Judge Johnson Horrell and Sarah Horrell

554 Randolph Street Napa, CA

The Horrells

The City of Napa was founded in 1847 by Nathan Coombs just two years before gold was discovered in California in 1849. In 1850 the President of the United States was briefly Zachary Taylor who as the twelfth president only held office from March 1849 to July 1850 when he died unexpectedly. His Vice President, Millard Fillmore, was sworn in to complete the four year term as the thirteenth president. It wasn’t until the years 1861 to 1865 that Abraham Lincoln held that office as the sixteenth president and during those years led the nation through the deadliest military conflict in the American Civil War.

Johnson Horrell was born in Tuscarora Valley Juniata County in Pennsylvania in 1796. At an early age he moved to Ohio and then in 1834 became a resident of South Bend, Indiana. He filled the offices of Justice of Peace and States Attorney for several successive years. After arriving in Napa he continued his law practice and was well respected throughout the community and state. He was involved in most of the plans for developing the resources of the Napa Valley almost from its organization.

Johnson’s first wife was Matilda Smith (?) born approximately in about 1808-1810. Most likely they were married before James, their first son, was born in 1825 although that would be quite young even for the time when the average age for women to marry was 20 to 22. They lived in Ohio and later moved to South Bend in Indiana. They had seven children but only three (James, Matilda and Rebecca Ann) survived to adulthood. Matilda died February 2, 1847 in South Bend where she is buried in the local City Cemetery with her other young children.

Sarah N. Pedley was Johnson’s second wife. They were married on March 5, 1848 in South Bend. Sarah was born in 1820 in England. They also had seven children with four reaching adulthood (Mary, Elizabeth, Charles E. and Laura). She remained married to Johnson and died on February 11, 1898 in San Francisco. She is buried next to her husband at Tulocay Cemetery in Napa, California.

Johnson Horrell, with possibly his eldest son James Irwin, left his family behind in South Bend Indiana in 1849 and joined the great current of migration to California and settled in Napa Valley in 1850. Since neither the Panama Canal nor the First Transcontinental Railroad had been constructed, people migrating to California from the Eastern United States had three main routes of passage. They could travel over land, which was expensive and dangerous, or they could sail the roughly 14,000 mile route around the rough waters via the southern tip of South America. In addition to the dangers of either route, the journey often took as long as six months to complete. Another alternative was more frequently available in the early 1850s, was taking a steamer from New York or other eastern port to Panama. From New York this would take about 11 days. You would then traverse the jungles of the Isthmus of Panama by foot to reach the southern coast of Panama which took about 18 days. From there you would take another steamer for about two weeks to San Francisco. While this cut the length of the sea journey in half, ships to ferry passengers from Panama to San Francisco were not commonplace until the early 1850s. It isn’t known which route Johnson took to reach Napa.

On April 23, 1852, Sarah arrived in San Francisco with newly married Matilda, Rebecca Ann and three year old Mary on the sidewheel steamer, SS Winfield Scott from Panama stopping in Acapulco along the way. They had traveled overland across the Isthmus of Panama. It is unknown how they arrived in Panama, perhaps from a steamer from an East Coast port. From San Francisco they would have made a short trip by steamship to Napa.

Johnson Horrell was appointed Napa County Judge in 1852, the same year Sarah and his daughters arrived. His photo proudly hangs today in the current Napa County Courthouse. He replaced Judge Sellers who had been stabbed and murdered the previous year when a plaintiff was unhappy with the ruling in a suit. Judge Horrell served until 1853 and then resumed his law practice.

Horrell invested in real estate throughout the county and state as well as the mining business. In September of 1855 Johnson and Sarah Horrell purchased one half of a city block near the downtown area in what is known as the Napa Abajo district. Together with their acquisition of the rest of the block they built the first house and only house on the block comprising of a large two-story Carpenter Gothic house of approximately 2040 square feet including the rear single story kitchen, on Division Street in 1856. It had the typical features of a steep gabled front, decorative bargeboard, shiplap siding, pedimented double hung windows and a decorative triangular pediment containing a carved trefoil element above the front facing French doors that lead onto a small balcony.

