Construction History & Chronology

There is limited recorded development history of the property prior to 1978. The county does not have building permit records for the Hop Kiln or Baling Barn, and the assessor's records do not provide a construction date. Maps located in the research for this report do not provide strong evidence of the construction date of the subject buildings. Maps older than 1900 do not appear to note structures. A 1915 soils map of Healdsburg which appears to note the location of ranches or buildings with a dot does not indicate the subject buildings.  

A Sonoma County tax roll for 1946-9 lists the "Hop Kilns" valued at $1,330, the "Hop Cooler" valued at $720, an unstated acreage of hops valued at $1,600 and 10 acres in two groups of trees valued at $820. It also lists other buildings and a small number of livestock, including a  bull, cows, calves, and horses. The Sonoma County Assessor's records, as of 1952, lists a "Double Hop Kiln," a "Platform" (the bridge on the west side of the Hop Kiln that provided  access to the drying room doors at the top level of the building), the "Hop Cooler," and the "Tramway" ("high wood trestle & tracks," 170' by 6'). The "Year Built" column on the form is blank. This record notes ''T&G wall in drying rooms" of the Hop Kiln, but describes the interior of the Baling Barn as "unf," apparently indicating that the assessor did not observe any interior wall finishes including the horizontal boards on the south side of the second level. In 1952, the condition of the buildings was noted as the following "% Good" in each case: Hop Kilns, 80%; Platform, 80%; Hop Cooler, 65%; Tramway 65%. The 1956 valuation update valuates all the buildings as 30% good, and the 1969 update maintains a 30% valuation for the "Hop Cooler"  but marks the Hop Kilns, Tramway, Platform "NV" as having no value. As of March 21, 2014,  the Assessor s records note two buildings on the site with an area of 1088 square feet.  

A document dated January, 2000 provided by the previous owners, Ron and Pam Kaiser, to the current property owners states that the Hop Kiln, Baling Barn, Trestle, and shed west of the three subject structures (which it identifies as the storage shed for the hop picking machine) were built in 1948. A similar document created five years earlier gives a 1948 construction date. These documents do not state the basis for the construction dates and make no reference to any older buildings replaced by the construction in 1948 or 1949.

The Hop Kiln, Baling Barn, and Trestle operated as interdependent parts of a single system. While it is conceivable the Hop Kiln and Baling Barn could have been built at separate times(with Trestle constructed with the second of the two buildings), it appears very likely all three were constructed at the same time. Based on the building conditions noted in the assessment records, it appears they were likely built by the early 1930s. The two buildings and Trestle would likely have been noted on the map if they were in place by 1915. On the basis of this information, it appears likely the subject buildings were constructed after 1915 and before the mid- 1930s