Category: Who Built this House?

Who Built This House? The Murphy Building

The Murphy Building at 695-697 Petlauma Boulevard North (photo John Sheehy)

The Murphy Building at the southwest corner of Petaluma Boulevard North and West Street was built in 1916 by Dennis Murphy as a neighborhood grocery and residence.[1]

Murphy emigrated to California from Ireland in 1875, settling in San Francisco, where he worked as a grocer. In 1912, at the age of 53, he moved to Petaluma, purchasing the East Petaluma Grocery and Delicatessen on the southeast corner of East Washington and Vallejo streets (across from today’s Whole Foods).[2]

Dennis and Mary Murphy with their daughters Cecelia and Constance, outside the East Petaluma Grocery, 630 East Washington Street, 1912 (Sonoma County Library)

The East Petaluma Grocery was three years old, having been built and operated by A. Seligman and his wife. Seligman also purchased 10 acres along East Washington Street between Vallejo and Edith streets, which he subdivided into residential lots for sale. After his wife became critically ill in 1911, Seligman sold the grocery to Murphy, and the couple moved back to San Francisco.[3]

Murphy added a second floor to the building for his family to live in, a common tradition of merchants living above their stores.[4] His first wife, Minnie, with whom he had seven children, had died in 1897 at the age of 33. In 1909, he married Mary Carter of Sebastopol. They couple had two young daughters, who resided with them above the grocery, his children from his first marriage apparently all grown by that time. [5]

In 1916, Murphy purchased an empty lot at the corner of West Street and Petaluma Boulevard North (then North Main Street), and constructed a new Murphy’s Grocery on it, built in a style that largely mimicked that of the East Petaluma Grocery, with living quarters for his family upstairs.[6]

Ad for Murphy’s Grocery, Petaluma Courier, December 21, 1917

Murphy operated the new grocery for only three years before his death in 1919. His wife Mary maintained ownership of the building, living upstairs and leasing out the downstairs grocery to five different merchants during the 1920s, who apparently had a hard time making it work.[7] It doesn’t appear the grocery was operating during years of the Great Depression years.

Mary Murphy lived in the building until her death in 1943. Her daughter Connie, who inherited the building, sold it to local sign maker Lew Barber, and joined Women’s Naval Reserve, or WAVES. Barber set up his store on the first floor, and his family moved into the residence upstairs.[8]

Barber Sign Company, 695- 697 Main Street, 1948 (photo courtesy of Paul Barber)

In 1947, Lew was joined in the business by his brother Warren. Recently discharged from the U.S. Navy, Warren was trained in making neon signs. Lew installed an Army-surplus Quonset hut in the backyard for Warren to use as his neon sign shop.[9]

Barber Sign Company’s neon sign shop in the Quonset hut, early 1950s (photo courtesy of Paul Barber)

In 1956, Barber moved his company to a new location in town, selling the buildings to The Pride of Petaluma Brooder Stove Company, which had been operating their store and plant two doors away since 1924. They leased it out to L&L Furniture & Appliances until 1964, when it returned to being a neighborhood grocery called Ben’s Trading Post. Ben and then Bev Miller operated the store until 1970.[10]

In the years since, the Murphy Building has seen a series of businesses pass through, including as the Tropical Fish Store in the 1970s, a tanning salon, and most recently, the Daily Care Massage Parlor.

Daily Care Massage, 867 Petaluma Boulevard North (public domain)

Thanks to historian Katherine Rinehart for her research assistance. More info on the Barber Sign Co. can be found at her website, https://kjrinehart.com/, and in her book The Petaluma Vintage Signs Guidebook.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Petaluma Argus, June 13, 1916.

[2] “D. Murphy is Summoned,” Petaluma Courier, October 11, 1919.

[3] “George P. McNear Sells 10-acre Tract,” Petaluma Argus, June 12, 1908; Ad for city lots for sale by Seligman, Petaluma Courier, August 13, 1909; “Building a Store,” Petaluma Courier, October 26, 1909; “Will Open New Store Wednesday,” Petaluma Argus, November 29, 1909; “A Fine New Store,” Petaluma Courier, December 14, 1909; To Submit to Operation,” Petaluma Courier, April 23, 1910; “Local Notes,” Petaluma Argus, December 22, 1911.

[4] “Grocery Store Sold Yesterday,” Petaluma Argus, January 30, 1912.

[5] “Deaths,” San Francisco Chronicle, June 14, 1897; “More Marriage Licenses Granted,” Petaluma Argus, March 18, 1909; https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/151017093/dennis-murphy. Note: two of Murphy’s children from his first marriage had died by the time he moved to Petaluma.

[6] Mr. Murphy building new home, Petaluma Argus, June 13, 1916; First ad for D. Murphy Grocery at Main and West streets, Petaluma Argus, June 27, 1917.

