Stow House

The Stow House is a U.S. historical landmark in Goleta, California. Formerly the headquarters of Rancho La Patera, the Stow House, in the Carpenter Gothic style, is now the headquarters of Goleta Historical Society which preserves and interprets the history of the Goleta Valley.[2]

Stow House
The Stow House, Goleta, CA
Location304 N. Los Carneros Rd., Goleta, California
Coordinates34°26′34″N 119°51′3″W
Arealess than one acre
Architectural styleGothic Revival, Italianate
NRHP reference No.00001166[1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 28, 2000

History

The Stow House was once the headquarters of Rancho La Patera, on the original Rancho La Goleta. In 1871, William Whitney Stow, a legal counsel for Southern Pacific Railroad in San Francisco, purchased 1,043 acres (4.22 km2) costing $28,677 for his son, Sherman P. Stow. Sherman Stow built a Carpenter Gothic Victorian home on the site and moved into the house with his bride, Ida G. Hollister, in 1873. The family expanded the house in two major renovations in the 1880s and 1910s. The house was occupied by three generations of Stow descendants.[2]

Stow House in Goleta Valley, California.

Lemon orchard
Stow House area, orchards, and Lake Los Carneros

In 1875, 3,000 lemon trees were planted in the first commercial lemon orchard planting in California. Sherman Stow's son, state senator Edgar Whitney Stow, set up a research laboratory at the ranch and developed disease resistant lemon rootstock of great value to local growers. The earliest commercial irrigation in the area took place on the ranch using the pond created by the Stows. The pond was expanded to create Lake Los Carneros which remains within the park.[2]

Museum

The house museum displays family photographs and furniture, with stories of Sherman and Ida Stow and their descendants.

Nearby attractions

The Stow House is located next to Lake Los Carneros with walking trails and bird watching, Goleta Depot at the South Coast Railroad Museum, and other points of interest in Goleta.[3] Wildlife including coyotes and bobcats have been observed from the trails.[4][3]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. The Goleta Valley Historical Society: The Stow House
  3. John Dickson's Santa Barbara Attractions Guide: Stow House
  4. Edhat News wildlife report and photos
  • Stow House - Goleta Valley Historical Society official site
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