2015 Google street view image of the homeThe Tufts House at 434 J St. was built in 1890 for Davis pioneer Joshua Bradstreet Tufts and his wife, Mary Ann Kingsland Tufts. The home is transitional in style, bearing attributes of the Victorian era (such as multiple multi-facing steeply-raked gables--some ornamentally trussed [a Victorian Gothic stick-style feature], canted bay windows, and minor fish-scaling), while also exhibiting ranch home elements (such as a wide, flat wrap-around porch and conservative clap-boarding).
Born an East-Coaster, Tufts migrated to California like many individuals in the mid-19th century. He established his first retail store in Sacramento, later building a hotel in Yolo County in what was then-known as Washington Township He continued in the vein of business and eventually became a politician. He died at the Tufts House in 1914 at the age of 90.
