Camron-Stanford House facts for kids
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Cameron-Stanford House
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 Location in California
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| Location | 1426 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, California |
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| Area | 0 acres (0 ha) |
| Built | 1871 |
| Built by | Will W. Cameron |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 72000213 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | June 13, 1972 |
The Camron-Stanford House is a beautiful old mansion in Oakland, California. It's the very last of the large, fancy homes that used to stand around Lake Merritt in the 1800s. This house was once home to several important families. Later, in 1907, it became Oakland's first ever museum!
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History of the Camron-Stanford House
Who Lived Here First?
The Camron-Stanford House was built in 1876. The first people to live there were William Walker Camron and his wife, Alice. Alice's father was Dr. John Marsh, a famous early settler in California. Dr. Marsh helped many people travel to California by wagon train. He also played a part in California becoming independent from Mexico.
Dr. Marsh owned a huge piece of land called Rancho Los Meganos, which was about 13,000 acres! He built a large stone house there. This stone house still stands today in what is now Marsh Creek State Park. Sadly, Dr. Marsh passed away due to an unfortunate event involving an employee. Alice received a large amount of money from her father. She used this money to buy the Camron-Stanford House from its builder, Samuel Merritt.
William Camron, Alice's husband, was a deputy sheriff. This means he helped keep the peace and enforce laws. He was also active in the Republican Party, a major political group. He was chosen to fill an empty spot on the Oakland City Council. Later, he became a member of the California State Assembly, which makes laws for the whole state.
Other Important Families
The next family to live in the house was led by David Hewes. Mr. Hewes made and lost a lot of money during his life. He is famous for donating one of the special golden spikes. These spikes were used to celebrate the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. This railroad was a huge deal because it connected the East and West coasts of the United States!
From 1882 to 1903, the Josiah Stanford family owned the house. Josiah Stanford was the brother of Leland Stanford. Leland Stanford was one of the people who started the Central Pacific Railroad. This company built the part of the transcontinental railroad that went east from Sacramento.
The House Becomes a Museum
In 1907, the city of Oakland bought the Camron-Stanford House. They also bought other private homes around Lake Merritt. The city tore down the other houses to create Lakeside Park. But they kept the Camron-Stanford House! They turned it into the Oakland Museum. The museum stayed in the house for about 50 years.
Later, the Oakland Museum joined with the Oakland Art Gallery and the Snow Museum. In 1965, the combined museum moved to a new, bigger building. People in Oakland really loved the Camron-Stanford House. Their interest and donations helped save it. Today, it is its own independent museum, showing what life was like in the Victorian era.
The Camron-Stanford House has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since June 13, 1972. This means it's recognized as an important historical building.
