Redman-Hirahara House

Located in the Pajaro Valley of California, the Redman-Hirahara House is one of the first farm homes to be owned by a Japanese-American family. Initially built for beet farmer James Redman, it was sold to the Hiraharas after the death of the previous owner. The property remained in the Hirahara family for several generations, including the years when the family was forced to live with other Americans of Japanese origin in internment camps during World War II. During those years, the Hirahara family lived in an internment camp in Arkansas. A nonprofit organization purchased the house in 2005 for the purposes of restoration, but no plans went forward after the organization went bankrupt and lost the home in 2009. While the historic home has been vacant for several decades and needs repairs, it remains an example of West Coast Victorian architecture and is an important piece of local Japanese-American history.

This house was built in 1897 for beet farmer James Redman. It was designed by William H. Weeks in a West Coast Victorian style common to other farm homes of the time. Redman died in 1921, and the home was sold to J. Katsumi Tao. In the 1930s, when the home was sold to a relative of Tao, 16-year-old Fumio Hirahara. This made him one of the first Japanese-Americans in the country to own a farm home.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, there was a rise within the United States of xenophobia and fear of Japanese people, especially on the West Coast, where most of them lived. No matter how long the family had been in the United States or even if they were born there, Japanese-American people were deemed "enemy aliens" and forced into internment camps for much of World War II. This included those in the Pajaro Valley like the Hiraharas. In particular, they were forced to a camp in Arkansas. While many Japanese people lost everything while interned, including their property, jobs, and homes, this family was able to return to their farm home once the war ended, thanks to assistance from friends in Watsonville. The family made extensions to their home to give less fortunate Japanese-Americans, those who had lost everything, a temporary place to stay.

The extended family enjoyed the home for some decades after this. By the turn of the century, the Hiraharas had moved on from their family home, and it had sat empty for some time. In 2005, the Redman-Hirahara House was purchased by a nonprofit called the Redman-Hirahara Foundation. The organization then placed the house on the National Register and had plans to eventually turn it into a visitor and cultural education center. Sadly, this never came to pass, as the Foundation went bankrupt during the Recession and the home was foreclosed. While the house was eventually purchased by a real estate development company, no plans for the restoration of this historic home have gone forward.

Guzman, Kara Meyberg. Watsonville ag company buys famed Redman-Hirahara house, Santa Cruz Sentinel. September 11th, 2018. Accessed December 17th, 2022. https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2015/03/25/watsonville-ag-company-buys-famed-redman-hirahara-house/.

National Register #04000734 Redman House, NoeHill in San Francisco. Accessed December 17th, 2022. https://noehill.com/santacruz/nat2004000734.asp.

Redman House, Santa Cruz LocalWiki. February 22nd, 2018. Accessed December 17th, 2022. https://localwiki.org/santacruz/Redman_House.

Even the Grand Dames have fallen on hard times, Beautiful Buildings. January 13th, 2009. Accessed December 17th, 2022. https://beautifulbuildings.wordpress.com/2009/01/13/even-the-grand-dames-have-fallen-on-hard-times/.