At the beginning of historian George Gunn’s essential book on Alameda’s Victorian-era architecture, there is a list of the 23 oldest homes in town. The text states, “The following buildings were erected prior to 1872-73, before the Town of Alameda was incorporated and the establishment of assessment records. They constitute a list of structures that could be considered the oldest surviving buildings in the City of Alameda.”
Oldest of the old
While most of the 23 homes on that historic shortlist are just listed as “known standing” in 1872-73, there are a few that we know for sure are even older than that. Of these, the oldest is the Webster House at 1238 Versailles Avenue, which dates back to 1854. Built around the same time was the Christensen house at 1223 Post Street. According to historian Dennis Evanosky, the Christopher Christensen house is the oldest existing house actually built in Alameda, since the Webster House was assembled from parts prefabricated on the east coast and shipped to California around Cape Horn aboard the Henry Harbeck.
Coming in close together in a tie for third place among Alameda’s oldest standing homes are the Gothic Revival-style cottages at 1710 Walnut Street, and our subject for this article, 1620 Fourth Street, both of which date to the period 1865-66.
The Rich House
Abraham Rich, the fifth of eight siblings, came to California from Bath, Maine, in 1861, when he was 29 years old. On June 4, 1864 he married Catherine Tubbs, a native of County Cork, Ireland, at the county courthouse in San Jose, California. Voter registration lists show Abram, as he was known, in San Francisco as of 1866, and in that same year he purchased land on the West End of Alameda from William W. Chipman, one of Alameda’s founders. There, he built a small house in a style that has been described variously over the years as Pioneer, Pre-Gothic, and Gothic-Revival. This is the house that still stands today at 1620 Fourth Street, formerly West End Avenue.
A wilderness
When the Riches moved into their new home in Alameda, the west end of the island was considered little more than a wilderness. That part of town had a settlement known as Woodstock, and although there were some businesses, a wharf, and Alfred Cohen’s train line running through, the area was characterized mainly by marshland to the north, and grassland and oaks to the south. The Riches had one daughter at the time, Rebecca, who had been born in San Francisco in 1865. They initially farmed their land, which consisted of a larger plot than what remains today. Before long, though, Abram took a job as yard manager for E. M. Derby, Alameda’s lumber baron. He moved up in rank over the years, first becoming a foreman, then manager, and by 1894 he was superintendent. The Riches’ home life grew as well, with the addition of four more daughters—Margaret in 1866, Mary Helen in 1867, Lucy in 1870, and Catherine (Katie) in 1871. Sadly, according to a death notice in the Alameda Daily Encinal dated June 29, 1872, little Katie died two days earlier, on June 27, at the age of 7 months and 27 days. Child mortality was still high in the 1870s, with diseases such as cholera, smallpox, and yellow fever—along with other childhood diseases—contributing to the toll.
‘Down Home’
Generations of the Rich family referred to their West End farm as “Down Home.” They were a deeply religious family. A June 15, 1961 article in the Alameda Times Star recounts the family’s spiritual dedication: “Each Sunday papa Rich would convey his four daughters across the choppy bay waters in a bobbling skiff to San Francisco for a full day of worship.” When St. Joseph’s Basilica was built in Alameda in 1881, the family no longer had to traverse the bay for their Sunday worship. Later, when the church burned down in 1919, they had to improvise once again. According to the article, “Rebecca got a huge circus tent from a touring carnival and erected it in the Rich backyard. For months it housed the entire congregation in West Alameda for church services, until a new edifice was constructed. Easter services were conducted during a raging rain storm which tore open holes in the sun-weakened tent and drenched the congregation.” The backyard tent services on Fourth Street went on for just over two years, before the first Mass in the newly rebuilt St. Joseph’s Basilica took place on December 25, 1921, at the corner of Chestnut Street and San Antonio Avenue.
A wedding house
On April 27, 1894, the Daily Encinal reported on a wedding that had taken place the previous day “at the residence of Abram Rich, corner of Pacific avenue and Fourth street, the contracting parties being Augustus B. Derby, of the firm E. M. Derby & Co., the well-known lumber dealers, and Miss Lucy Rich, daughter of Abram Rich, Alameda agent for the Derby company.” The article went on to describe the interior of the residence as “tastefully decorated,” and stated that after the ceremony “a bounteous supper was served and congratulations were extended to the bride and groom.” The bride was 24 years old, and the groom 35. This family connection with the Derbys on a personal level added to the professional relationship they’d had since Abram Rich had joined the firm many years before as a lumberyard manager.
It wasn’t long before another wedding celebration took place “Down Home” on Fourth Street. The Daily Encinal announced in its November 17, 1897 “Social Jottings” column that, “The wedding of Gerald E. Goggin and Miss Mary Helen Rich will take place tomorrow morning at St. Joseph’s Church. After the ceremony there will be a wedding breakfast served at the residence of the bride’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Abram Rich, on Fourth Street.” The bridesmaid was Miss Margaret Rich, sister of the bride. The groom, Mr. Goggin, was described as holding “a responsible position in the San Francisco office of the London Assurance Company.” The bride was 30 years old, the groom 29. After their honeymoon, the couple was to make their home at the corner of Chestnut Street and Alameda Avenue.
Not quite empty nesters
With the marriages of their two daughters, Lucy and Mary Helen, in 1894 and 1897, and the tragic death of young Katie in 1872, the Rich family was down to four members living at 1620 Fourth Street by the turn of the century—Abram Rich, his wife Catherine, and daughters Margaret and Rebecca. It was suggested in a June 15, 1961 article in the Alameda Times Star that, “Abram Rich kept a firm hand on the destinies of his pretty daughters. Suitors for Margaret and Rebecca did not pass muster. And so the sisters lived and died in the home of their birth.” Whether or not that is entirely true, or whether it was a combination of that and Margaret and Rebecca’s dedication to the church, we don’t know for sure. We do know that Rebecca went on to have a successful career as a bookkeeper with the H. C. Capwell Company, a leading Oakland retailer that in 1924 merged with Emporium of San Francisco.
History moves on
When our series continues, we’ll learn how long the original pioneers of this once rural farmhouse on the West End of Alameda lived, and how the house known as “Down Home” stayed in the family for generations to come. Later, we’ll meet the current owners of the home, Steve and Susan Campbell, and learn how and when they came into possession of this historic property and became only the second family to own it after 133 years. All that, plus evidence of the original tank house (elevated water tower) that once stood on this property, when our story continues.
Special thanks to Alameda research librarian Beth Sibley for help with this article, and to homeowner Steve Campbell for sharing the unique history of his home.
Further information was gleaned from the 2024 Alameda Architectural Preservation Society booklet for the “West End Stories” Legacy Home Tour, Conchita Perales, editor. The next home tour event takes place on September 21, 2025.
Contributing writer Steve Gorman has been a resident of Alameda since 2000, when he fell in love with the history and architecture of this unique town. Contact him via [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Steve-Gorman.
