Historic Resource Study TABLE OF CONTENTS HAWTHORNS HISTORIC STRUCTURES ASSESSMENT HISTORIC RESOURCE STUDY I. Introduction............................................................................................................ 1 II. Historic Overview & Contexts................................................................................ 5 III. Physical Description & Character-Defining Features .......................................... 58 IV. Historic Resource Evaluation ............................................................................ 105 V. Bibliography....................................................................................................... 109 VI. Endnotes VII. Appendix A. Methodology B. Drawings: Hawthorn House, Garage and Cottage October 2013 Hawthorns Historic Structures Assessment FINAL Historic Resource Study I. INTRODUCTION Hawthorns Historic Structures Assessment The Hawthorns Historic Structures Assessment is a project undertaken by Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (District) to assess the history and condition of the Hawthorn property. The District is a special district whose purpose is to purchase, permanently protect, and restore lands forming a regional open space greenbelt, preserve unspoiled wilderness, wildlife habitat, watershed, view shed, and fragile ecosystems, and provide opportunities for low-intensity recreation and environmental education. In 2011, the District received the 79-acre Hawthorns property, comprised of 2-parcels, located in the rural community of Portola Valley, California. The property was a gift from the Woods Family and has been incorporated into the District’s Windy Hill Preserve, which totals over 1100 acres. The property is located on a roughly 80 acre parcel of land (APNs 079-080-050, 079-080-080, 079-080-090) between Alpine and Los Trancos roads within the Town of Portal Valley. A current aerial view of the property from Google Earth October 2013 Hawthorns Historic Structures Assessment FINAL Historic Resource Study The site consists of a landscape of oak-studded rolling hills with beautiful expansive views from the upper ridge tops. The site is roughly triangular in shape and bounded by Alpine Road to the north, Los Trancos Road to the east, and portions of Sweet Springs Trail and the Portola Valley Ranch residential development to the west. The site has a history of ranching and “gentleman farming” and several major structures located on parcel 079-080-090 are herein designated as the “Historic Complex”. It is believed that as early as 1875 a large barn (Lower Barn) was erected on the site followed by a small “homestead” or “pioneer” house (The Cottage) in 1885. The primary family home (Hawthorn House) was constructed in 1886 by the Allen family. The subsequent owners, the Woods family built a large garage (the Garage) in 1916. Later, in 1952, another private, more modern residence was built on parcel 079-080-050 (the Alpine Road House). In addition, a number of outbuildings, lean-tos, and sheds were built on the property at various times. It is unclear if the Lower Barn and the Cottage pre-date the Allen’s purchase of the property. The District has neither the public directive, internal capacity, nor available funding to manage, restore or rehabilitate historic structures and therefore has typically relied on partners to undertake preservation of historic resources on their lands. This Historic Structures Assessment, including the Historic Resource Study, for the Hawthorns property have been undertake to identify opportunities and constraints for rehabilitation, development, and re-use of the site and to provide the District with the information required to solicit partnerships to take over stewardship of the Hawthorns Historic Complex. The Hawthorns Historic Structures Assessment is divided into five deliverables: Deliverable 1. Historic Resource Study Deliverable 2. Structure Conditions Assessment Deliverable 3. Historic Property Reuse Feasibility Study Deliverable 4. Mothballing Plan Deliverable 5. Public Outreach Activities The following project team prepared this study in cooperation with, and under the direction of the District: Architect: Knapp Architects Architectural Historian: architecture+history, llc Landscape Historian: Denise Bradley, ASLA Landscape Architect: PGAdesign Structural Engineer: Structural Design Engineers Geotechnical Engineer: Treadwell & Rollo, Inc. Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing Engineer: Salas O’Brien Engineers Civil Engineer: NV5 Cost Estimator: Hattin Construction 2 October 2013 Hawthorns Historic Structures Assessment FINAL Historic Resource Study Historic Resource Study This Historic Resource Study (HRS) has been prepared for Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (District) by Knapp Architects, architecture + history, llc, and Denise Bradley, Landscape Historian. This HRS is Deliverable 1 of the Hawthorns Historic Structures Assessment. The purpose of this HRS is to assess the potential historic and cultural significance of the property by applying the National Register of Historic Places criteria of evaluation, determining contributing and non-contributing historic features and elements, assessing the properties integrity, and providing guiding information for both the conditions assessment and re-use feasibility study being completed by the same team of consultants for the District. A description of the methodology and research design for the HRS is found in an appendix of this document. Summary of Hawthorns Historic Significance The site became a part of the District’s Windy Hill Open Space Preserve in 2011, when the District acquired the property, historically known as Hawthorns, from the estate of Frederick N. Woods, III. First developed by Judge James Monroe Allen and his wife, Ida Davis Allen, in 1886-87, the estate was named “The Hawthorns” for the hedge of flowering trees that lined the roadway approaching the estate. The property changed hands in 1916 when Frances Newhall Woods purchased the estate from Judge Allen’s widow. The two families knew each other and traveled in the same San Francisco social circles. The property remained in the Woods family until it was gifted to the District. The Hawthorns appears eligible for the National Register of Historic Places as an historic district under Criterion A (broad patterns of history) at the local level with importance in the areas of agriculture, architecture, and social history. Once one of many such properties in the vicinity, the Hawthorns represents the social, agricultural and architectural history of the San Francisco Peninsula estate property, both for use as a year round family house and as a summer retreat. It retains a remarkable level of historic integrity. While the buildings, and even some of the landscape features are in poor condition, they retain important components of the required aspects of integrity including: location, design, setting, materials, workmanship feeling, and association. Associated with two important Bay Area families, and representative of the work of a little known, but fairly prolific architect, the Hawthorns reflects an era of residential, agricultural and recreational development following the completion of the San Francisco – San Jose Railroad which linked the two commercial enclaves, opening up Peninsula lands for easier development. As a potentially eligible historic district under National Register criteria, the property meets the definition of an historic resource under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Resources determined eligible for the National Register are automatically eligible for the California Register of Historical Resources. 4 October 2013 Hawthorns Historic Structures Assessment FINAL Historic Resource Study II. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW & CONTEXTS A. Exploration and Early Settlement Establishing the Rancho Native American settlement was extensive around what became known as the San Francisco Bay.1 Various native groups populated Northern California, with the Ohlone society flourishing around the Bay for thousands of years. The Ohlone were a well- established, organized society by the time the first European explorers ventured into their territory. A map showing the locality of the Ohlone tribes from A Gathering of Voices: The Native Peoples of the Central California Coast. The Town of Portola Valley is named after Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola who brought a band of Spanish soldiers and Father Juan Crespi onto the San Francisco Peninsula in 1769. These European voyagers were scouting locations for Franciscan missions in Alta California. Commissioned by Juan de Galvez, the Spanish Visitor- General to Mexico, Portola and Crespi planned to establish both a religious and military presence in the area to ensure Mexico’s safety from both British and Russian West Coast interests. As Spanish and Mexican interests expanded in the region during the 1770s and 80s, the Ohlone society was impacted and ultimately decimated by exposure to European disease and integration into European settlements. Once comprising a stronghold in the area, the Ohlone population was reduced to about 2,000 individuals by 1830. European, 5 October 2013 Hawthorns Historic Structures Assessment FINAL Historic Resource Study and then later, American
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