San Luis Obispo County CA Archives Photo Place.....McKeen House ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com November 27, 2006, 7:47 pm Source: Unavailable Photo can be seen at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/sanluisobispo/photos/mckeenho116gph.jpg Image file size: 112.9 Kb THE McKEEN HOUSE 1212 Garden Street, San Luis Obispo History and Description: The McKeen House at 1212 Garden Street is a white painted wood structure showing intricate wood detailing. A fence of wrought iron and a number of lemon trees separate the grounds from the street. The house itself has a centrally located staircase approximately five feet wide and 25 feet tall. On either side of this staircase are two long narrow halls, joining four apartments. Upstairs, the halls join four apartments through ten doors, many of which are nailed shut. The history of the McKeen house is virtually unrecorded. What we report here was told to us by a few of San Luis Obispo's senior citizens. Mrs. Margaret Chevalier, a resident of the McKeen House for the past eight years and a friend of the late Mrs. McKeen, recalled the house was originally built as a single family-dwelling. Mr. William McKeen, son of Mrs. McKeen, could not add to our existing knowledge. We were referred to Mr. Hughes, owner of Hughes Liquor Store. By chance Mr. Jack Angeli, an old time San Luis Obispo carpenter, was a customer in Mr. Hughes' store when we entered. Mr. Angeli told us the McCaffery family built the house around 1898 and Steve Grimm was the name of the carpenter who built it. Apparently the McCaffery's turned it into an apartment house, date unknown. County Court House records show the land was sold to Kathern McCaffery on June 22, 1898 and then to McKeen on June 22, 1945. The house was thought to be part of the Mission Vineyard house tract,circa 1900. We have information leading us to believe that the house was built between 1898-1912, although the historical museum feels that its origin was not earlier than 1904. No further recorded history was found. Sources: Louisiana Dart, Curator, San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum Mrs. Margaret Chevalier, Resident of San Luis Obispo Mr. Jack Angeli, Resident of San Luis Obispo Mr. Hughes, Owner of Hughes Liquor Store Additional Comments: Extracted from Discovering San Luis Obispo County by Carleton M. Winslow File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/sanluisobispo/photos/mckeenho116gph.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cafiles/ File size: 2.8 Kb