The James Johnston House, located on a rolling Half Moon Bay hillside overlooking the Pacific, is an architectural gem hidden in plain sight. It is also one of the rarest historic houses on the California coast, a "Yankee-style" white saltbox building constructed by Johnston for his wife, Petra Maria de Jara, between 1853-55. After languishing in a state of poor repair for years, local conservationists formed a foundation in 1971 to preserve this amazing structure, which is open the third Saturday a month from 11 AM - 3 PM for guided tours. There is also an annual holiday boutique two weekends in November where the rooms are all decorated and local vendors sell arts and crafts. If you are lucky enough to be in the area when the house is open, you will be treated to a fascinating glimpse into Bay area history during the decades that followed the California gold rush.
Most people will drive by on Highway 1 without ever noticing this famous "white house of Half Moon Bay." We only stumbled across it while shopping one Saturday on Main Street and followed a few signs directing us to the parking lot on Higgins-Purissima Road (close to the HMB fire station). The rooms inside this gleaming white, green-shuttered homestead are furnished with some original items donated by the family as well as contemporary pieces from the late 19th century. Stop and admire the rose garden, the mother-in-law's personal chapel, the Victorian parlor, the kitchen and pantry, and the upstairs bedrooms. There is also a short video to watch and photos from the renovation process. The surrounding fields are still being farmed, making this place seem like living history. The tour guides, many of whom dress in period costume, are incredibly nice to visitors and staff a small gift shop that helps to raise money to support the on-going restorations. The foundation's web site provides all the relevant details for planning your visit and gives additional insight into the history of the Johnston family and the renovation process.
Another historical property from the 1850s is just down the road: the Burleigh H. Murray Ranch State Park , which has a unique 2-story dairy barn that makes for a pleasant short hike when the weather is right.
The James Johnston House sits on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean, east of Route One, just south of the city of Half Moon Bay. Isolated, its silhouette is a remarkable sight against the rolling hillsides golden brown until the winter rains turns them green. The classic New England saltbox (two stories in front, one in back) was built by '49er pioneer James Johnston between 1853-1855, for his Californiano bride, Petra Maria de Jara. One of the first white men to visit the Coastside, Johnston (1813-1879) saw Candelario Miramontes's magnificent Rancho de San Benito and in 1853 purchased 1,162 acres from Guadalupe Briones, Miramontes's widow, for $14,000. His grand scheme and dream of a proper Yankee house, the center of an eastern-style dairy ranch, became real as he sent his brothers, Thomas and John, back to Ohio to round up a herd of eastern dairy cows and with brother William drive them across the country to "Spanish Town."
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