Beautiful Historical 1866 Estate

The Ben Taylor Home, built by Ben Taylor, originally a gold rush 49er, in 1866. It was the first estate in the gold mining town of Grass Valley, home to the Empire Mine, the Idaho Maryland Mine, the North Star Mine, and the Cassidy (Linden) Mine. Adventurous miners lived in cabins and tents. Grass Valley was the richest gold mining area in California. Ben Taylor, a Kentucky native, stayed and made Grass Valley his home. An outstanding horseman, friend of Mark Twain and "old Waloopa" the local mountain Nisenan Indian leader. He created transportation and food enterprises: ox-drawn wagons for hire, sold tamed wild mustangs, built a toll road to Colfax, owned Buena Vista Ranch, drove 500 head of cattle out from Kansas City, supplied milk to the local hotels, restaurants, and miners.

On one of his cattle drives, while on the Oregon Trail, he met and later married Ester. Initially, they lived on the Buena Vista Ranch, which was an hour-and-a-half ride to the town of Grass Valley. Ester yearned to live within walking distance to town, so "Benj" bought this acreage and built the Ben Taylor Home, completing it in 1866.

The Ben Taylor Home, owned by the Ben Taylor family descendants for 157 years, is designated a "Class A" historic property by the City of Grass Valley and Nevada County. Sold in November, 2021, to Bob and Carrie Curlee, owners of the local Crest Point Farms cattle ranch, the Ben Taylor Home is, for the first time, being made available as a vacation and short-term rental where you can experience the rich history and share the remarkable story that are the foundation of this historic 1866 home.