The Woodside Store also called Tripp Store, sits at 3300 Tripp Road at Kings Mountain Road, Woodside, San Mateo County, California.[4][5] This building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985[1] and is listed as a California Historical Landmark in San Mateo County since 1949.[6][7] It was preserved through the efforts of the San Mateo Historical Association in the 1940s. After being taken under the wing of the Association in 1979, it was subject to a substantial restoration during the mid-1980s, which was completed by 1994.[8]
History
The current Woodside Store was constructed in 1854 (after the 1851 version burned down) by two early pioneers named Robert Orville "Doc" Tripp and Mathias Parkhurst.[8][9] Tripp was a dentist from Massachusetts that came to California during the Gold Rush.[8] This redwood emporium sat in the middle of the San Francisco Peninsula's lumbering district; it was, for a time, the only general store and stagecoach stop between San Francisco and Santa Clara.[5][10] The store sold everything from food to construction supplies and also served as a post office, bank, saloon and dentist office.[5][11] After Parkhurst's death in 1863, the store was operated by Tripp until his death in 1909, at the age of 93.[9]
Legend has it that Tripp had a very large dog that would follow him and they are photographed together.[12] It has been rumored that there is a ghost of his dog, haunting the Woodside Store.[12]
The store was acquired by the County in 1940, and opened in 1947 as a museum.[7]
Museum
Tours of the museum are arranged through the Woodside Store School Program and non-school groups can call the museum to schedule a tour.[13]
The museum of the Woodside Store has been restored to its 1880s appearance, and you can see the types of goods available in that time period – "from canned fruit and frying pans to nails and sewing machines."[11]
Gallery
Robert Orville Tripp
Exterior of the Woodside Store with State of California plaque
