North Star House (Grass Valley, California)
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North Star House
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The North Star House in 1907. Photo by Arthur De Wint Foote
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| Location | 12075 Old Auburn Rd., Grass Valley, Nevada County, California. |
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| Coordinates | 39°11′39″N 121°4′35″W / 39.19417°N 121.07639°WCoordinates: 39°11′39″N 121°4′35″W / 39.19417°N 121.07639°W |
| Built | 1905 |
| Architect | Julia Morgan |
| Architectural style | California Arts and Crafts, First Bay Tradition |
| NRHP Reference # | 10001191 |
| Added to NRHP | February 1, 2011 |
North Star House (alternate: Foote Mansion) is a house located roughly a mile south of Grass Valley, Nevada County, northern California. The building served as the superintendent's house for the North Star Mine. Commissioned by Superintendent Arthur De Wint Foote and his wife, Mary Hallock Foote ("Molly"), an author and illustrator, it was designed in 1905 by the architect Julia Morgan. This was her first significant, large-scale, residential project. The house is notable for its relationship to the literary career of Molly Foote and the master architect, Morgan.
The house is located at 12075 Old Auburn Road, near the Nevada County Fairgrounds. Situated on a 14-acre (5.7 ha) site, the property is on a hillside that overlooks foothills and a valley. To the south is Quail Valley Golf Club.
The North Star Mine was the second largest producer of gold during California’s Gold Rush. The Footes originally lived on the mine property for 10 years with their three children in a cottage. When Foote and his wife decided they needed a home to entertain the investors, dignitaries and celebrities that were coming to the Gold Country, they hired Morgan to design it. Built in 1905, it was one of her first projects. While living in the house Mary Foote wrote her lifetime reminiscences which form her published memoirs, A Victorian Gentlewoman in the Far West. From the time of construction to 1968, the residence was occupied by the Foote family.
In 1968, the property was purchased and served as a private religious school for boarding students during the 1970s, and as a school for troubled youths from 1970 through the early 1980s. It attracted youths as far away as Michigan after it became known as an non traditional Christian church. It was operated by a renegade Baptist preacher called Rev. Bill. By the late 70's rumors were circulating about unorthodox dealings with the youths at the school. The school eventually closed. Rev Bill was never heard from again. Now operated as an event center by a non-profit organization, it is currently the home of the weekly Nevada County Growers Market. The North Star House was the setting for Wallace Stegner’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Angle of Repose.
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