This historical landmark is an original 49er Carpenter Gothic-style home built in 1866 by Benjamin Franklin Taylor. The completely restored home offers guests the unique history and small-town charm of Grass Valley. Located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, you will be able to explore the wealthiest and most famous gold-mining district in California. Walk to town and notice the quaint architecture that has been preserved for its rich history. The space The Ben Taylor Home is a one-and-a-half-acre park-like setting with three year-round running natural springs, huge old black walnut trees, a large elm tree, old fruit trees, cedar trees, redwood trees, pine trees and maple trees. It includes a pond, and redwood bridges crossing the brooks. The City of Grass Valley designated this home a "Class A" historic property. They have an eighty-page document specifying how the property is to be maintained and managed, including what plants for landscaping. Guest access There are Wifi enabled combination locks on the kitchen and laundry doors. You will be emailed the combination code with instructions prior to your arrival. The combination will open the locks at 3 pm, the check-in time on the date of your arrival and will no longer work after the 10 am check-out time on your departure date. Other things to note The Edy’s logo on the wall, bench, side table, and booth are some of the original furnishings of the Dreyer’s/Edy’s Ice Cream shop. In 1928 William Dreyer and candy maker Joseph Edy opened an ice cream shop together in Oakland, California. When the shop was remodeled, Jerry and Mary Ann loved the idea of introducing historical treasures to their Ben Taylor home. They bought the logo, booth, small sideboard in the kitchen, and the long bench in the B.F. Taylor Pub. These pieces are all furnishings from the original Edy’s ice cream shop. Note the hand-carved wood detailing on each piece. The B.F. Taylor Pub is a stone room, a step down from the central sitting room and current kitchen. It was the original kitchen of the main house. It was built with stone walls so that any fires in the kitchen would not burn the main house. The Chief Mate's room is a reproduction of a ship captain’s room. The room includes brass ship portholes, a bosun's whistle, ship gages, a ship lantern, and a miniature British gunship. All these items were passed down from the Taylor family relatives. Mary Ann and Gerald White were the previous owners and responsible for the renovations of the home. Mary Ann (Barker) White convinced her husband, Gerald upon his retirement as an art teacher in Modesto to move to Grass Valley. Together they would take on a project that seemed unending. Paul’s love for ships prompted him to design and build this remarkable Chief Mate’s room. The picture of the ship at sea was painted by him and left as an original piece for the room. Ben Taylor traveled by ship back to New Orleans, then up to Kansas City to buy his first cattle herd which he drove over land out to his Buena Vista Ranch in Grass Valley. Having this room in the home is reminiscent of the journey taken from San Francisco to Panama where he nearly died from measles. Still weak, he was carried “on a hammock” across the isthmus, boarded another ship for Havana, traded gold dust for coin in New Orleans, then steamed up the Mississippi River to St. Louis. Taylor crossed the Great Plains twice more, bringing 800 cattle and horses for the 300-acre Buena Vista Ranch and store he and partners established in the Peardale-Chicago Park area between Grass Valley and Colfax. The Spring Room or Milk Room is the small, shed right outside the kitchen where milk from the dairy cows was cooled down before being delivered to town. Milk right out of the cow is warm and lasts much longer when cooled. Inside the Milk Room is a round cement spring water catch basin that overflows into a shallow trough. Milk would have been put into milk cans and then placed in the trough to be chilled by the cold natural year-round running spring water. The Music Room is named for its many musical instruments. The piano was used by the mother of a family member's wife. It has been restored and tuned. The accordion belonged to Usula Smith, a Curlee family friend. Ursula represented Germany in the 1936 Olympics in three events: hurdles, long jump, and triple-jump. She was instrumental, as a German team member, with ensuring that U.S.A. team member, Jesse Owens, was allowed to participate. Ursula said, "We wanted to compete against the very best athletes. And we wanted Jesse Owens to be there." Later she worked a machinist and plaid musical instruments thoughout her life. The Western saddle in the Music Room immediately appealed to Bob Curlee, who is also a cattle rancher. On close examination, the saddle contains a variety of tools in several saddle bags that are the very same fencing tools used today at Crest Point Farms. The Library was originally the Sitting Room. Sally Knutsen, a Taylor family descendant recalls going into this sitting room as a child and reading books in front of the fireplace. This would have been where Mark Twain would have stood, trading local gossip.