Photo courtesy of Susan Blake.

The next featured Landmark home is the J.C. Ainsley House (No. 2) at 112 N. Second Street. This classic Queen Anne Victorian Style house was built before 1900. It once stood at the site of the Ainsley Cannery on N. Harrison Avenue. When the cannery needed to expand in 1919, the house was moved by a capstan arrangement using a horse for power to its current location. It was moved a block at time in this manner. It moved south on Harrison to Campbell Avenue then to Second Street. This was the Ainsley’s second home in Campbell. It became their son Gordon Ainsley’s home in 1924, when J.C. Ainsley’s third and final home was finished on the corner of Bascom and Hamilton Ave.

This house is defined by its projecting second story gables and extensive entrance porch on the first floor that wraps itself around the corner of the house. It is embellished with a few decorative elements such as its horizontal shiplap siding, French doors, brick chimney and symmetrical placing of windows. It is a fine example of the Queen Anne Style, showcasing good design, composition and craftsmanship, and it retains most all of its original materials and design features.

In 1964, Thomas and Audrey Tuttle purchased the house from Mrs. Alice Cowdrey, an active member of the Campbell Methodist Episcopal Church in Downtown Campbell.

At that time, four bedrooms on the second floor of the house had been transformed into a separate apartment with its own bath, kitchen and back stairs entry. The Tuttles were raising ten children and quickly returned the apartment to its original design. All of their children went on to graduate from Campbell High School. Now in her 90’s, Mrs. Tuttle still lives in this wonderful house.

Susan Blake, Campbell Historic Preservation Board.

Check out the archives for This Place Matters for more stories about Campbell's historic homes.