Windsor pioneer’s estate joins register of U.S. historic places

The homestead of one of Windsor’s founding families this summer received the distinction of inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, joining prominent sites like the Lincoln Memorial and Johnny Cash’s boyhood home.

The Cunningham-Hembree Estate, comprised of two homes, a garden and a garage on a ?2.2-acre tract on Foxwood Drive, became the first property in Windsor to earn the national designation.

The Cunningham house is a cabin built between 1847 and 1848 and believed to be the oldest wood-framed home in Sonoma County, said Stephen Lehmann, president of the Windsor Historical Society.

“It’s beneficial to the town of Windsor,” Mayor Bruce Okrepkie said of the recognition the property. He said the people who lived there made a significant contribution to history.

“It’s the first historical landmark (in the community) and it just basically lays out how Windsor started.”

The Windsor historical society originally sought the national historic designation about ?two decades ago, but was denied, Lehmann said.

The second application to nominate the town-owned estate was submitted last year and accepted on July 9, said Donna Legge, the town’s parks and recreation director.

“It’s been a huge project,” Lehmann said. “There’s a real sense of pride ... in our community.”

The Cunningham house was built by Robert Cunningham, who emigrated from Ireland, eventually landing with his family in Windsor, where he bought 160 acres. He was involved in developing the first school district and building Windsor’s first house of worship, the Methodist Episcopal Church.

His granddaughter, Clara Hembree, and her husband, Atlas, lived in a Spanish-style home built on the property in 1931. Dubbed the Hembree house, the first floor is now home to the historical society’s museum.

Open Fridays and weekends, it features family artifacts, like ornately engraved napkin rings, maps and photos along with items from the late George Greeott, a supporter of the historical society whose donation helped pay a consultant to draft the application to be added to the national historic register.

The register is the official list of the nation’s historic places worth preserving. It includes more than 93,000 properties and got its start through the Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

The national historic designation brings with it eligibility for federal preservation grants for planning and rehabilitation, federal investment tax credits for renovations, and a set of building codes for historic properties, according to the National Register of Historic Places’ website.

The estate in Windsor also is now included in the national register database, along with more than ?60 places in Sonoma County such as the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens, Fort Ross and the Petaluma Silk Mill.

Lehmann said he hopes the national historic status will attract tourists to the site, adding to the roster of about 25 weekly visitors.

“It just proves the historical significance, which I think is huge for the town from an economic point of view for tourism,” Legge said.

Windsor officials plan to work with Caltrans to erect a sign on the freeway drawing attention to the historic Cunningham-Hembree property, Legge said.

The historical society is seeking a matching grant from the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District for accessibility improvements on the historic property, Lehmann said. Eventually, it will seek funding for renovations to the Cunningham home, which is not open to the public, he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Hannah Beausang at 707-521-5214 or hannah.beausang@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter ?@hannahbeausang.