Ford House Museum and Visitor Center

45035 Main St., in Mendocino Headlands State Park, (707) 937-5397. Daily 11-4. Free or by donation ($2/person, $5/family).

exterior of Ford House Museum in Mendocino, California

Inside the historic 1854 Ford House an interpretive center focuses on the area’s cultural and natural history. A popular exhibit is a scale model of Mendocino as it was in 1890. Also on display are artifacts and tools used by loggers in the 1800s, a display of Native American artifacts, and several works by artist Emmy Lou Packard, who was a friend of Diego Rivera and Frieda Kahlo and who lived in Mendocino in the late 1950s. China used by Martha Ford, who resided in the house from 1854 to 1872, is also displayed.

Seasonal exhibits include a fall display of living local mushrooms that is kept fresh with updated specimens added every few days. From December through April whales migrate close to shore. At that time, from the bluff-top trails in the Mendocino headlands located just outside the house, they can sometimes easily be seen "breaching," or soaring out of the water. During this whale-watching season, museum visitors can see a collection of grey whale bones and view a related short orientation film as well as get information on interpretive programs available at the adjacent Mendocino Headlands State Park. In spring, fresh wildflowers are displayed alongside the work of local artists.

The Ford House also serves as the village’s official visitor center. Picnic tables offer a spectacular ocean view, and the museum has the town’s only public restrooms.