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Following is a short history of the family and the House from 1853 to 1965. In 1962 the house was seen and photographed by
Malcolm and Joan Watkins of the Smithsonian Institution, who inspired the restoration.
1853 to 1861
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| James Johnston |
James
Johnston was born October 7, 1813, in Melrose, Scotland. His family
immigrated to the United States aboard the Prompt in 1818 and settled
in Pittsburgh, PA, then moved to Gallipolis, Ohio, after the death of
his father in 1826. One of nine children, James served in the military
in the Mexican war, became interested in Mexican culture and sailed to
California aboard the Oregon in 1849. He may have worked in the mines,
but he was most successful as a partner in the fashionable El Dorado
Saloon on San Francisco's Dupont Street (now Grant Avenue) and as a
real estate investor.
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| The El Dorado Saloon on Dupont Street in San Francisco |
He
assisted Mexican residents in protecting their property rights after
California became part of the United States. He married Petra Maria de
Jara, a Mexican native, in San Francisco on April 10, 1852 and on May
9, 1853, purchased 1,162 acres of the Miramontes Rancho de San Benito
which encompassed the southern part of Half Moon Bay.
He
built his house between 1853 and 1855. It is believed it was modeled
after the family home in Gallipolis. The early era ended sadly with the
death of daughter Alice, 4 years old, in November 1858 and Petra's
death on April 30, 1861. Petra and Alice are buried in Our Lady of The
Pillar Cemetery on Route 92 , while James and his son John are in the
Odd Fellows Cemetery with other family members.
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| Petra Maria de Hara |
Family
accounts state that James' sister-in-law, Glorian Griffing, came to
California around Cape Horn, saw the house emerging from the fog and
vowed she would find the house and its owners. In the process, she met
James' brother Thomas whom she married on April 26, 1853 in Half Moon
Bay.
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