The Guest House was built primarily of coast redwood in 1892 by the Fort Bragg Redwood Company as a private residence of the Johnson Family, the company owners. It was also used a guest house for visiting senior company officials from the San Francisco headquarters and VIP visitors to the mill and logging sites.
In 1905, the Fort Bragg Redwood Company became Union Lumber Company, which was subsequently sold to Boise-Cascade Corporation, and then sold to Georgia-Pacific Corp. Georgia-Pacific used the building as a specialty boutique to its department store Sea Fair, and then turned it into a museum.
On July 24, 1957, the Guest House was registered as California Historical Landmark No. 615, with a plaque placed in front of the house on September 2, 1957.
In 1985, Georgia-Pacific donated the museum to the City of Fort Bragg. The Fort Bragg-Mendocino Coast Historical Society assumed responsibility for the building in 1999, and now uses the Guest House Museum as its headquarters.
