HARBISON HOUSE: THE CENTERPIECE OF THE NUT TREE FAMILY PARK

Local builder George Sharpe built the Harbison house in 1907 for Luther and Hester Harbison and stands as an outstanding example of George Sharpe's work. As a gift to the family, Sharpe installed three stained glass windows, two flanking the entrance door and the other at the stair landing. Other note-worthy features include six hollow redwood columns that dominate the porch façade.

The house was well preserved in its original state by the family owners until they gifted it entirely, along with its contents, to the Vacaville Museum. All of the fine interior woodwork downstairs has its original unpainted finish. Most of the furniture and contents of the home have Solano County provenance. The history of the family that lived there has been well documented in family ledgers, letters, manuscripts and albums, which are part of the Vacaville Museum permanent collection. This lifestyle is representative of many local fruit ranching families of Solano County.

The Harbison House was the third family dwelling on the original Allison ranch. Josiah and Julia Allison settled in the Vaca Valley in the 1850's. Allison acquired the property in 1855, building two houses there in 1855 and 1865. Hester Allison Harbison was the youngest daughter of Josiah and Julia Allison. Allison sold the ranch to Luther and Hester Harbison, who built Harbison House.

The youngest daughter of Luther and Hester Harbison was Helen Harbison. After Helen married Edwin (Bunny) Power in 1921, the couple purchased the ranch from her parents and opened a fruit stand that became the famous Nut Tree restaurant and retail complex.

Helen's sister's and mother continued to live in the Harbison House until shortly before both sisters died in 1969. Helen restored the house herself in 1971 to reflect the lifestyle of early Sacramento Valley fruit ranchers utilizing as many family artifacts, photographs and documents as she had available to her at the time. Tours of the house were offered on an appointment basis until the Nut Tree business was closed in 1996.

The Harbison House was moved 1000 feet from its original location and will serve as the centerpiece to the new Nut Tree Family Park. The Vacaville Museum is working to rehabilitate the house and open it to the public (September 2009).

Read more about the Harbison House, Nut Tree Family Park, the Nut Tree Village, and the history of the Original Nut Tree.