Taking a ride through Woodside history

“A lot of people don’t even recognize that it’s here,” he said. “A lot of people come in just to do the hike in the park … and then they walk in here and … it just blows them away.”

And though their matching earth-toned exteriors help them blend in with the forest and trails surrounding them, the stable and carriage house’s distinctive detailed wooden trim and understated decorative elements are a window into the grandeur of the estate to which they belong.

Just beyond them lies the grand, four-story home James A. Folger II built in the early 1900s as a respite from the colder summers of San Francisco. Though the home itself is privately owned and not available for tours, the buildings devoted to the horses and stagecoaches his family owned are on display to give visitors a glimpse of a time when things moved a little slower than they do today.

Built in 1905 and 1906, the Folger estate predated the widespread production of the Model T by just a few years, meaning horse-drawn vehicles were the primary form of transportation for many, said Jill Daly, board president of the Friends of Huddart and Wunderlich Parks. But the extent to which the Folgers collected carriages for various occasions and kept a stable for more than a dozen horses was not uncommon for wealthier families in San Francisco at the time, said Daly.

“That was about the time that a lot of the big titans were acquiring second homes,” she said. “There was a number of families that enjoyed the sport of coaching.”

And if his last name sounds familiar, it might be because Folger’s father was the founder of Folger’s Coffee, explained Daly. Originally from Nantucket, James A. Folger came to San Francisco with his brothers during the Gold Rush and worked at Pioneer Steam Coffee and Spice Mills in San Francisco while they mined for gold. After traveling east to serve coffee to miners for some time, James A. Folger returned to San Francisco to buy the part of the company and started his own business in 1865, she said.

Also a docent at the Carriage Room Museum in the Folger stable, Daly has helped visitors understand the different types of vehicles families like the Folgers would have used through the museum’s rotating display from a collection donated by Roy and Ellie Ferrari. She said the museum also showcases the history of redwood logging and farming that preceded the Folger estate, adding that the land’s previous owner, Simon Jones, maintained orchards and vineyards there for many years after loggers cleared it.

Because of the colorful stories behind the park, Daly said it’s been a prime candidate for school field trips for third- and fourth-graders who are learning about the grand estates that once defined the area. By learning how to dress a horse, press apples and build a retention wall like the one built by former Chinese railroad workers in the 19th century, students have learned a great deal about earlier days in the Peninsula, said Daly.

“They get an appreciation of what it’s like to build those walls and have them be dry set,” she said, adding that the retention wall was built without mortar. “That’s really fun for the kids,” she said.

Daly said an effort to renovate the stable began in the early 2000s, when members of the Friends of Huddart and Wunderlich Parks started fundraising for much-needed repairs. Lombardi said the 2010 renovation, which involved the setup of a milling shop to recreate the wood trim used in the barn when it was first built, allowed boarding and trail rides to continue at the park.

Lombardi looked to improvements of the carriage house, which is rented out to small groups for meetings, to also increase access to the park’s history. A renovated restroom and new exit accessible by an ADA-accessible walkway are among changes planned and expected to be completed as early as 2019.

“By doing the renovation of the carriage house, it’ll give us more of an opportunity to give more people an opportunity to come out and visit the site,” he said.

The Carriage Room Museum is open to the public Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 4040 Woodside Road.

anna@smdailyjournal.com

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