LAKE COUNTY-Two historical fixtures in Lake County both experience a change of scenery this week in the first steps towards their restoration.
On Sunday, the Ely Stage Coach Stop located near Kit”s Corner on Hwy. 29 in Kelseyville was jacked up and packed off to its new location a mile and a half away to a hilltop on route 281, with the South side of Mt. Konocti as its new backdrop.
And the antique San Francisco cable car that for 51 years has rusted in a corner of the fairgrounds in Lakeport will make its way across town in a parade Friday morning to its new temporary shelter at the county jail – where it will be restored. Both projects are being overseen by the Lake County Historical Society (LCHS) and mark years of hard work and cooperation by citizens and county officials alike.
The Ely Stage Coach Stop, believed to be the oldest “stick built” (constructed of milled lumber rather than adobe or logs) building in Lake County, according to LCHS project chairman Greg Dills, was loaded onto a flatbed and transported by Solares House Movers of Antioch.
The structure dates to the late 1850s and will house the Lake County Agricultural History and Farm Equipment Museum. Andrew Beckstoffer of Beckstoffer Vineyards donated both the historic stage stop and the five-acre parcel that is the new home for the stage stop to the county under an agreement that it would become a museum and be refurbished by LCHS.
The stage stop would have been demolished by a Caltrans-scheduled widening of Hwy. 29 had it not been removed, according to Dills. “So, although moving it looses the tie to the land that it was built on, at least this way it is saved and is still very close to its original location,” said Dills.
In preparation for the move, wires along Hwy. 29 were temporarily taken down by PG&E, and a detour was made available via Red Hills Road and State Route 175 while Hwy. 29 was briefly closed. LCHS president Randy Ridgel observed the event in the early morning hours on Sunday, saying the structure appears to be in good condition and that the movers made the task of transporting the two-story, approximately 2,000 square foot structure “look easy.”
“It was in movable condition, and there was no damage during the move. They did an outstanding job of it. Now that it”s moved we”re going to take the chimneys off, the fireplace-things like that. Overall it”s in good shape, but it”s going to take work and money to restore it. It will be a mixture of everything-we”re going to hire some, pay some, and an enormous amount of help will come from donations and volunteers,” said Ridgel.
“Finally something”s happened,” Dills said, noting that is has taken years to see the project through. “Randy brought the project before the Board of Supervisors many, many years ago. It”s been a process of getting various community members to take the lead-Randy, Bill Brunetti, Robert Roumiguiere all have been on board with this and I just got involved in the last few years. Time-wise it”s up in the air when the restoration would be finished. We”ll work on it as funding is available. We could get it done relatively quickly if there are enough donations both in materials and labor in the community as well as grant efforts,” said Dills.
Such efforts at fund raising have already brought in results. The Kettenhofen family, whom according to Ridgel owned the structure for 40 years prior to Beckstoffer”s approximately four years of ownership, donated $100,000 to the project. A 50/50 raffle recently collected $5,865 for the fund.
In terms of what the near future holds for the stage stop, according to Dills, a foundation needs to be poured and then reconstruction of parts of the structure. “A lot of wood was saved from the add-ons that were done with the original siding, so we have a lot of the exterior wood for it. The interior needs to be reconstructed to period, but we haven”t gotten that far out-that is still under the auspices of the county,” said Dills.
To determine what contractor or construction company will work on the project, a bid process needs to take place, said Dills. “The county will draw up the specs on the desired outcome of the project, then they have to go through a governmental process and wait for bids to come in-whoever is the lowest bidder for the product expected will get the job.”
Another project of the LCHS, the San Francisco #38 cable car will roll out of the Lake County Fairgrounds for the first time in 51 years this Friday. The Lake County Board of Supervisors voted to take possession of the cable car and the Fair Board of Directors voted on June 18 to give the antique car to the county.
LCHS project officers Pat Ridgel and Dan McCloud will take charge of the car for restoration, display, and possible use in parades. A small crew of volunteers is needed to assist in the movement of the car, and a photo op will take place Friday morning at approximately 9 a.m., with people loading onto the car-some in costume. A short parade will then take place from Martin Street through downtown Lakeport, making “a lot of noise around 10 a.m.” according to a press release.
