Historic Homes Tour: 2527 Capitol Avenue

An unusually light queen Anne Victorian with an octagonal turret rare in that it is open on two stories.  The turret is supported by slender white columns and topped by a pointed roof and finial. The turret is placed at the corner of the main building, to which it is tied visually by means of a shingled band between the floors. The main building consists of a split pedimented gable over a two-story angled bay. There is a sunburst and spindle decoration in the gable end.  The house is narrow and tall, with a finished attic accessible by stairs.  All of the plumbing is in the rear of the house, in an addition that was made during the early part of the 1900s.

The house was built in 1894 by William Calvin Farnsworth. Farnsworth was born in Brooke County, Virginia, in 1828, and he emigrated to California in the early years of the gold rush. Soon after starting west in 1849, he fell ill. Companions carried him on a stretcher over the Great Plains and through the mountains in California. He had recovered by the time the party arrived in Placer County. After mining in the Motherlode for 10 years, he moved to Sacramento, and he became a master carpenter under the tutelage of his brother-in-law.  Later, he became a gardener and the superintendent of the Sacramento City Cemetery on Broadway.

At the time the house was built, Farnsworth’s property included the current two lots on either side.  When he sold them, he stipulated in the deed that no house could be built that was taller than his own.  The result was one of the grandest houses in Sacramento (2515) and the loss of the original carriage house, which still stands at 2529.

Farnsworth may have built the house himself, or he may have only supervised the work given time and health considerations.  At some point in the 1870s, Farnsworth was injured while helping to build the old Jefferson school and he was forced to give up carpentry as a profession. He became superintendent of the Sacramento City Cemetery and died in 1902. After his death, Farnsworth’s wife and family lived in the house until 1933. His daughter, Mercy, attended Stanford University and taught in Sacramento Elementary schools for many years. She lived in the family home until her death in 1939.

Purchased by the current owners in 1992 , the house was featured on the Old City Association house tour in 1993 and again in 2008.  A new carriage house was built in 2008 with shingles and design features intended to pay homage to the original house.