House and Ranch The Gibson House started as a 16' by 20' structure on a 320-acre estate. After William and Mary had children, the first structure became too small. William used his increasing wealth from a successful agricultural business to enlarge the house. He made several extensions between the 1870s and the 1900s, adopting architectural styles popular during each period. The first extension, completed in 1877, included adding two large parlors on the first floor, and a second story with four bedrooms. By 1891, the Gibson estate had grown from the initial 320 acres to 2,400 acres. The farmhouse was surrounded by many outbuildings to help make the operation self-sustaining. Along with a kitchen, pantry and dining room addition to the main house, a root cellar, cook's house, tan house for water storage, workshop, smokehouse, and a bunk house for hired workers were added to the property. The house entered a state of stasis between 1900 and 1963, with no major extensions or alterations. Meanwhile, the surrounding estate was sold for residential, commercial and agricultural development. Following Elnora Gibson's death in 1963, the home and acreage was uncared for and dilapidated. Some labeled it a haunted house during this vacancy. In 1975, efforts to purchase the house and the 2.5 acres it resides on were directed by the County of Yolo to establish it as a county park and the first countywide historical museum. Yolo County Historical Museum Corporation was incorporated in 1986, and their board of directors operated the museum on behalf of the county. In 2018, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors transferred stewardship of the house and grounds to YoloArts, the County arts organization, to change the usage of the property. The main house remains a museum, open to the public on weekdays. Two of the barns were transformed, one into a gallery space and another adapted with temperature control for archival and collection storage. Architectural Features and Styles Initial Construction and Modified Georgian Revival The Gibson house reflects multiple architectural styles. The oldest part of the present structure was a rectangular 16' by 20' wooden building. It is unknown how many stories it had, and whether it displayed any significant features associated with a particular architectural style. In 1872, William Gibson added a 31' by 37' brick structure north of the building, consisting of two stories with porches and balconies on the north and west sides.