In celebration of the San Mateo County History Museum’s “Victorian Days at the Old Courthouse,” free walking tours, of one to two hours, will be held at various locations, including Woodside and Menlo Park, this summer. No signup is required. All that is necessary to participate is to show up at the specified times and locations.
In Woodside a walking tour will be held Saturday, July 22, starting at 10 a.m. at the Folger Stable Historic District in Wunderlich Park, 4040 Woodside Road. Attendees will be offered a “trip back in time” to learn about the history of the property, its agricultural use, the origins of the Folger Coffee Company and the estate’s architectural legacy.
The Menlo Park Historical Association will host a tour Saturday, Aug. 5, beginning at 11 a.m. at the Menlo Park train station. The tour will include such sites as the train station, opened in 1867, and the Church of Nativity, built in 1872. The tour will be lead by Bo Crane, the board secretary of the historical association, along with other board members.
A tour of Redwood City’s Union Cemetery, located on Woodside Road, south of El Camino Real and near Cypress Street, will be held Saturday, Aug. 19, beginning at 10 a.m. at the entrance gates on Woodside Road.
Attendees can park on Woodside Road and walk to the gates, said Mitch Postel, president of the San Mateo County Historical Association. The tour guides will contrast the Wild West and the Victorian eras in terms of lifestyle and ideals.
A tour of downtown Redwood City’s historic sites will be conducted on Saturday, Aug. 26, from 10:30 a.m. to noon, starting in front of the Lathrop House at 627 Hamilton St.
Organized and led by Redwood City’s Historic Resources Advisory Committee, the tour will, among other things, stop by the site of an 1875 Wells Fargo Express Office as well as what was named “the finest theater on the Peninsula” in 1896.
