After years of planning, the Morgan Hill City Council has
approved a deal with the Historical Society to relocate the
historic Acton House so construction can begin on a new library
this year. The Council on Wednesday approved a $350,000 conditional
grant from the Redevelopment Agency to pay for the Historical
Society to move the house, now a museum at 600 Main Street, to the
Villa Mira Monte site in August.
After years of planning, the Morgan Hill City Council has approved a deal with the Historical Society to relocate the historic Acton House so construction can begin on a new library this year.
The Council on Wednesday approved a $350,000 conditional grant from the Redevelopment Agency to pay for the Historical Society to move the house, now a museum at 600 Main Street, to the Villa Mira Monte site in August.
The Acton House is currently sitting where the new library will be built. The city owns the building and the Historical Society owns its contents and operates the museum.
The Acton family moved to Morgan Hill from Minnesota in 1910 where they joined John’s grandparents, George and Mary Kimble, who had previously settled in the area. In 1911 he built the home and began a successful career as an orchardist. Edward Acton, Acton’s son, was on the City Council and was elected Mayor in 1952.
Historical Society President Gloria Pariseau said next week they will submit for a site architectural review and then immediately apply for the building permits.
Relocating the museum behind the old Morgan Hill House at Villa Mira Monte and clustering the two buildings would allow both to be open for tours more frequently and would form a historic center for Morgan Hill. The property is already designated a city park.
Pariseau said the Historical Society is excited to be moving forward and have a central location for Morgan Hill’s historic properties.
“It is a more efficient to manage (the properties) this way,” Pariseau said. “It is nice to have everything in one place.”
Steve Pendleton, the city’s housing rehabilitation coordinator, said the money allocated by the RDA will go into escrow and the city will need to issue building permits.
He said he doesn’t anticipate any problems with the permit process.
“We have a mutual agreement to go as fast as we can,” Pendleton said. “We want it off the property as soon as possible and they want it on theirs as soon as possible.”
Pendleton said the moving process should begin in August and the project should be completed by the end of the month. The biggest challenge will be moving the house under the utility lines on Main Street.
The city and the Historical Society are moving quickly on this project to allow developers to survey the land to be used for the future library, Pendleton said. He said if the moving of the house is delayed, it shouldn’t impact the library project.
Villa Mira Monte was the name given by Hiram Morgan Hill and his wife, Diana Murphy Hill (Martin Murphy Jr.’s niece), to the estate where they built a vacation house on the property in the mid-1880s. The Historical Society, with some help from the RDA, finished a complete restoration in 1998.
Chris and Ida Williams (of Ida’s Restaurant), donated the Acton house to the City of Morgan Hill in 1980 to provide space for a historical museum.
The building was moved to its present site on Main in 1983 and completely refurbished.
Volunteers with the Historical Society are now going through the house, packing up everything to put into storage in preparation for the move. Pariseau said it will take three to six months to complete the entire project and reopen the Acton House.
“We are just excited,” Pariseau said. “We are looking forward to getting everything wrapped up.”
