McFarland House may open to public in a year

The McFarland House, built in 1878, is being restored on the historic ranch between Galt and Thornton. It should open as a public museum by the spring of 2009, said Ron Jacobson, who has directed the ranch's restoration the past nine years. (Ross Farrow/News-Sentinel)

McFarland House may open to public in a year

By Ross Farrow
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Monday, March 3, 2008 6:41 AM PST

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Within a year, the John McFarland House will be open to the public as a living history museum.

"For Galt, this is our Hill House, this is our Bidwell House, this is our McHenry House," said Ron Jacobson, comparing the building to the historic structures in Lodi, Chico and Modesto, respectively.

The McFarland House, out in the country between Galt and Thornton, sits on 35 acres that the Galt Area Historical Society has afforded some tender loving care for nine years.

Today, the house, built in 1878, still needs a lot of work, including:

• Using the same original wood grain throughout the house that was found in a door upstairs. That work will be organized by Woodbridge resident Gary Allen.

• Painting, wallpaper installation and interior design by Judy Jacobson and Carole Snow, of Galt. They will pattern the design after some old photos of the house.

• Installing a marble fireplace being made in China. It should be shipped to Galt any day, said Ron Jacobson, who has overseen the ranch's restoration the past nine years. He is Judy Jacobson's husband.

• Furnishing the house with chairs, China cabinets, a bedroom set and other items that were actually in the house. They are now being kept by Charlene Walters, McFarland's great-great-grandniece, in Sacramento.

• Installing a new heating and air conditioning system that will be hidden from public view. That way, the house will look authentic.

• Completing the exterior painting.

The upstairs of the house has four bedrooms and a sewing room. Downstairs, there is an entry hall, living room, dining room, a parlor for a library and meeting room, kitchen, pantry, wash room, a pass-through room to bring food from the kitchen to the dining room, a wash room and bathroom.

The father of McFarland Ranch

Ron Jacobson

Ron Jacobson, 73, no sooner retired after a half-century as a plumber than he took over the restoration of the 19th-century McFarland Ranch.
Jacobson spends 30 to 40 hours a week working to restore the 1878 McFarland House and the surrounding grounds.
Born in North Dakota, Jacobson moved to Galt in 1946 after living in Herald for a year. His wife, Judy, owns Herald Store, which was built by her grandfather in 1910.
Ron Jacobson said he planned to be a doctor, but he was told that plumbers make more money. He commuted to Sacramento until he retired in 1999, or to be exact, 9/9/99.
He was a member of the Galt Area Historical Society when he was asked if he would oversee the McFarland Ranch restoration. He and long-time historical society member Genie Olson developed a master plan for the 35-acre ranch.
Jacobson worked on the underground electrical system and water mains. He and other historical society members talked to McFarland ancestors to learn about life on the ranch.
Jacobson hasn't gotten tired of his work on the ranch. That's because if he's going to commit himself to something, he is determined to finish it.
Source: News-Sentinel staff

Heat-and-air for McFarland House

Larry Mendolla, who owns a Sacramento firm called All American Heating and Air Conditioning, is installing a new system intended to be well-hidden so that it doesn't make the McFarland House look at all modern. It will be a heat pump hidden inside walls and ceilings, Mendolla said.
Mendolla became involved through one of his employees, Guillermo Huerta, who used to live in Lodi. Huerta worked for the late Al Luna, of Galt, for seven years. Luna and Huerta had begun to install a heating and air system at McFarland House when Luna died last August at the age of 61.
"He taught me everything I know," Huerta said.
About six months ago, Huerta began working for Mendolla. Then Ron Jacobson, who oversees the McFarland Ranch restoration project, phoned Huerta to see if he would be interested in completing the heating and air conditioning project. Next thing you know, Huerta introduced Mendolla to McFarland Ranch.
Source: News-Sentinel staff

Other parts of the ranch have been created as Eagle Scout projects. The ranch's windmill, flag pole, gates, pump house and bell tower have all been created by Eagle Scouts, Jacobson said. Each project has saved the historical society $5,000 in materials and labor, he said.

Most recently, Chris Leddy, of Boy Scout Troop 28 in Galt, built a small "guestbook center" where visitors can sign and give their impressions of the ranch. The structure will also be used to sell tickets for special events.

The Galt Kiwanis Club built a tank house adjacent to the main house.

While the house has yet to be opened to the public, the ranch itself has been open for school field trips, where students learn how people lived on an actual farm in the late 1800s by tinsmithing, making butter and ice cream, and creating cornhusk dolls.

The ranch on Orr Road has also hosted such activities as the historical society's Old Car Show, the Antique Engine and Tractor Show and the society's 20th anniversary in 2006.

To retain its historic look, the historical society acquired wood from the old Thornton-Franklin Bridge, which was built in 1932, but destroyed after the 1997 floods and replaced by a more sturdy bridge.

"You can't buy this quality wood," Jacobson said.

Future plans call for hay rides through the nature area and a four-acre campsite, Jacobson said.

Jacobson has had a plethora of volunteers, including a host of Eagle Scouts, but he's looking for more. Anyone who wants to help may call the historical society at 745-0951.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.

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