[7] “Filed Will for Probate,” Petaluma Courier, October 18, 1919; “Deeded Property to Widow,” Petaluma Courier, October 19, 1919; “Bought Murphy Grocery,” Petaluma Courier, March 17, 1920; “J. O’Rourke Opens Murphy Store,” Petaluma Argus, May 5, 1920; “Disposed of Grocery Store,” Petaluma Courier, February 18, 1921; “Bought Lock Grocery,” Petaluma Courier, October 5, 1921; “Temple Grocery is Sold,” Petaluma Argus, September 11, 1923; Ad of Grocery for rent at 695 Main, Petaluma Argus-Courier, September 18, 1929.

[8] “Death Takes Mrs. Mary Murphy,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, February 11, 1943; “Mary C. Murphy left Estate to Daughter,”  Petaluma Argus-Courier, February 22, 1943; “Constance Murphy Thrilled with WAVES,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, September 20, 1944; “Personal Items,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, August 14, 1944.

[9] First ad for Barber Neon, Petaluma Argus-Courier, July 28, 1947; Written note from Carol Cook, daughter of Lew Barber: “My father, Lew Barber’s, first sign shop was in this building and we lived upstairs. When his brother, Warren Barber, got out of the Navy in the 1940’s, my Dad bought the Quonset Hut and had it erected for Warren when he came home after learning neon skills. Later, they moved their business to several different spots in Petaluma and also had a shop in Vallejo. Two of Warren’s sons also worked in their business.”

[10] Ad for new Petaluma Brooder Stove Co., Petaluma Courier, March 15, 1924;“Brooder Firm Buys Main St. Property,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, February 1, 1956; First ad for L&L Furniture & Appliances, Petaluma Argus-Courier, July 23, 1956; First ad for Ben’s Trading Post, 697 Petaluma Boulevard North, Petaluma Argus-Courier, June 19, 1964; “So They Tell Me” column: Tropical Fish Store, Petaluma Argus Courier, December 2, 1970.

Who Built This House? The Legendary Revere House

The Revere House, 512 Kentucky Street, 1959 (Sonoma County Library)

In 1962, a fire broke out on Kentucky Street between Kent and Galland streets, destroying one of the oldest landmark buildings in Petaluma.

Built in 1861 as a hotel called the What Cheer House—later renamed the Revere House—it originally sat at the southeast corner of Oak Street and Petaluma Boulevard North. In 1907, part of the building was moved to 512 Kentucky Street, where it became a private residence.

The hotel was built by George W. Cofer, who came to Sonoma County in 1852, having crossed the plains from Missouri in a wagon train. He initially settled on a farm west of Petaluma and married Nancy Ann Peters. In 1861, the couple moved into private quarters in their newly constructed What Cheer House.[1]

Stagecoach outside the What Cheer House, Main and Oak Streets, 1860s (Sonoma County Library)

Three stories high, the hotel had 50 rooms, a dining hall and bar, and an adjacent livery stable. For many years it was the largest hotel in town, offering a commanding view of Petaluma Valley and the Sonoma Mountain Range. The nightly room rate was 25 cents a night ($10 in today’s currency).[2]

Cofer borrowed the name from the popular What Cheer House in San Francisco. That city’s largest hotel, it initially opened 1852, admitting only male guests and banning liquor on the premises.[3] The hotel’s name came from an old English expression—“What cheer, friend?”— a friendly salutation commonly used during the Gold Rush.[4]

What Cheer House on Sacramento Street in San Francisco, 1850s (Library of Congress)

Cofer’s guests were primarily teamsters, farmers, and drovers bringing grains, produce, and livestock into town. The hotel’s livery stable featured a scale for weighing hay and grain. Across the street sat Petaluma’s early flour mills. A free shuttle transported guests to and from the steamboat ferry landing on the river. The hotel also served as a stagecoach depot for passengers venturing north to Santa Rosa or Sebastopol.[5]

In 1865, Cofer sold the hotel and departed for Honolulu. He later took his wife and children to Peru, where they allegedly became the first Americans to cross the Andes. The Cofers ultimately settled on a farm near Red Bluff. [6]

Ad for the Stockdale House, 1866 (Petlauma Weekly Argus)

The hotel’s new owner, Hugh Stockdale, came to Sonoma County from Pennsylvania in the early 1850s. Owner of a dry goods store in Bloomfield, he was an avid horse breeder, and helped to organize the first county fair held in Petaluma in 1867.[7]

Stockdale changed the name of the What Cheer House to the Stockdale House, and refurnished it to appeal to not only to farmers and teamsters but also to their families.[9] He lived with his own family in the private quarters Cofer created at the hotel. After two years, Stockdale leased the hotel to Reuben L. Gardner, one of California’s legendary hotel keepers, but continued to reside there with his family .[10]

