Gable Mansion – 659 1st St.

Owners: Jeff and Starr Barrow

Exterior
The Gable Mansion is Woodland’s signature Victorian Mansion and one of California’s most cherished structures. Its striking verticality and tall narrow windows are classically Victorian. However, individual decorative elements mix several Victorian styles, including Italianate (massive facade and heavy brackets), Stick Style (multitude of vertical trim elements on windows, porches and corners), Eastlake (columns resembling furniture legs on the entry and porches), and Gothic (steep pitch of the front gable and the window hood immediately below). This eclectic design is a marvel and a tribute to A. Jackson and E. Carleton Gilbert, the carpenter contractors, who created this masterpiece.

Interior
The Mansion’s interior is a classic of Victoria taste and style. There are an amazing six bedrooms, six baths, five fireplaces and almost 12,000 sq. ft. Many ceilings are extensively decorated with colorful stencils. Most rooms are covered in Bradbury and Bradbury Victorian wallpaper. Original gas lighting on the first floor has been re-plumbed and is now in working order. The present owners have extensively updated the kitchen and dining room. The basement has been transformed featuring a movie theatre and an indoor pool.

Gardens
The gardens, with fountains and roses and border plantings exhibit a classically refined style. Roses border the sidewalk. More roses are encircled by the iron fence, re-creating the peacefulness of a bygone era. The gazebo, with its surrounding Knot garden and the carriage house/garage are recent additions that blend beautifully with the Victorian ambiance.

Ownership
The home was built in 1885 for two brothers, Amos and Harvey Gable. They were early sheep and cattle ranchers who owned up to 8500 acres in the area. The home remained in the family until 1973 but in later years suffered from water damage on the upper floors. The present owners, Jeff and Starr Barrow, built on a previous renovation by the second owner, Robert McWhirk, and have lovingly restored the interior and grounds to their present magnificent condition.


812 Second St.

Owners: Ron and Katie Little

Exterior
This home, with its red clay tile roof, stucco walls, and front gabled porch was designed to mimic the Mediterranean style popular in the early 20th century. The home has a rectangular floor plan and a massive, symmetrical primary facade with evenly placed shuttered windows. The original footprint of the home was smaller and in 1952 an addition was added to the south side of the house. The home sits on an expansive lot with a small guest house in the rear yard. The current owners have designed the home with entertainment in mind, with a pool recently added along with an outdoor brick pizza oven. This Mediterranean Revival style home in Woodland was one of many designed and built by the famed Woodland builder, Joseph Motroni.

Interior
The current owners have carefully updated the home’s interior to preserve the original charm and keep the home period appropriate but allow for modern-day use. The wall separating the addition from the main house was removed to open the space into one large great room. The kitchen and bathrooms have been completely remodeled, the original hardwood floors refinished, and a laundry room moved from the main level to the second floor. The home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms within 2739 square feet of living space.

Ownership
The home was built in 1930 for W.E. and L.M. Peck. William Peck was an agent for the Northern Electric Railroad, which linked downtown Woodland to Sacramento. Chris and Jane Campos bought the home in 1959 and owned the home until 2017 when it was then sold to the current third owners, Ron and Katie Little.


520 Oak St.

Owners: Leigh Anne Hartman Nate Williams

Exterior
The square, simple boxy design of this American Foursquare, or “Praire Box” home represents a movement away from the ornate elements of the previously popular Victorian styles. The facade of plain wood siding, with the large front porch and wide stairs, and symmetrical windows lends to the growing popularity of similar Craftsman homes. The boxy shape also helps contribute to the best use of interior space on a smaller lot. The Foursquare was a popular mail-order era style and it is a possibility that this is a kit home.

Interior
The interior of the home has seen many changes over the years. The first major renovation in the 1960s added plenty of wallpaper, changed the fireplace to a mid-century style, and even included a pink tub! In later years, the previous back porch was converted into a bathroom and mudroom, and an upstairs sleeping porch was adapted to a full bedroom. The current homeowners have added their own touch to the home by expanding and updating both bathrooms and by adding French doors out to a newly built porch where there once had only been a window. The homeowners also took down the wall separating the dining room from the kitchen, in order to open up the space as well as give the kitchen a full renovation.

