A doctor helped shape early Sacramento. His charming, 1905 downtown home hit the market
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In 1905, a prominent Sacramento resident and physician built a stately Craftsman-style house with notable Victorian influences at 26th and I streets.
Eighty-five years later, the house was moved to a vacant lot at 516 10th St. in the Alkali Flat Historic District, one of the oldest surviving neighborhoods in the city, according to California Department of Parks and Recreation records.
“I think a really special aspect about this particular home is that it has been beautifully preserved even though the home was actually on the other side of the city,” listing agent Emily Valdez of EXP Realty said. “It was moved to this historical district location in an effort to preserve its beauty.”
The residence recently hit the market for $770,000 and a sale is pending.
Known as the Wilder House, the charming, 2,000-square-foot residence has been “lovingly restored and meticulously maintained over the years,” according to the official property listing. The home has four bedrooms and one-and-a-half bathrooms.
Original owner was prominent figure
Dr. Edwin M. Wilder was born in Sacramento in 1871. For more than 60 years, he was instrumental in shaping early Sacramento through his roles as city commissioner, city council member, private citizen and prominent physician, according to records on the history of the home that include a brief biography on Wilder.
His private practice was located on 10th and K streets. From 1903 to 1910, he was manager of the Wentworth-Igo Hospital at 2615 I St. In 1923, Wilder attended Stanford Medical School and was chief urologist at Sacramento Hospital until 1932.
The Wilder House was originally designed by renowned architect Alden W. Campbell, according to the records. From the clinker-brick fireplaces, wood flooring and wainscot to the lead-glass windows, light fixtures and built-ins, much of the home’s original period details remain. High ceilings add grandeur and elegance to the house.
“Throughout the house, you’ll see the original windows, built-in cabinets, beautiful hand-carved woodwork, fixtures that are just timeless, light switches that still have 100-year-plus charm,” Valdez said. “It’s just exquisite.”
Campbell, the architect, is known for helping shape the urban landscape in Sacramento in the early 1900s, according to the History of Sacramento County, California. He also built homes in Davis and Wheatland. His father was in the planing mill business. By the time Campbell was 16, he had won several medals from the California State Agriculture Society as a competitor in architectural drawing.
Silas Carle, a pioneer builder in California, hired Campbell as a teenager. He also worked two years at Sacramento planing mills, where he cultivated the craft of interior finish work — evident in the hand-carved wood newel posts at the Wilder House.
Two clinker brick fireplaces
“He is yet a young man but has achieved a success that many an older resident of California might well envy,” Campbell’s peers said of him in 1899, according to the history of the house.
The house is anchored by two fireplaces, each creating cozy focal points in the formal dining room and the family room.
The kitchen has been thoroughly updated with modern appliances, including a Miele dishwasher, gas stove/double oven, quartz counter tops and an island. An authentic pass-through window to the dining room remains a unique feature.
“I think the best features (of the house) are the original features from 1905, including all of the glass, the flooring, the woodwork, the clinker brick in the fireplaces,” Valdez said. “Those are all things that have been just absolutely preserved and restored and, and kept so special. It just feels absolutely timeless.”
The tea room, or breakfast nook, is bright and cheery with white cabinetry and colorful floral wallpaper. It leads onto a shaded porch.
The bedrooms are all upstairs, in keeping with the period.
“Interior and exterior structure are essentially unchanged since construction, with the exception of the rear porch area enclosure in 1930s,” according to the state Department of Parks and Recreation records.
A serene outdoor patio with a fountain and kitchen area is part of a fully fenced and landscaped yard.
“Preservation is an art and finding people who are passionate about keeping beautiful historic buildings like these fully preserved in their original form — it’s really special,” Valez said. “It takes a special person to really care for a home of this magnitude and it keeps the history of Sacramento alive.”
Close to downtown action
The home’s upgrades include a whole-house fan and tankless water heater.
While there’s room to park a small car on the lot, the property is just a 10-minute walk from downtown businesses, fine restaurants and entertainment venues, including Golden 1 Center, home of the Sacramento Kings.
