History of an Enduring Queen Anne Home

The protagonist of this story is a lovely clapboard house built in 1880 in California when the latter celebrated its 30th year of statehood. We follow the history of this 19th century residence as it witnesses the remarkable evolution of the new settlement of St. Helena, from a dusty outpost 65 miles north San Francisco, to a major tourist destination in the 21st century. Located In the heart of the Napa Valley, America's premier center for the production of world class wines, St. Helena today has become the grand dame of the wine country with noted wineries, picturesque streets, expensive boutiques and fine restaurants.

Despite these dramatic changes what is known today as the Snowden-Ortega residence has endured. Designed in the popular Queen Anne style, a branch of Victorian architecture, it is among fewer than two dozen other such historical homes remaining in St. Helena. Over its 144 years of history, the home has had only four resident owners reflecting the cultural continuity and stability of small-town life despite tourism and increasing pressures for urban development in the San Francisco Bay Area.