Historical Marker · No. 714

Mendocino Presbyterian Church

Mendocino, Mendocino County · California
Erected by California State Park Commission; Native Sons of the Golden West, 1959

The church is turned the wrong way for today's town. Its door faces the ocean, toward the Old Coast Road that once climbed from the Big River flats, so Main Street sees its back, and the 1959 bronze stands behind it on Ukiah Street. Albert Maxwell built it from redwood milled in town to a design by S. C. Bugbee and Son, and the sanctuary ceiling is framed like an upturned ship's hull, in a town that lived by its ships. Jerome B. Ford gave half of the $10,000 cost.

What the plaque says

Mendocino Presbyterian Church This is one of the oldest Protestant churches in continuous use in California. Organized as the Presbyterian Church on November 6, 1859, the building, constructed of redwood, was dedicated on July 5, 1868. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 714 Plaque placed by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with the Native Sons of the Golden West, November 7, 1959.

Where it stands

39.30653, -123.79717 · Directions

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Mendocino Presbyterian Church — California Historical Marker | Open Road Guide