Behind the house was the carriage house/barn. In the 1867 inventory of the property there was a cow, 50 chickens, two horses and a buggy. The house was situated so that one looking south on Randolph Street from First Street downtown you could see this spectacular home as it stood alone on the entire lot. The Carpenter Gothic style was popular in the United States from 1840 to 1870 especially in rural areas. The invention of the steam-powered scroll saw was a building breakthrough technology, and allowed for amazing details and more uniquely designed exteriors with features never seen on homes before. The Horrell House was built at the height of its fashion and one can only speculate the construction of a fashionable Carpenter Gothic home in early Napa must have been a bold statement by the Horrells.

In the 1860 US Census the Horrell House was filled with five children under the age of 12, a young teenage girl most likely a nanny, two clerks and a day worker. Johnson’s son, James, followed in his father’s footsteps and was also an attorney but was more involved in politics. His skills as a printer led him to publish the first weekly Napa Valley Register on August 10, 1863. He later left the Register to join ranks in the Civil War returning after four years in 1868. The Horrells enjoyed the home as a growing family until 1867, at the age of 71, Johnson was laid to rest after a bout with pneumonia and buried in Napa’s local Tulocay Cemetery. Over the following years Sarah tried to hold onto the property by selling assets and eventually advertising in the local paper rooms for rent. However, in 1878 the property was finally acquired by Odd Fellows Savings Bank. Parcels were sold off and the house condition declined.

AFTER THE HORRELLS

In 1889 the property was acquired by the Mather family. The Horrell House was moved around the corner to Randolph Street by Geo. Hamlin in January 1890, where it is now located. The Mathers had planned to build a fine home on the property but instead four months later they moved into the newly remodeled home. They lived there for five years until they exchanged homes with the Haymans, who had built a Queen Anne jewel, just a few houses away at what is now 608 Randolph Street, the Ackerman House. Luther Hayman, his daughter Lulu and later Luther’s second wife Eva lived in the home for 52 years. They built a redwood shingled cottage in the rear of the property in 1907 and made some other modifications to the main house such as removing the decorative bargeboard in the early 1900s and replacing the portico with a longer more fashionable porch shortly afterwards. In 1947, Lulu, the last remaining Hayman, at the age of 67 and not being able to keep up the property, even though she also took in borders, sold the property. The main house was then hacked into multiple units as cheaply as possible to accommodate the growing need for housing in Napa. It slowly declined into disrepair and along with its key historical elements removed it was barely recognizable from its original Carpenter Gothic style. However, if you looked beyond all this you could see traces of its former glory – the uneven sawn-off bargeboard, the old portico foundation, and evidence of shutters once adorning this old house.

Slowly, using historical data, the house began its journey back to life. The deteriorated long porch was replaced by a new period appropriate portico using similar dimensions from the old brick foundation found under the extended porch. The bargeboard was recreated, in kind, and roof spires were added using a photo found online from a collection of digitized Hayman family images as a guide in recreating the features. Lulu Hayman donated original photos, notes and her father’s Civil War memorabilia to the Sacramento Valley Museum, the area where the Haymans lived before coming to Napa. The museum then had the photos digitized and placed online where research lead to their discovery.

Originally shutters adorned the house on all the windows as the hinge pockets (some even have parts of the old hinges) still existed on the exterior window casings. The poorly built failing rear additions were replaced. The current new kitchen is in the same location it has always been, attached to the rear of the house. The exterior rusting plumbing pipes were relocated inside the walls as the house was seismically upgraded with a modern infrastructure.

Great care was taken to reuse and repurpose historical materials throughout the home as flooring, trim, hardware, doors and paneling during its five year restoration project. The original windows in the house were chemically stripped, reglazed and newer glass was replaced with old “wavy” glass. The front door, most likely original, was restored. The simple, yet elegant interior curved staircase, the only real surviving decorative interior element, was stripped of its many layers of paint to reveal the mahogany balusters and handrail.

The front brick walkway is mostly composed of bricks from the fireplace foundation found under the house and bricks used in the spaces between the foundation sill and floor framing. Also, portions of two very old firebricks (which were used as ballast on sailing ships), Bonnybridge from Scotland and Ramsey from England which were found buried outside at the back corner by the barn and are included in the walkway.

