Built in 1888 through 1889, Ackerman Heritage House has had an interesting history over the 128 years since it was first constructed. Shortly after purchasing the lot for the grand sum of $10 in gold coins, Sarah Hayman and her husband hired the famous Bay Area architect, Luther Turton, to design and build their grand new home for their family. Luther Turton was known for his open and gracious designs, having designed several recognizable buildings still intact today in downtown Napa: the Noyes Mansion (now owned by The Wine Spectator), the Migliavacca mansion, The Semorile Building (now The Bounty Hunter), the Methodist Church, The Goodman Library, the Winship Building and dozens more. This corner of the new city of Napa had never been graced with a house before, and according to the local papers at the time, the Hayman’s built their grand home in a record 90 days for the princely sum of around $7500 – the average cost for a home at the time was just under a $1000.

     Unfortunately, they were able to live in their beautiful home for only four years before Sarah died from a stroke at the young age of 44. Distraught, Sarah’s husband, Luther, and their adopted daughter, Lulu, swapped the house with one of Luther’s business partners, T.W. Mather, who lived just three doors down from the Hayman’s for $10 in gold coins, thus becoming the second owners of the Queen Anne mansion.

     The Mather’s made a few changes to the house when they moved in in 1895, primarily enclosing the wrap-around porch on the front of the house and making it into a useable room with the addition of a bathroom. In research done on the history of the house, it was recently revealed that the Mathers also owned some properties out in what is now known as the Coombsville area – the same property that Ackerman Family Vineyards now uses as its vineyard. A most interesting coincidence!

     After the Mather’s lived in the house for approximately nine years, they sold the property to E.R. Gifford in June of 1904. The Gifford family lived in the house from the early 1900s until 1940.  They built the adjoining 620 square foot Carriage House where the key feature was an enclosed aviary where pheasants and chickens were raised to supply the family with eggs and meat during wartime. (This Carriage House has now become a tasting room for AFV wines, called “The Aviary” in honor of this original feature). The Gifford’s also added the small house next door to the main mansion and had the two properties for 40 years. Local old-timers remember them fondly and, indeed, in more recent years, the house became known as “The Gifford House.” After E.R. Gifford died in January of 1940, his daughters sold the property to John and Lillian Murphy, who promptly sold the smaller house behind the mansion and lived there until Mr. Murphy transferred ownership to his daughter, Ruth La Vonne and grandson, William Weirich, in 1954.  After her father’s passing in 1964, Ruth La Vonne married William Rangod and lived in the house until she herself passed away in 1998 (her husband preceding her in 1979).

     Her son, William Weirich, who had lived in the house during his high school and college years, immediately sold the old Victorian to Paula and Michael Hamilton, who, at this point, were purchasing a home with more than 40 years of deferred maintenance. Over the next nine years, they attempted to restore this faded diamond but finally decided to sell the house and move to Kansas. That’s when Lauren Ackerman purchased it in August, 2010 and started a whole new chapter for this grand old house.

     When Lauren purchased the house, there was one working bathroom downstairs being used by a family of six with no shower. There were eight truckloads of trash to be taken out. There was only a sink in the kitchen area – no appliances, no cabinets – not even finished floors. The walls throughout the house showed where there had been significant rain damage, creating the problem that the original lathe and plaster fell off in numerous spots, exposing the framing beneath. In short, the house was in serious need of repair, not just restoration, and to quote an inspector who toured the house as part of the purchase process “it was a dilapidated mess.”

     On the positive side, however, the house had great bones. What Lauren saw when she first walked through that old house was the potential of something grand and quite unique for downtown Napa – a house that the community should have a chance not only to see, but to be able to use, as well. What she dreamed of was bringing it back to its original glory and making this fine specimen of Victorian architecture shine once again. It was a true labor of love over five long years (and an earthquake in 2014) to bring this piece of history back to its intended beauty.

     What emerged in the fall of 2015, after almost 50 years of deferred maintenance when she bought this 128 year-old house, is a completely renovated, thoroughly modernized Victorian jewel now called “Ackerman Heritage House.” AHH represents a step back into time unlike any other Victorian house in the area – everything in it is “period-correct” from the late 1600s to the early 1920s – it is a true historic representation of a bygone era.  For Lauren, it was a dream come true to finally bring this grand dame back to life. For visitors lucky enough to tour it, it brings another element of Napa to life in a whole new way. It is a truly special experience.