Land tax records indicate that Osgood W. Getchell built this house around the year 1870 from redwood milled at Collins Landing just south of here. Because of its privileged location on a bluff high above the Pacific and next to the old stage road, this house has always been a well-known local landmark for travelers by land and sea.

The Getchell house is one of the few wood frame structures in the area to survive the 1906 earthquake and the frequent forest fires on the Mendocino coast.