History of the Bayley House (Continued from here)
Pilot Hill, El Dorado County, California USA
In keeping with the gracious Greek Revival or Southern-style architecture, the parlors were lavishly appointed in Victorian grandeur. Velvet draperies, fine lace curtains, polished rosewood chairs, and settees covered in blue velvet graced the rooms, and one was furnished with a big piano. The second floor had a large dining room with no partitions that was turned into a grand ballroom for entertaining the "Big Four" millionaires and other notables of the time. The rooftop "widow's walk" was also called the observatory because of the panoramic views of the Sacramento Valley and surrounding hillsides and towns.
On the 640 acres surrounding the Bayley House were fruit trees, vineyards, all kinds of stock and poultry, a large barn, and a lean-to where Bayley's Chinese cook lived. Bayley and one of his sons operated a general store on the property, and in 1870 they were instrumental in organizing California's first Grange, a farmers' association, which met in the large barn on the estate.
For a closer glimpse into the history of the Bayley House, Lillian Lafaille has provided the story of her adventures and discoveries while living in the Bayley House in the early 1900's:
Many interesting articles were found in the attic, including a large handmade flag. As we unrolled the fragile length, we counted 39 stars. Here, too, was a steamer trunk filled with yellow and tattered fashion magazines, featuring the elaborate hoop skirted gowns of the early 1860's, together with sketeches of dandies wearing the latest clothes tailored in London. We eagerly read the news of Britain's Queen Victoria printed in Harper's Bazaar. These were no doubt the magazines that once rested on the marble topped table in the parlor and read with much interest by the ladies. We discovered a dog-eared old cookbook with puzzling pinch recipes and a highly prized ornament consisting of a basket of wax flowers covered by a fragile glass dome.
Perhaps the most fascinating place of all was the lean-to next to the house that had been the living quarters of Bayley's Chinese cook, which still contained bottles of pungent Oriental remedies that were confiscated for safety. Various bulletins printed in Chinese were still tacked to the wall and in one corner of the room was a pair of old slippers resembling today's clogs.
The long hallways with the numbered rooms and the dumb waiter between the kitchen and dining room were reminders of the days when this big house had been a hotel. The upstairs parlor contained elegant Victorian furniture and a big piano. The carpets and wallpapers were perhaps too gaudy, with huge roses and gold gilt, but the rooms were so big it didn't make much difference. We had many rides down the steep banisters of the great circular staircase, often pretended to be southern belles serving tea where the old fashioned roses still bloomed on the terraced gardens, and with the awed curiosity of childhood, wandered up the grassy slope to the picket fence where the oak trees shaded the fading wooden markers of the Bayley family burial plot.
Although the Bayley House didn't serve its original purpose as a bustling hotel and stage stop, the Bayleys lived there periodically throughout the years. It was their winter home after Bayley purchased and refurbished the King Tahoe Hotel at Tahoe City, renaming it the Grand Central Hotel. The Bayley House became their permanent residence when the Grand Central burned to the ground in 1895. Unfortunately, their elegant Pilot Hill home continued to operate at a loss before Bayley's death in 1896, and went even deeper into debt between the time he died and his wife's death six months later.
In February of 1907, Ida M. Bayley Taylor et al, deeded the property to Thomas Stevenson, who was known as "The Money Lender of Greenwood." He sold the Bayley House in 1917 to John B. Wagner, Lillian Lafaille's father, who raised his family there and operated a cattle ranch on its 2,100 acres for 30 years. In 1946, Wagner sold the property to Clarence Steves of Corona. It was sold to Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. of Honolulu around 1967, who ten years later donated the house and 10 acres to El Dorado County. The Bayley House was designated a historic place by the County, and in 1978 was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1989, it was purchased by the Georgetown Divide Recreation District, which is currently seeking funding for its restoration. The Bayley House is today a well-known landmark to the many travelers on Hwy. 49 and a stately tribute to the man who built it.
