Johnston House - Half Moon Bay

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photo by Donald Kinney

Just south of Half Moon Bay, sitting all alone on a slight hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean is the James Johnson House. The classic New England saltbox (two stories in front, one in back) was built by '49er pioneer James Johnston between 1853-1855, for his bride, Petra Maria de Jara.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Johnson was born October 7, 1813, in Melrose Scotland. His family immigrated to the United States aboard the Prompt in 1818 and settled in Pittsburgh, PA, then moved to Gallipolis, Ohio, after the death of his father in 1826. One of nine children, James served in the military in the Mexican war, became interested in Mexican culture and sailed to California aboard the Oregon in 1849. He may have worked in the mines, but he was most successful as a partner in the fashionable El Dorado Saloon in San Francisco and as a real estate investor.



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photo by Donald Kinney

James Johnson built his house between 1853 and 1855. It is modeled after the family home in Gallipolis. Johnson's California dream was to build a proper Yankee house at the center of an eastern-style dairy ranch.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Half Moon Bay is roughly 25 miles south of San Francisco. The Pacific Ocean is a great place to cool one's heels...



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photo by Donald Kinney

How about some mustard on that?


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