Godfrey Bockius was born in Philadelphia in 1818. He and his family sailed for California via the Panama Canal in 1852 when fewer than 1,200 people lived in Santa Cruz County. He purchased a valuable interest in the Rancho Bolsa de Pajaro at the time the town of Watsonville was first being laid out.

Bockius became one of the prominent early leaders in the development of agriculture in the Pajaro Valley. He was also active in city government and successful in commerce.

The Bockius House is significant because of its distinctive Italianate architecture and its integrity of location. Its size and elegant details, as well as its wooded setting, are indicative of the stature of Bockiu.

Other historic structures on the property are a two-story tankhouse, a one-story carriage house, a one-story shed and the original stake fence with the original Bockius name on the gate.

The property remained in the Bockius family for several generations until the heirs donated it to the Pajaro Valley Historical Association in 1993.

The property is open to the public.

Adapted from the NRHP nomination submitted in 1973.