Kelley House Museum

05/29/2026

This week at the Kelley House Museum…

Historic District Walking Tour, Saturday, May 30 at 11am.

Murder, She Wrote Walking Tour, Saturday, May 30 at 11:30am.

Haunted Mendocino Walking Tour, Wednesday, June 3 at 5pm.

Visit the Kelley House event calendar to buy Walking Tour tickets. Walk-ins also welcome. $25. https://www.kelleyhousemuseum.org/events/month

It’s the final weekend of “Conservation Forever: 50 Years of Mendocino Land Trust.” The last day to view the exhibit is Monday, June 1.

Our summer exhibit “Tying the Knot: Bridal Fashion Unveiled” opens on Thursday, June 4.

The Kelley House Museum is open Thursday-Monday, 11am to 3pm.

Photo: Kelley House Pond, May 2026. (Photographer: Robert Dominy)

05/28/2026

New Archival Items at the Kelley House by Averee McNear

The Kelley House Museum recently accepted a donation of items related to the Kelley family, passed down to a descendant of Otis Kelley, William and Eliza’s youngest child. Most of the items relate to the first generation of Kelleys born in Mendocino, primarily Daisy MacCallum and Elise Drexler.

Daisy was a dedicated diarist. When we accessioned a collection of 27 diaries written by Kelley family women last year, most of the diaries belonged to Daisy. This latest donation includes 22 of Daisy’s diaries, one for each year from 1930 to 1953 (except for 1934). 1953 was the year Daisy died, and she wrote sparsely that year. Her handwriting is shaky compared to earlier years, and throughout the book Jean MacCallum and one or more of Daisy’s nieces seem to have contributed to the journal, noted by the different handwriting and referring to Daisy as “mother” or “Aunt Daisy.” On August 13, the entry reads “Aunt Daisy passed away at 9:30AM.” There are few entries after this, most noting people visiting to offer sympathies, and recording the whereabouts of Jean and Gwenlian MacCallum, Daisy’s adopted daughter.

Of note is the abundance of items in this donation related to Elise Drexler, the third Kelley child. Elise moved to San Francisco after her marriage to millionaire Louis Drexler in 1893. When he died six years later, Elise inherited much of his wealth, and she fought and won an unprecedented court case to gain full control of her inheritance.

Elise was a philanthropist, and in an era characterized by women’s clubs, Elise worked independently. Many of her causes focused on children, and this new donation includes over 50 photos of Drexler Hall, formally known as The Convalescent Hospital and School for Crippled Children. Elise founded the hospital in 1916, and this batch of photos provides an unprecedented look inside the building and at the children who lived there. Elise, often not found smiling in photographs, appears alongside the children in several photos with a wide smile. Five photos show the 1917 May Day celebration at Drexler Hall, with Elise joining the children in the Maypole dance.

Also in the donation is a set of china with hand painted floral designs, done by Elise. Much of Elise’s artwork featured florals, including three paintings and a sketchbook already in the Kelley House archive.

As we continue processing this donation, more treasures will continue to reveal themselves. To view the photographs and other items as they are digitized, visit the Kelley House Museum’s online archive on our website and search 2026-001. You can also search our entire digital catalog there! https://kelleyhousemuseum.catalogaccess.com/search

Photo: Elise Drexler posing with children at Drexler Hall, taken May 12, 1917. Elise is wearing a dark dress and a white hat. (Gift of Paula Kelley-Mingram)

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳: 50 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵! 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺-𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺, 11𝘢𝘮-3𝘱𝘮. 𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘮 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘦. https://www.kelleyhousemuseum.org/events/month/

05/27/2026

Born in 1874 in Comptche, Charlotte “Lottie” Hoak was the eldest daughter of Lizzie and Newman Hoak. When she was born, her father planted seven redwood trees on their property, which she nicknamed her “Birthday Grove.” She grew to love nature early in life, an interest cultivated by growing up on a ranch in the redwoods with her parents.

Charlotte Hoak loved nature — and her heart stayed in the redwoods no matter where she lived.

05/23/2026

Kelley House Director and Festival Organizer Anne Semans appeared on Good Day Sacramento this morning to talk about the Murder, She Wrote Festival. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPiDYQuwuqM

Next year's Murder, She Wrote Festival will be held on May 21-23, 2027. Tickets go on sale in September. Sign up for our newsletter for festival announcements: https://www.kelleyhousemuseum.org/about-newsletter-archives/

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘕𝘉𝘊𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘭.

A classic show is living well past its original run thanks to a yea...

05/22/2026

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘮...

𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳, 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘔𝘢𝘺 23 𝘢𝘵 11𝘢𝘮.

𝘔𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳, 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘔𝘢𝘺 23 𝘢𝘵 11:30𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘔𝘢𝘺 24 𝘢𝘵 11𝘢𝘮.

𝘏𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳, 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘔𝘢𝘺 23 𝘢𝘵 7𝘱𝘮.

𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘺 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴. 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬-𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦. $25. https://www.kelleyhousemuseum.org/events/month

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘒𝘢𝘵𝘺 𝘛𝘢𝘩𝘫𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘔𝘢𝘺 24 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 10𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘰 3𝘱𝘮.

𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 “𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳: 50 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦 1𝘴𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺-𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺, 11𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘰 3𝘱𝘮.

Photo: Kelley House Museum, May 2026. (Photographer: Robert Dominy

05/21/2026

Annual Kelley House Memorial Day Book Sale by Katy Tahja

While gathering books for the Kelley House Museum book sale, some real treasures materialize! This annual sale takes place on Sunday, May 24 from 10am to 3pm.

Why would Mendocino’s K-8 School Library be donating what looks like useful teacher reference books? The internet is one answer, and the age of the volumes is another. “American Book of Days” offers a bit of history for every day of the year, but it’s over 60 years old and has 697 pages occupying a lot of shelf space. Readers can find those facts in moments now on the internet.

The K-8 Library also needs more shelf space. Just the SIZE of some of these volumes is impressive. For sale will be a 1950 Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations with 1614 pages, a 1962 Roget’s Thesaurus with 1258 pages, and a 1979 Webster’s American Biographies with 1139 pages, weighing in at over two pounds.

A 1960 book titled International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians has 2475 pages and is sold for $40 online, but we’ll sell it to you for $5. And wouldn’t your home library love Who’s Who in American History 1607-1896 or Oxford History of the American People or Concise Dictionary of American Biography with 1700 entries? This last book weighs in at four pounds, so just lifting it could give you a workout.

The most recent reference book being offered is Page One, New York Times Newspaper Stories 1920-1983, which includes reproductions of the front page of the New York Times across time. Brush up on your language skills with Basic Book of Spanish & English or the 1936 edition of Complete Rhyming Dictionary & Poets Craft Book. Amaze your kids with great reading suggestions after reading Newberry & Caldicott Gold Medal Books 1966-1975 to learn what makes an award-winning book. For animal lovers, two tomes available include Walker’s Mammals of the World and a National Geographic volume titled Birds of the World.

The sale takes place on Sunday, May 24 from 10am to 3pm on the east porch of the Kelley House Museum in Mendocino. Prices are low! The school reference books and anything over 100 years in age will sell for $5. Special treasures and books of local history will be higher in price due to age and rarity.

Photo: Katy Tahja posing with books available at the annual Kelley House Book Sale.

𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 “𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳: 50 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦 1𝘴𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺-𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺, 11𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘰 3𝘱𝘮. 𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘦. https://www.kelleyhousemuseum.org/events/month

05/20/2026

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Next year's Murder, She Wrote Festival will be held on May 21-23, 2027.

Festival tickets will go on sale in September 2026. Sign up for our newsletter for ticket announcements: https://www.kelleyhousemuseum.org/about-newsletter-archives/

For updates about the Festival and helpful planning advice, please bookmark the MSW Festival page: https://www.kelleyhousemuseum.org/events-murder-she-wrote-festival-gallery/

All of our festival merchandise is now online and available for purchase. This year's festival art was done by a local artist and is featured on magnets and t-shirts. We also had the iconic images of Jessica's house and her typewriter put on mini tote bags. Shop for a host of other items, including signed copies of the photo book, Memories of Cabot Cove. https://www.kelleyhousemuseum.org/product-category/merchandise/murder-she-wrote/

Thank you to this year's generous Murder, She Wrote Festival Sponsors!

Inns and Restaurants:
Blair House Inn, Harbor Lite Lodge, The Stanford Inn, Little River Inn, Noyo Harbor Inn, Nicholson House, MacCallum House, GoodLife Cafe & Bakery, North Coast Brewing Co., Joshua Grindle Inn, Alegria Inn, Mendocino Cafe, Mendocino Cove Resort, Luna Restaurant, Dick’s Place, Fog Eater Cafe, Patterson’s Pub, Trillium Cafe and Inn, and Flow Restaurant.

Local Businesses:
Century 21 Seascape Realty, Murder Ridge Winery, Scharffenberger Cellars, Husch Vineyards, Fathers & Daughters Cellars, Meyer Family Cellars, Black Oak Coffee, Mendocino Cookie Company, Mendocino Tea Company, Out of this World, Village Sock Shop, Queen Bee, Partners Gallery, Whistlestop, Mendocino Jams & Preserves, Gallery Bookshop, Harvest Market, Bebe Lapin, Astoria Home Store, Mendocino Sandpiper Jewelry, Heavenly Soles, Highlight Gallery, My Chic Farmhouse, Rule 62, Den Modern, Zintara, and Mendo Parks.

Videographer: Robert Dominy.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘕𝘉𝘊𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘭.

05/18/2026

"When driving north along Highway 1 towards Mendocino, the Presbyterian Church steeple is one of the first structures you’ll see as the town comes into view. At a height of 78 feet, the steeple rises above the structures along the south side of Mendocino’s Main Street, immediately drawing the eye." -Averee McNear, Kelley House Museum Curator

Built in 1867, the church is the oldest Presbyterian Church in continuous use in California.