Johnson Horrell’s name was found in two places within the house. One written in cursive with a pencil on the back of a piece of molding trim and the other on a paper tag tacked to the back of the upper stair riser. Both confirming beyond a doubt this Carpenter Gothic house was built by the Horrells.

The damage due to the earthquake along with the decades of neglect required a major undertaking. The original goal was to preserve, repair, update and return the house back to a single family home. Along the way important findings were made and documented that makes this over 160 year old house a rare survivor from the very early days of Napa along with the revealed history of the people that built it and lived in it. The photo of Judge Horrell that hangs in the courthouse now has a story behind the name.

History Uncovered

DISCOVERIES, MAPS, AND HOUSE PHOTOS

The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing structure to the Napa Abajo/Fuller Park Historic District. Here is the description that was created in 1997.

The physical description of the house is mostly accurate in the listing. However, after much research by the current owner, the house was discovered to be much older than originally described as well as other incorrect information in the listing. We now know the house was built in 1856 for Johnson and Sarah Horrell. We do not know the designer but it was not Luther M. Turton as he was not even born yet when the house was built. The style is definitely Carpenter Gothic. The siding on the gabled “garage” was never horizontal. Diligent research consisting of comparisons of Sanborn Maps, discovery of other maps from as far back as 1858, linking of historical deeds, discovery of old photos and hours of exploration of online archives slowly lead the way to discover its true origins and the people that built the house.

Red circle shows the Horrell House on Division Street

Detail - Bird’s Eye View Map 1871 – Red circle shows the house on Division Street (note it is still the only house on the block)

Sanborn Map 1886 - Red circle is the Horrell house still on Division Street

Sanborn Map 1891 – House has been moved to Randolph St

1866 View from Courthouse Cupola showing the Horrell House in the far distance, Lawrence and Houseworth publisher

Detail of the Horrell House in the red circle

Early 1900 — Note the original bargeboard which provided a pattern for in-kind replacement during restoration of the house

Fir and some redwood planks used as a shear under lathe and plaster which were repurposed into flooring on the first floor of the house.

2015 — Old portico brick foundation discovered under the full width front porch when the house was lifted for a new foundation.

Before and After Photos

2015 — Rear view of the various poorly constructed additions made over time when the house was converted into multiple units

2020 — Restored front door in new Portico

2015 — Entry staircase with blocked hallway to create apartment rooms

2020 — Restored staircase and entry with repurposed flooring & antique lighting

2015 — Second floor hallway with staircase to third floor built in front of French doors to access apartment, circa late 1940s - early 1950s

2020 — Restored hallway with original French doors opening onto balcony (stairs to third level were relocated)

2019 — Repurposed redwood paneling and fir plank flooring, relocated and restored original tongue and groove redwood ceiling

2019 — Living room with repurposed flooring, fireplace with antique elements, antique lighting, and restored original windows

Carriage House/Barn

CIRCA 1856/1940s-1950s

About three fourths of the rear two story portion of the redwood board and batten Carriage House/Barn is most likely built at the same time as the house in 1856. It is constructed with cut nails of the same type used in the main house. An addition was made to the two story portion which you can recognize upon close examination by the change in materials. The one story garage addition is a later feature.

2020 — With addition of an antique barn door and paneled side door

Luther and Eva Hayman Cottage, 1907

558 Randolph Street Napa, California

When the 2014 South Napa Earthquake struck, the foundation on this cottage failed and it just added to the list of its deteriorating condition. The south side redwood shingles, burnt from the sun, were covered with multi-colored composition roofing shingles. The side bedroom addition was slowly rotting into the ground. Inside layers of paint covered the wood trim. This craftsman style with a sweeping hipped roof, wide overhanging eaves, corbels, double-hung and casement windows needed attention.

The one bedroom cottage was built in 1907 not far from the rear of the main house by Luther and Eva Hayman. When the foundation was replaced the cottage was relocated to the rear corner of the property. The original red stained redwood shingles were replaced on three sides with new cedar shingles. All the windows, trim and coffered ceiling were stripped of layers of paint and then stained and sealed. The unique new custom leaded glass bathroom window has a silver 1863 Mexican coin which was found in the dirt under the cottage. The antique front door is a replacement of the 1950’s flat panel door. It is from a house in Berkeley of the same era. The new custom leaded glass window has an “H” for the Haymans who built the cottage.