Ownership
The home was built in 1915. The details about who built the home and its first owners are currently unknown, although there is a rumor that it may have been built for a county judge. The second owners, Thomas and Wanda Haas, bought the home in 1966 and lived in it for 48 years until they sold it in 2014 to the third and current owners, Leigh Anne Hartman and Nate Williams.


555 College St.

Owners: King Family

Exterior
Built at ground level, with a horizontal, flat roof, this home broke away from the ornately designed Victorians and the newly popular Craftsman homes and ushered in cutting-edge, modern design to Woodland. Constructed with climate in mind, the house has a light stucco finish and overhanging rooflines, which offers protection from the elements. The massive porch columns mimic the palm trees surrounding the property, which were very popular at this time. The windows wrap around the corners of the house, which is another unique feature of the home. The deep-set porch in the front and the courtyard in the back are extensions of the home, inviting use as outdoor rooms. The unique, modern design of the home is the work of Sacramento architects Clarence C. Cuff and Woodland native, Maury I. Diggs.

Interior
The home’s interior is a mix of styles with beautiful art Deco light fixtures, Native American and Navajo-style rugs, handmade furnishings, and modern art. The home has three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and a breakfast room within 2426 square feet of living space. The floors are original hardwood and the original windows require Allen wrenches to open. The third owner renovated the kitchen and baths with Carrera marble and European fixtures.

Ownership
The home was built in 1912 for Claire and Mattie Rasor. Dr. Claire Rasor was a prominent and progressive physician involved in the formation of the Woodland Sanitarium in 1911. The home was later owned by Elmer and Ruby Armfield. Mr. Armfield was an attorney and one of the original founders of the Electric Garage on Main Street. The home became a professional office around 1991 and then returned to a single-family dwelling in 2010. The house is currently owned by the King family, who have owned the home since 2012 and are the fourth owners.


448 Pendegast St.

448 Pendegast St.

Owners: Campbell Haffner Family

Exterior
This home is considered a Germanic Tudor style, which differs from English Tudor in the shallower pitch and jerkinhead roof. It has half-timbered wood trim against a stucco finish and clinker brick around the foundation. The home was built by W.R. Fait in 1913 as his personal residence. It is rumored that he built this home, based on a grander home in Spokane, to entice his wife to move to Woodland. Fait was a general contractor and self-taught designer who built many houses and buildings in Woodland between 1913 and 1930. In 2018, the homeowners named the house “Gllynchroft” (a play on their names) after the house was painted and they thought it was so pretty it deserved a name (like Downton Abbey).

Interior
The current homeowners stripped years of paint off the original woodwork to bring it back to its former beauty. They are great fans of William Morris, English designer, poet, and father of the Arts and Crafts movement; Morris & Co. wallpaper, rugs, and fabrics can be found throughout the house. The quote on the tiger oak fireplace is from The Merchant of Venice. Many family antiques and books fill the home, as well as the homeowner’s extensive collection of china. The bathrooms were remodeled in 2022. In 2023, the rear of the house was remodeled. The kitchen was moved from the west side of the house to the east side, allowing for better access to the outside, and a butler’s pantry and downstairs bedroom were added on the west side. There are floor plans on display showing what the house probably looked like in 1913 based on clues found behind the walls during the renovations. Above the door in the kitchen is a gable ornament from a Victorian home in Woodland, although the specific location of the now demolished home is not known.

Gardens
Did you find the gnome home at the base of the front porch steps? The handrails at the front (as well as the shovel on the back porch) were custom built by the homeowner’s son. A giant chess board stands where a 100-year-old Cedar of Lebanon once stood; its trunk waits for their son to carve it into a bench. The garden boasts a small “orchard” of fruit trees, and an inviting grape arbor with a long table that seats 16. Take note of the “mulch” around the grape vines.

Ownership
The Fait family only lived in the home a short time followed by the Hiatt family who lived in the home for many years. The home was purchased in 1977 by George and Elizabeth Childress, retired Woodland school teachers. Current owners, Chris Campbell and Glen Haffner, purchased the home in 2004. The house received the city’s Heritage Home award in 2007.