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Judge Welch used this property as a gentleman's working ranch and family
retreat. The main building, constructed in 1892, is 128 feet long by
82 feet wide. It was built on four separate foundations - two made of stone,
one made of concrete, and one made just of mud sills. The exterior walls
are made of redwood logs, sawn in half except at the corners where the
full circular cross section is maintained. The ground floor logs are
horizontal and the upper floor logs are vertical.
According to the National Register Nomination, the historical value of
this landmark is the use of indigenous materials in the house and the
integration of the house with its site.
The property remained in the Welch family until 1955. Over the next two decades,
it changed hands several times until it was purchased by Santa Clara
County to expand Sanborn-Skyline County Park. In 1979, the county joined forces
with the Santa Clara Valley Hostelling Club to renovate the judge's house
which today is open to the public as the
Sanborn Park Hostel.
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