Ad for Reuben L. Gardner’s Revere House, 1867 (Petlauma Weekly Argus)

A native of Rhode Island, Gardner had operated a series of hotels in California and Nevada, beginning with Sacramento’s Crescent City Hotel in 1850. He renamed Stockdale’s hotel The Revere House, most likely after Boston’s famous hotel of the same name. Within a couple years, Gardner moved on to a new hotel venture.[11]

The Stockdale family continued to reside at the hotel for the next 40 years, leasing its operation to a series of proprietors. Stockdale died there in 1890, followed by his wife Carrie 12 years later. In 1906, Stockdale’s children moved out and sold the building, but not the lot, to Charley Offutt, a local dairyman. [12]  

Offutt first arrived in Petaluma in 1853 as a one-year-old infant traveling with his parents on a wagon train from Missouri.[13] His parents established 1,000-acre dairy ranch that stretched from Chileno Valley to Tomales Bay. Offutt took it over after their passing. In 1906, he decided to retire from dairy ranching and moved into town with his wife.[14]

Offutt’s main reason for buying the hotel building was to use its hand-hewn lumber in constructing a new house on a lot he purchased a block away. The lot extended from Petaluma Boulevard North to Kentucky Street. Subdividing the lot, Offutt used the lumber from the hotel’s first floor to build a Craftsman-style home for his family at 509 Petaluma Boulevard North (adjacent today to the former parking of North Bay Kitchen & Bath).[15]

Offutt House, built 1907 with lumber from the Revere House, 509 Petaluma Boulevard North (public domain)

He moved the top two stories of the Revere House to Kentucky Street, where he converted them into a single private residence he rented out. For brief periods, Offutt’s daughter Jennie, a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, lived there with her husband Arlington W. Stephenson, a music professor. Touring performers during the Vaudeville era, the couple eventually moved to San Francisco.[16]

Following Offutt’s death in 1935, Jennie Offutt Stephenson moved back into the old Revere House, apparently to be close to her elderly mother. Having recently separated from her husband, she began running a series of local night clubs—the Silver Dollar Club, the Rainbow Inn, and the Depot Hotel in Valley Ford (today’s Dinucci’s Restaurant)—with nightly jazz bands and dancing.[17]

Former Revere House as private residence downstairs and upstairs apartments, 512 Kentucky Street, 1953 (Sonoma County Library)

During World War II, Stephenson converted the top floor of the old Revere House into four rental apartments.[18] On the evening of February 6, 1962, a smoldering cigarette left in one of the rented rooms set off a fire that severely damaged the old building.[19]

Fire at the Revere House, 1962 (Sonoma County Library)
Aftermath of the fire at the Revere House (Sonoma County Library)

Stephenson tore down the remains of building and in its place constructed the four-unit apartment complex that resides on the site today. The only remanent of the landmark Revere House is the lumber in the old Offutt house at 509 Petaluma Boulevard North.

Apartment Complex, 512-518 Kentucky Street, 2026 (public domain)

A version of this story appeared in the Petaluma Argus-Courier, October 9, 2026

FOOTNOTES:

[1] “Married,” Sonoma County Journal, April 10, 1857; Ad for the What Cheer House, Petaluma Argus, September 20, 1861; “Death of G.W. Cofer,” Daily Red Bluff News, August 6, 1895.

[2] Ad for the What Cheer House, Petaluma Argus, September 20, 1861; “Jottings,” Petaluma Courier, January 29, 1879: best hotel view in town.

[3] “Library of Congress Images Show S.F. As It Was Before 1870,” SF Gate.com, July 20, 2020.

[4] “The What Cheer House,” Stagenine.com, https://www.stagenine.com/pages/the-what-cheer-house

[5] Ad for What Cheer House, Petaluma Argus, September 20, 1861; Ad for Revere House, Petaluma Argus, April 4, 1867.

[6] For Sale ad for What Cheer House, Petaluma Argus, June 30, 1864; Ad for Stockdale House, Petaluma Argus, July 20, 1865; Ad for Stockdale House listing Stockdale as proprietor, Petaluma Argus, November 9, 1865; “Passengers,” Daily Alta California, March 25, 1865; “Passengers,” Daily Alta California, March 25, 1865.

[7] Ad for Miller & Stockdale Dry Goods Store, Sonoma County Journal, June 1, 1860; “County Fair, Petaluma Argus, April 11, 1867; “Dead,” Petaluma Courier, November 12, 1890.

[9] Ad for Stockdale House, Petaluma Argus, November 16, 1865.

[10] “Good Change All Around,” Petaluma Argus, March 14, 1867; First ad for the Revere House, Petaluma Argus, March 21, 1867; “Death of R.L. Gardner,” Oakland Tribune, August 8, 1877.

