The Gatehouse History

The Barron-Latham-Hopkins Gate Lodge, or the Gatehouse, is the oldest existing structure in Menlo Park and the last surviving gatehouse in the state of California. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 and is important as a last remnant of the fabulous country estates that were built in the area during the 1860s.

The Gatehouse was built in 1864 by William Eustace Barron who was a leading capitalist during California’s formative days. It was the entrance to a 280 acre estate that extended from the Caltrain Railroad tracks to Middlefield Road and from Ravenswood Avenue to the San Francisquito Creek. There were several outbuildings on the estate that supported a 40 room mansion.

The completion of the San Francisco – San Jose Railroad in the 1850s popularized the Peninsula as a summer country home location for wealthy San Franciscans. Menlo Park was established as a town where people who worked on the estates lived.

Milton Slocum Latham purchased the estate in 1871 for $75,000 and named it Thurlow Lodge. Latham turned the property into the most elaborate estate in California. He spent most of the Civil War in France and brought back many fine outdoor fountains that he placed around the property, including the one that still stands near the Gatehouse. Latham was an important Californian. He served as a U.S. Representative from 1853 to 1855. In 1859 he was elected Governor of California but only served 5 days because California Senator David Broderick was killed and Latham was chosen to take his place. It is also noteworthy that Latham was a southern Democrat and, prior to the Civil War, advocated California secede from the Union and form an independent Pacific Republic. Latham lost his fortune in the Depression of 1875. He sold the estate in 1883 and moved to New York.

Mark Hopkins’ widow purchased the estate and renamed it Sherwood Hall. She had all of the buildings painted from white to green with red trim after seeing a similar look on a trip to Europe. The new colors did not suit the property but it was too costly to have everything repainted. When she remarried she deeded the property to her adopted son, Timothy Hopkins, as a wedding gift in 1888.

Hopkins started Sunset Seed and Plant company on the estate grounds which grew into the largest seed business in the west. Timothy Hopkins died in 1936. In 1942 the estate buildings were demolished except for the Gatehouse and its gate. It had been willed to Stanford University but by this point all of the buildings except the Gatehouse had become uninhabitable and the University sold everything. Universal Studios bought the disassembled mansion and stables for use as movie sets.

The United States Army leased the Gatehouse to use as officers’ quarters during World War II. These officers worked at an Army hospital which was where SRI now stands.

The Gatehouse was leased as a residence until 1968 when it was purchased by the City of Menlo Park. This purchase was known as Bedwell’s Folly because Menlo Park City Manager Mike Bedwell insisted the city buy the house when many other officials thought it should be torn down. To save the Gatehouse, Bedwell organized a designer show house where local interior designers fixed up the building. After the show house the building was leased to nonprofit organizations. Bedwell chose the League of Women Voters and the Junior League as primary tenants because the Junior League stood by him in his efforts to save the building.

In March of 1996, the Junior League of Palo Alto•Mid Peninsula, along with the City of Menlo Park, undertook an historic renovation of the Gatehouse that was completed that August when the League became sole tenant of a wonderful and historic old building.