The Gibson Mansion is a historic mansion that now serves as a museum in Woodland, California. Exemplifying several architectural styles, including Georgian Revival and Neoclassical, it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.HistoryWilliam Byas Gibson, originally from Virginia, moved from Missouri to Yolo County in 1850 and began to farm and raise livestock. In 1857, he purchased of land south of Woodland with a small home on the property, which would later be the center of his estate. Near Christmas of 1857, William married Mary Isabel Cook of Kentucky. They had three sons: Robert, Thomas, and Joseph . As the family grew and as their wealth increased, they enlarged the house several times between the 1870s to the 1910s, remodeling it into the current mansion. Gibson died in 1906 and the home was occupied by Robert and his wife Elnora Root until her death 1963. Between 1963 and 1975 the home and the acreage it is on was uncared for and dilapidated, and some labeled it a haunted house during this vacancy. In 1975, efforts to purchase the house and the 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 now operates the museum, on behalf of the County. The Museum is open to the public on weekdays.
