Barron-Latham-Hopkins Gate Lodge

The oldest building still standing in Menlo Park, this redwood-covered building originally served as the gatehouse to a large estate. The Gate Lodge was constructed in 1864 for William Eustace Barron, whose 280-acre estate extended from Ravenswood Avenue to San Francisquito Creek. The estate went through several wealthy owners, including former Governor and U.S. Senator Milton S. Latham and Mrs. Mark Hopkins. The Hopkins family established a commercial seed and plant nursery on the estate grounds by the 1890s; they more than doubled the size of the Gate Lodge by 1897 and 1906 additions to the north side. The remaining buildings on the estate, recently acquired by Stanford University after the death of the Hopkins owners, were demolished in 1942 or disassembled and sold for movie sets, except for the Gate Lodge. The City of Menlo Park purchased the Gate Lodge in 1968 and partially renovated it. In 1986, Barron-Latham-Hopkins Gate Lodge became a National Register of Historic Places listing; it is thought to be the last gatehouse of its era, surviving unchanged in all of California. The Junior League of Palo Alto, Mid-Peninsula, a tenant of part of the building since 1970, renovated the Gate Lodge with the city in 1996. The Junio League offers the building for rentals for special occasions.

The building at 555 Ravenswood Ave. is the oldest building still standing in Menlo Park and once served as the gatehouse to an estate. The Gate Lodge was constructed in 1864 for William Eustace Barron, whose 280-acre estate extended from Ravenswood Ave. to San Francisquito Creek. Barron made a fortune in California in the quicksilver mining industry. When he died in 1871, the estate of the San Francisco resident was valued at five to eight million dollars. Much of his estate was willed to his heirs, most of whom lived in Spain; his real estate was owned by the firm of Barron & Company.

The "beautiful country residence" at Menlo Park was purchased in late 1871 by Milton S. Latham for $75,000. Latham served as California Governor very briefly in January 1860 before resigning to become a U.S. Senator. Work was soon underway to modify the main house on the estate. Workmen raised the building eight feet to build a basement underneath and added a rear addition. Interior renovations were being completed in February 1872 while Mr. Latham was in San Francisco. The workers inadvertently left behind hot coals from a fire in a fireplace they had burned to dry the interior. The house burned down that evening after the workers left, including the contents. The loss was valued at $40,000 but was covered by insurance. Another thirty men had been working on the estate to build a stable and a new foundation under the water tank. Mrs. Latham (Sophie Birdsall) was slated to arrive from the East Coast in April 1872. Mr. Latham had a new house built on the estate; by May 1873, construction was advanced enough that Latham planned to move into the ell wing; the house was slated to be complete by September. Latham moved to New York City in 1879 to head the New York Mining Stock Exchange.

James G. Fair reportedly purchased the Latham estate in Menlo Park in September 1878 for $850,000. Fair was born in Ireland in 1831, emigrated to the U.S. as a child, and later made a fortune in the California mining industry. By 1881, his wealth was estimated at $25 million. Mrs. Mark Hopkins, a very wealthy widow from San Francisco, became the next owner of the Menlo Park property; she paid $205,000 in the spring of 1883. Her late husband had been one of the partners in the Central Pacific Railroad; he served as the treasurer from about 1861 up to his death in 1878. Timothy Hopkins, the adopted son of the childless couple, married May Crittenden around 1882; the Menlo Park property was purchased for Timothy, although he was not formally deeded the estate until 1888. Mrs. Mark Hopkins owned an elaborate mansion in San Francisco and planned to build an even grander one for herself in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, in 1885. Timothy established a commercial seed and plant nursery on the estate grounds in the early 1890s. Timothy was the former treasurer of the Southern Pacific Company when he decided to go into the horticultural industry. The millionaire established "broad acres of sweet peas, calla lilies, chrysanthemums... under the wide-spreading oaks of Menlo..." in an "extensive nursery, hothouses and forcing beds..." first known as Sherwood Hall Nurseries and later the Sunset Seed and Plant Company. The business was in economic decline by the late 1890s, and Hopkins secretly sold out to the nursery manager, James Sproule, in 1897. Hopkins was said to have lost $70,000 on the enterprise. That didn't stop him from adding a kitchen addition onto the north end of the Gate Lodge (the end farthest from the gate) in 1897. Hopkins rented out the building as a parish house for the nearby Episcopal church from 1897 to 1906. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Hopkins had the Gate Lodge raised and placed upon a concrete foundation; the building was more than doubled in size by a two-story addition to the north in 1906. Timothy and his wife moved into the Gate Lodge in 1907 as their summer residence; he died in 1936, and she passed away in 1941.

The remaining buildings on the estate, which had been bequeathed to Stanford U., were deteriorated by 1942; they were demolished or disassembled and sold for movie sets, except for the Gate Lodge. The lodge briefly housed Commandants of the nearby Army hospital. The City of Menlo Park purchased the Gate Lodge from the university in 1968 and completed renovations on its steep, shingled mansard style roof. The Junior League of Palo Alto, Mid-Peninsula, a group for women ages 21 and up with an interest in volunteerism, have rented part of the Gate Lodge since 1970. In 1986, Barron-Latham-Hopkins Gate Lodge became a National Register of Historic Places listing; it is the last gatehouse of its era surviving relatively unchanged in all of California. The city and the tenants renovated the gatehouse in 1996. The Junior League offers the building for event rentals, with proceeds going toward upkeep of the historic building.

Anonymous. "The estate of William E. Barron...." Daily Union (Sacramento) November 14th, 1871. 2-2.

Anonymous. "The will of William E. Barron...." Daily Union (Sacramento) November 14th, 1871. 3-3.

Anonymous. "Large Real Estate Sale." San Mateo Gazette (Redwood City) December 16th, 1871. 2-2.

Anonymous. "Fire." San Mateo Gazette (Redwood City) February 17th, 1872. 3-3.

Anonymous. "Milton S. Latham has his residence..." San Mateo Gazette (Redwood City) May 24th, 1873. 3-3.

Anonymous. "Milton S. Latham's Residence...." Marin County Journal (San Rafael) September 19th, 1878. 3-3.

Anonymous. "The Bonanza People and Others." The Inyo Independent (Independence, CA) June 11th, 1881. 3-3.

Anonymous. "Pacific Coast Wealth." Weekly Trinity Journal (Weaverville, CA) January 20th, 1883. 1-1.

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Anonymous. "San Francisco News." Daily Tribune (San Luis Obispo) September 15th, 1883. 1-1.

Anonymous. "The Widow's Palace, Mrs. Mark Hopkins and her New House at Great Barrington." Stockton Mail (Stockton) March 16th, 1885. 1-1.

Anonymous. "Tired of Being a Nurseryman, Tim Hopkins Abandons his Fad, ... The Broad Acres of the Menlo Millionaire no Longer Devoted to the Business of Plant Sprouting." San Francisco Call (San Francisco) September 7th, 1898. 7-7.

California State Library. Governor Milton Latham of California, Governors of California. Accessed August 27th, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20070613155119/http://www.californiagovernors.ca.gov/h/biography/governor_6.html.

Hopkins, Timothy. "Sherwood Hall Nurseries." The Record-Union (Sacramento) December 9th, 1892. 6-6.

Junior League of Palo Alto, Mid Peninsula Inc. Rent the Gatehouse, Junioe League of Palo Alto, Mid Peninsula. January 1st, 2024. Accessed August 27th, 2024. https://www.thejuniorleague.org/rent-the-gatehouse/.

Regnery, D. NRHP nomination of Barron-Latham-Hopkins Gate Lodge, Menlo Park, California. National Register of Historic Places. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1986.