A warm hello from The North Star House! We hope you are all well and have used your stay-at-home time to check some things off your to-do lists … getting your gardens in top shape for spring or perhaps cleaning out closets or organizing garages. The House is lonely without your friendly faces and we look forward to seeing you again. We also miss the sounds of hammers and saws from the construction crew.

We have hired a new Property Manager, Paul Poggi, who has fixed up and moved into the caretaker’s cottage (the original Assay Office for the North Star Mine). He has begun mowing, hedging and weed whacking.

A skeleton crew of Allyssa, Paula, Larry and Paul have been looking after The House — making sure that the house and grounds are being maintained and phone calls are being returned.

The flowers in the Heritage Garden are blooming. Paula and her intrepid troop of gardeners have continued taking care of the garden … with gloves, masks, and appropriate social distancing. The garden looks lovely!

The best news is that the well has been drilled deeper and we now have 100 gpm!  Larry and his son managed to get the well uncovered.  A big thanks to Peters Drilling and Pump Service for extending the well down to get us more water for irrigation of the property. We’re looking forward to green grass this summer instead of brown.

You may have seen the photo of the Construction Crew in the Union last week. It was taken by our “officially sanctioned” photographer Doug a few months ago. The members of this crew are eager to go back to work.  Rich, Tom and Larry have put together a plan of action for “socially distant construction work” that complies with the County Health Director’s new rules. This plan is now in place and the crew is getting back to work on a small scale.

We have created a new brochure for The North Star House, which will be available when you return. We are all hopefully awaiting approval to resume hosting events at The House. Our docents are ready to launch our new Open House program as soon as possible. Joan has been busy rescheduling our Speakers Program.  We’re exploring options such as moving presentations outside in order to adhere to the health department’s rules. We will keep our website and Facebook page updated.

Everybody is looking forward to getting back to The House. Stay tuned. We will let you know as soon as we have approval to reopen The North Star House. We look forward to your return.

Stay safe and healthy,

Board of Directors
North Star Historic Conservancy

To Our Friends of The North Star House

The North Star family and our community are currently sharing a rough patch of history with the coronavirus slowing down our active lives. The 115 year old North Star House has survived many tragedies from World Wars, to economic recessions, to pandemics. Please be assured that NSHC will continue to preserve The House as a beacon of hope for better times.  Although the facilities are closed for the time being due to the governor’s orders, we are not neglecting our responsibilities to our treasured house.

While we look forward to resuming event activities at The House, the NSHC Board and Volunteers continue working from our homes … planning our Speaker presentations, enhancing our website, and putting out the March 2020 Newsletter. When government regulations and general health concerns permit, we will launch a new Open House program, with the North Star House staffed by history docents on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons, alternating weeks, during the summer. We are also putting the finishing touches on our new Private Group Tour program. Look for information about that soon on our website.

The Heritage Garden crew is maintaining the garden and has it spruced up for Spring. We are disappointed that the Soroptimist Garden Tour had to be cancelled for 2020, but we will be on their tour May 22-23, 2021. Construction work has slowed but not stopped. (Did you know that some of our woodworking magic is done in the home workshops of volunteers, who bring their beautiful finished work back to The House for installation?)

The first presentation of our 2020 North Star Speaker Series — Chris Enss talking about Woman Suffrage — was very entertaining and informative.  We have three more talks scheduled this year. If necessary, one or more of them will be rescheduled to later in the year.

• May 3 August 23: “North Star Mine Powerhouse: A Legacy of Arthur De Wint Foote”, presented by Jeffrey Boylan and Gary Smith of the North Star Mining Museum.
• July 12: “Nisenan Homelands: Then and Now”, by Shelly Covert, spokesperson for the Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe.
• October 4: “James Hague: The Man Behind the North Star”, by local author and historian Gage McKinney.

We wish you all the best, and hope that you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. You can still make reservations for future events by calling the office. Keep in touch by visiting the website or Facebook. We look forward to reopening the North Star House and welcoming you back.

Board of Directors
North Star Historic Conservancy

North Star House Docents tell our story to the visiting public. We are the voice of the Foote Family, Julia Morgan and the North Star Historic Conservancy.

The North Star House docents are trained volunteers who act as a knowledgeable visitors’ guide to further the public understanding of the North Star Historic Conservancy, the Julia Morgan designed North Star House and the surrounding property.

Docents greet visitors and provide an informal tour of the house answering questions about the house, the Foote family and the North Star Historic Conservancy. They serve a 3 hour Saturday morning shift once a month from April through October. Docents also have the opportunity to volunteer for NSHC events and specially arranged tours of the house. We are a friendly group who have several social events during the year.

Please contact us if you would like to find out more about this volunteer opportunity.

If you love history and architecture, this is a job for you.

The vision of transforming the North Star House into a cultural event center and museum open to the community is now a reality. The North Star Historic Conservancy is pleased to announce that the North Star House is now open to the public every Tuesday and Thursday from 10am – 1 pm, and the first Saturday of the month May through October, from 9am until noon.

During these “open house” hours, history docents will be on hand to either give informal tours or answer questions about the North Star House, its nationally known architect, Julia Morgan, and its first inhabitants, Arthur DeWint and Mary Hallock Foote.

Come view this iconic landmark with your friends, family or business associates.  Children and students are welcome! Learn about famed architect Julia Morgan and its construction in 1905 for the owners of the North Star Mine. The North Star House served as the social headquarters of the North Star Mine, and was where the public and investors were invited to meet and greet. This special example of California Craftsman Style architecture is on the National and the California State Historic Buildings Registers.

Through the efforts and vision of countless volunteers and leaders of our community, this 10,000 square foot building stands today, very much intact. You can also view the current restoration efforts and the next steps in renovating the 2^nd floor into an art gallery and museum.  The North Star House is managed and operated by the North Star Historic Conservancy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

The North Star House and historic grounds are available to rent for weddings, events, meetings or parties. The open house would be an ideal time to tour the site and see how the House might work well for you to create a little history of your own, by holding an unforgettable event at the North Star. Questions can be directed to our office at 530-477-7126 or emailing thenorthstarhouse@gmail.com

We are looking for volunteers interested in assisting with property improvement projects on the 14-acre North Star House grounds.

If you have experience with general construction methods such as basic carpentry, concrete work, irrigation systems, building maintenance, or general site improvements we could use your help.

Please contact us at thenorthstarhouse@gmail.com or 530-477-7126.