Stockton's historic gems, here are 6 historic homes you should know about
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Stockton is full of diversity, culture and history.
Driving through the different neighborhoods of the city you may notice the multitude of homes ranging in all sizes and architectural styles. From Greek Revival to Victorian homes, Stockton has it all.
Here are six historical homes in Stockton with a story to tell.
Benjamin Holt House
The two-story white house on 548 E. Park St. in Stockton is the historical Benjamin Holt House.
"Inventor of the Caterpillar tractor and long time president of the Holt Manufacturing Company, Benjamin Holt, resided here until his death in 1920," The Historical Marker Database website states. "The Holt family made this house available to the Boy Scouts of America, and in April 1956 it was dedicated as the service center of the Forty-Niner Council."
This is Stockton Historical Landmark No. 8. It was designated by the Stockton City Council in 1971, the database states.
Holt and his brother Charles Holt invented the Stockton Wheel Company in 1833 before he invented the track-type tractor Caterpillar brand.
"The Stockton Wheel Company sold lumber, wagon and carriage materials and primarily manufactured wagon axles, wheels and frames for horses," Caterpillar website states.
Year Built: 1869
Style of home: Greek revival
Address: 548 E. Park St. in Stockton
Wong K. Gew Mansion
The yellow Wong K. Gew Mansion can be found at 345 W. Clay St. in south Stockton.
"Wong Gew came to California from China in the 1880s, settling first in San Francisco and then moving to the San Joaquin Valley," states a National Register of Historical Places Inventory Nomination Form from 1978. "In Stockton, Wong Gew became a prominent gambler and established several large gaming houses, including the Tong King Company in the Roosevelt Hotel."
This home was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sept. 20, 1978.
"Consequently, Wong Gew was required to build his new home south of Main Street because Chinese were not permitted to live north of that line," the form states.
The home has 15 rooms, an interior finished with Honduras mahogany and Yum Nan-type marble and other fine materials. Construction of the home was around $60,000, The Historical Market Database website states.
This is Stockton Historical Landmark No. 15. It was designated by the Stockton City Council in 1973, the website states.
Year Built: 1921
Style of home: Federal revival
Address: 345 W. Clay St. in Stockton
Moses Rodgers House
The home of Moses Logan Rodgers is located in south Stockton at 921 S. San Joaquin St.
This is the home of "the first man to drill for natural gas locally, is a Stockton Historical Landmark listed also on the national register of historic places," The Stockton Record reported in 1999.
In 1909, Vivian Rodgers, daughter of Moses Rodgers "became the first African American woman to graduate from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor of Letters degree in English," the UC Berkeley website states.
She also graduated from Stockton High School.
"Moses Rodgers was born into slavery in Missouri and made his way to California in 1849 during the onset of the Gold Rush," the UC Berkeley website states. "He became a prominent mining engineer in Mariposa County and he and his wife Sarah had five daughters."
The website states that the home was added to the "Register of National Historic Places in 1978."
Year Built: 1898
Style of home: Eclectic vernacular
Address: 921 S. San Joaquin St. in Stockton
Superintendent's Residence
This home is No. 4 on the Stockton Historical Landmark list.
The Superintendent's Residence was designated by the Stockton City Council in 1971, The Historical Marker Database website states.
The home marker reads: "Built for the Stockton State Hospital at a cost of $5,800. This 16 room home is an excellent example of a Southern Mansion. The state hospital was established in 1853 as the first publicly supported facility for the mentally ill in the West."
This home is located at the Stanislaus State Stockton Campus at University Park. It was originally the Stockton State Insane Asylum later known as the Stockton State Hospital.
"Built in 1853, it was the state’s first hospital for the mentally ill—and it had tumultuous reputation from the very beginning. A superintendent was accused of forcing patients to build his house and underreporting deaths under his watch," Visit Stockton states on their website regarding the Stockton Center former hospital grounds. "Patients were shackled, and some sterilized against their will. And like many hospitals at that time, lobotomies were considered appropriate treatment."
This home is also referred to as the Magnolia Mansion.
Year Built: 1900
Style of home: Georgian Neoclassical Revival Beaux Arts architecture
Address: 521 E. Acacia St. in Stockton at CSU Stanislaus University Park grounds
Julia Weber House
The Julia Weber house can be located at the San Joaquin County Historical Museum at Micke Grove grounds at 11793 Micke Grove Road in Lodi.
Weber was the only daughter of the founder of Stockton, Charles M. Weber and Helen Murphy, The Stockton Record reported in 2001.
Murphy's 1892 home was relocated to the San Joaquin County Historical Museum at Micke Grove in Lodi.
The home was moved several times from its original location at Weber Point before stopping at its final current location. She never married and died in 1935, The Record reported in 2001.
Year Built: 1892
Style of home: Victorian-style
Address: San Joaquin County Historical Museum at Micke Grove grounds, 11793 Micke Grove Road in Lodi
Commanders House (also known as the Lindley House)
The Commanders House or Lindley House is located at 1 Fyffe Ave. in Stockton.
In 2013, the home celebrated 100 years since it was built in 1913.
The Record reported then that historians didn't know who had built the home in 1913. However, they knew that Albert Lindley had moved into it.
"Lindley, who used to tour his island astride a palomino horse, was one of Stockton's biggest-ever movers and shakers. He built docks on the island and shipped food," The Record reported 11 years ago.
Lindley died four years later after the U.S. Navy bought more than 1,400 acres of Rough and Ready Island in 1944 where they built a supply depot.
Albert and Virginia Lindley lived in the 4,700-square-foot, two-story residence until they died, The Record reported.
"Lindley was the visionary who led the effort to dredge a deep water channel to San Francisco. During his campaign, he entertained then-Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover in that house," The Record reported.
The home is now an event venue.
Year Built: 1913
Style of home: unknown
Address: 1 Fyffe Ave. in Stockton
Record reporter Angelaydet Rocha covers community news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached atarocha@recordnet.com or on Twitter @AngelaydetRocha. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record athttps://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: 6 historic homes in Stockton to know about
