The Votaw House was built by the first mayor of Morgan Hill, housed families for generations, and was even used as the setting of the upcoming film First Dog.
And now, you can own it. Located at 395 West Main Avenue, the house is currently on the market for $950,000. One of Morgan Hill’s most historic structures, the four bedroom, two bath residence has a long, fascinating history in the Morgan Hill community.
A Banker’s Residence
The Votaw House was built in 1900 as a farm residence by banker Albert Shaw Votaw. With its front porch turret and gables, the house was constructed in the Italian Renaissance style by Merrill & Bussing Architects.
Merrill & Bussing were also the designers of Morgan Hill’s Grange Hall Building and the Votaw Building, both of which are still standing. The Votaw Building, now the location of the Coffee Exchange in downtown Morgan Hill, originally housed the first Bank of Morgan Hill, of which Albert Shaw Votaw was president. Votaw became the first mayor of Morgan Hill in 1906, when the city was officially incorporated into Santa Clara County.
Being that the Votaw family was well off, it is believed that the house was the first home in Morgan Hill to have electricity. Local stories say that townspeople used to travel from all around South County to see the brightly lit electric chandelier hanging in the home’s dining room.
Used as a farm dwelling in the 1900s, the house was located on a large 12 acre plot, with barn where the garage now stands. It is there that the Votaw family raised cows, goats and chickens. Former home owners have said it is not uncommon to come across tons of buried feathers when digging in the home’s back yard.
Though Albert Shaw Votaw married three times, he never lived in the Main Street house with a wife. A mere nine years after the home was built, in 1909 Albert moved to San Jose upon marrying his second wife, Ella Wheeler. Albert’s younger brother, Merret Chandler Votaw, his wife Anna Bella and their three children (Roy Clinton, Floyd Cecil and Elva Gertrude) continued to reside in the home after Albert moved away.
Passing Through Hands
Over the years, the house has passed through many hands. In the 1920s, a staircase was built in the rear of the home so that the upper floors could be rented out. It has been owned for periods by members of the Scoggins and Bonfante families.
A close up of the custom hummingbird motif stained glass window located at the front of the Votaw House.
The home was also used as the headquarters for the Morgan Hill Men’s Cub. Marjorie and Vincent Fiorenza, the home's current owners and sellers, said that there was still a large, dark cabinet located in the kitchen, containing about 20 post office box-like cubbies when they bought the house in 1979. Each cubby had its own lock and key, and they were told that this was where club members would lock away each of their personal bottles of booze in assigned slots.
Meticulous Rehabilitation
The Fiorenza’s have spent the last 20 years meticulously rehabilitating the structure. The house was gutted and completely remolded on the inside in the 1990s, including an addition to the kitchen and a large new family room. The house still has its original front doors, of which the Fiorenza’s have removed over 20 coats of paint when they were restoring them.
Throughout all their improvements, the Fiorenza’s made a point to keep the homes historical significance and Victorian aesthetic in mind. In order for the new family room to be integrated into look of the rest of the house, they obtained matching windows from another Victorian teardown in Berkeley, and had them installed. All the light fixtures in the home are antique gaslights from the midwest that were re-wired for electricity.
A side view of the house shows the newly renovated back porch.
The homes windows were replaced with leaded glass shipped from Germany, including a specially made hummingbird stained glass window at the front of the house. Other antique fixtures including a large claw foot bathtub and an ultra deep antique sink in the downstairs bathroom (used for washing long hair.) The Fiorenza’s even flew in a historically trained brick mason from Maine to re-build the home's fireplace, along with installing a new foundation.
Though the house has been on the market for eight months, it has yet to find a buyer. If you are interested in finding out more about the Votaw House, contact Realtor Susan Hughes with Alain Pinel Realtors at 408.779.4400 or sussanhughes@apr.com.
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