Rengstorff House, Mountain View

Built sometime around 1867, the Rengstorff House is considered the first built in Mountain View. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, the twelve room, 4,000 square foot mansion was built by German immigrant Henry Rengstorff on 164 acres that is now part of Shoreline Business Park. The house was moved to another part of the property twice in the 1980s to save it from demolition and was restored in 1991. The house and grounds are currently open for public tours and is a popular site for Bay Area couples to get married.

Henry Rengstorff (1829-1906) grew up in Germany where he was the son of a tavern owner/ educator. Rengstorff was drawn to the west coast of America by rumors of gold; he arrived in San Francisco at age 21 in 1850. However, he was a bit too late to make it in mining and found employment in the shipping and agricultural industries in the area. Around 1855, Henry married Christine Hassler, another German native, in San Jose; the couple went on to have seven children. He eventually amassed a small fortune and soon had large land holdings of six farms in multiple counties. He purchased 164 acres in 1864 (1.5 miles north of town of Mountain View) where he built his historic home. The two-story, wood frame, 16-room grand house combined elements of Georgian Neo-Classical and Italianate styles. Rengstorff added a boat landing further north to serve as a shipping port for the region's grain and other products. 

Their home farm was used to grow grain and hay. In 1870, Henry (age 40) was a farmer who owned $65,000 in real estate and $2,000 in personal property. He shared his home with wife Christine (39) and children Mary (12), John (10), Eliza (9), Lena (8), Nannie (6), and Henry Jr. (3). Also living in the home were Nannie Small (13) and a carpenter, Anthony William (29). The children were all natives of California; Ms. Small was illiterate and may have been a servant; the carpenter was born in Maine. Henry later donated part of his land to hold the Whisman School, a public school.

Six of the Rengstorff children lived to adulthood and some moved from the area. Eventually, son Henry Jr. became the manager of the Rengstorff landing and its warehouse. Mary married A. C. Martel. John H. married and moved to Alaska. Elise married William F. Haag, Helena married Dr. O. P. Askam, and Christine F. married Robert McMillan. Another son, Charles W., passed away when he was a young child. Henry Sr. was elected a Senior Deacon of the Mountain View Masonic Lodge No. 194 in 1891; he served as a Master in 1896 and a Marshal in 1898. Mrs. (Christine) Rengstorff was a member of the Mountain View Women's Club, formed in 1904, and became their First Vice-President by 1906. The couple were members of the Presbyterian Church. Henry died in 1906 at age 77; Christine lived until 1919. The Rengstorff House passed to daughter Elise Haag and her husband, who lived in the home by the early 1920s. Henry Jr. was living on a ranch in Mountain View by the early 1920s. The home then transferred to Elise's adopted nephew, Perry Askam who sold the home to land developers in 1959. 

The home and land then passed through the hands of numerous owners over the next twenty years. It was also abandoned and vandalized during this time but was saved from demolition when the city of Mountain View purchased it in 1979. The home was then moved from its original location (1737 Stierlin Rd., previously Bay Rd.) to a temporary location and then to its current location, restored to its Victorian grandeur, and dedicated as a public site in 1991. Three days a week, tours of the house and grounds are led by volunteer docents in period costumes as they discuss the home’s history, the story of the Rengstorff family, the Victorian furnishings and daily life in late 19th century Mountain View. The house sponsors numerous Victorian themed events throughout the year, to include its Annual Spring Tea every March, Where History Meets Haunting: Inventions and Imaginations every Halloween, and holiday events in December. The grounds feature a restored windmill, a replica Tank House, and gardens.

Alsman, Ken. Sarnat, Marlene. Butler, Phyllis. Lyon, Emily. Carlson, John. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form: Henry A. Rengstorff House." U.S. Dept. of the Interior: National Park Service. December 28, 1976. Accessed June 04, 2017. https://npgallery.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/NRHP/Text/78000778.pdf.

California Federation of Women's Clubs. Club Women of California, ... (1906-1907). Sacramento, CA. California Federation of Women's Clubs, 1907.

City of Mountain View. Rengstorff House: Docent-Led Tours, City of Mountain View City Services: Shoreline at Mountain View . January 1st, 2024. Accessed July 30th, 2024. https://www.mountainview.gov/our-city/departments/community-services/shoreline-at-mountain-view/facilities-and-amenities/rengstorff-house/tours.

Friends of "R" House. Rengstorff Family History, Rengstorff House: About. January 1st, 2024. Accessed July 30th, 2024. https://friendsofrhouse.org/about-r-house/family-history/.

Sawyer, Eugene Taylor. History of Santa Clara County, California With Biographical Sketches .... Volume I. Los Angeles, CA. Historic Record Company, 1922.

Sherman, Edwin A. Fifty Years of Masonry in California. Volume I. San Francisco, CA. George Spaulding & Co., 1898.

U.S. Census Bureau. Household of Henry Rengstorff in Fremont Township, Santa Clara County, California, dwelling 34, family 33. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1870.