Godfrey M. Bockius House

The Godfrey M. Bockius House (better known locally as the Bockius - Orr House) is an Italianate—Victorian style house in a historic district [2] in Watsonville, California. It was built in 1870 [3] by Judge Godfrey M. Bockius, and was inhabited later by descendant Frank F. Orr, former editor of the Register-Pajaronian. Today the historical district contains the house itself, headquarters of the Pajaro Valley Historical Association and on the National Register of Historic Places, along with the Volck Museum and Alzora Snyder Archive.

Bockius, Godfrey M., House
Watsonville Historic Landmark
Godfrey M. Bockius House is located in California
Godfrey M. Bockius House
Location322 E. Beach St., Watsonville, California
Coordinates36°54′58″N 121°44′51″W
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1870
ArchitectAlex Chalmers
Architectural styleItalianate—Victorian
NRHP reference No.89000937[1]
Added to NRHPJuly 13, 1989

Godfrey M. Bockius

Judge Bockius was one of the prominent early leaders in the development of agriculture in the Pajaro Valley and in city government and commerce in the City of Watsonville.[4] He was a judge in Santa Cruz County, California from 1858 to 1862. In 1868, Watsonville was incorporated and Judge Bockius served as Chairman of the first Board of Trustees of the city. In 1871, he was elected to the California State Assembly.

Frank F. Orr

Frank Orr, the last of four generations to inhabit the house, was editor of the Register Pajaronian newspaper which won a 1956 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service for his and others investigative reporting into a corrupt County District Attorney's involvement in gambling. The Alzora Snyder Archive includes numerous formerly classified photos from Mr. Orr's collection gathered during his service as Director of Still Picture Operations [5] in the US Army Signal Corps during World War II, where he obtained the rank of captain.

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Don Lauritson (July 13, 1989). "NRHP Nomination:Bockius, Godfrey M. House". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  3. Lewis, Betty (1976). Watsonville Memories that Linger. Valley Publishers. p. vii. ISBN 0-913548-37-5.
  4. Betty Lewis (April 11, 2002). "Judge Godfrey Bockius and his now well-known home". Register Pajaronian.
  5. "Deaths". Monterey Peninsula Herald. February 1, 1985. p. 4.
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