Jerome Ford was born in Vermont, in 1821. A woodsman by trade, he left Vermont in 1849 and found his way to San Francisco. In 1851, Ford was sent to the Mendocino Coast by his employer (a Bodega Bay grist mill) with the purpose of searching for the wreck of the Frolic, and to access whether or not it was worth salvaging its cargo. Even though the Frolic was a loss, Ford spotted the real treasure: Coast Redwood trees. Upon his return to San Francisco, he mentioned the trees to an entrepenuer, Henry Meiggs, who ordered a sawmill from the East Coast and purchased a ship (the Ontario) to carry it north. Jerome Ford, a partner in the business venture, drove cattle overland, up the Mendocino Coast, and arrived in Mendocino on 17 June 1852. Ford staked out lands around present day Mendocino, sharing the land with a shipwrecked sailor, William Kasten, who claimed squatter's rights.
Once the mill was constructed, Ford oversaw it as supervisor. In 1854, Ford left Mendocino (then, Big River Township), to return to the East Coast to marry Martha Hayes). While on his trip, E.C. Williams was employed to construct a house. Upon the return of the Ford's, they found their house had on rather unusual feature. Williams had built the kitchen in the basement, insisting that all kitchens were to be found in that location.
Jerome Ford died in Oakland in 1889, having moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to improve educational opportunities for their six children.
The Ford House is open to the public: For more information, or to become a member of the Mendocino Area Parks Association, write: MAPA, P. O. Box 1387, Mendocino, CA 95460
You can also reach MAPA at
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