[11] “The Revere House,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revere_House.

[12] “Dead,” Petaluma Courier, November 12, 1890; “Death Calls Mrs. Stockdale,” Petaluma Argus, May 10, 1902; “Briefs,” Petaluma Courier, September 25, 1903: rooms still being rented at Revere House; “Briefs,” Petaluma Courier, June 4, 1906: Stockdale heirs move out of hotel.

[13] “Pioneer Ranch Owner, 83, Passes,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, September 28, 1935.

[14] “Pioneer Ranch Owner, 83, Passes,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, September 28, 1935; “Jennie Stephenson Dies in Petaluma,” Santa Rosa Press Democrat, December 25, 1977.

[15] “Historical Unity Meets Next Week,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, September 23, 1959.

[16] “Life Ends for Mrs. Isable Farrel,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, April 9, 1945; Jennie Stephenson Dies in Petaluma,” Santa Rosa Press Democrat, December 25, 1977.

[17] Jennie Stephenson Dies in Petaluma,” Santa Rosa Press Democrat, December 25, 1977.

[18] “Silver Dollar Reopens August 29,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, August 24, 1936; “Rainbow Inn to Be reopened Saturday,” Santa Rosa Republican, June 24, 1937; “Valley Ford Hotel is Leased,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, March 4, 1938;  “Condition of Mrs. Offutt Critical,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, October 7, 1942; “Obituaries: Jennie B. Stephenson,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, December 24 1977.

[19] “Fire Ravages 97-year-old Revere House,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, February 12, 1962.

Who Built This House: 335 Bassett Street

The Hart House, 335 Bassett Street, built in 1906 (photo John Sheehy)

This hip-roofed, craftsman cottage near the corner of Bassett and Fair streets was built in 1906 by George Weber and A.H. Pape for Ellis O. Hart and his new bride Susan Dubin.[1]

Ellis was born in 1883 and reared on a farm in Lakeville. His father, Blair Hart, was elected in 1900 as Sonoma County supervisor for District 1, which extended east from Penngrove and Lakeville to the Sonoma Valley. Blair would remain a county supervisor until the year before his death at 84 in 1939.[2]

Sonoma County Supervisor Blair Hart, 1908 (Sonoma County Library)

After graduating from Petaluma High, Ellis Hart started working in 1903 for the Golden Eagle Milling Company as a bookkeeper.[3]

Golden Eagle Mill and offices, East Washington and Copeland streets (Sonoma County Library)

Located at East Washington and Copeland streets, the mill was founded in 1884 by two Canadian brothers, Walter and Samuel Percival, with investments from local capitalists. During the 1870s, Walter operated a flour mill in Bloomfield. In 1888, the Percivals sold the Golden Eagle Mill to Petaluma capitalist Hiram T. Fairbanks, and relocated to San Francisco to start a real estate firm.[4]

Ellis Hart married his Lakeville sweetheart, Susan Dubin, in 1906. In January 1907, the couple moved into their newly constructed cottage at 335 Bassett Street, constructed on one of a series of lots along Fair Street owned by Blair Hart. A week later, Susan gave birth to their daughter Lorraine.[5]

Hart’s hip-roof cottage at 335 Bassett Street (Sonoma County Library)
1900 Map and Guide of Petlauma. Arrow points to site of the Hart house, and a group of lots owned by Blair Hart (Sonoma County Library)

A number of other houses were being erected on the block at that time (including 322 and 326 Bassett built by my great-grandmother Julia Casey; and 315, 317, and 321 Bassett built by my other great-grandmother, Hannah Sheehy, who in the late 1880s owned the entire south side of Bassett Street between Baker and Fair streets). Petaluma High School would not be constructed at the end of the block on Fair Street until 1915.[6]

1915 view of Bassett Street from Fair Street to St. Vincent’s de Paul Church; arrow points to Hart house (photo public domain)

The builders of the Harts’s new home, Weber and Pape of Santa Rosa, had contracted to construct the cottage for $1,550 ($55,000 in today’s currency). They charged them an additional $344, claiming Ellis had agreed orally to the increase. Ellis took them to court, arguing theirs was a false claim, and won.[7]

Soon after building his house, Ellis was promoted to general manager at the Golden Eagle Mill, and secretary of its board of directors, positions he would hold until 1953. The Golden Eagle Mill was destroyed by a fire in 1968, and replaced by today’s River Plaza Shopping Center.[8]

Susan and Ellis Hart standing behind their daughter Lorraine at her wedding to Eugene Holdenried, 1935 (Sonoma Count Library)

In 1935, the Harts hired A. Mariam Seeberg, a popular Norwegian architect and contractor in Petaluma, to remodel their cottage, adding an addition above the garage.[9]

Ellis and his wife Susan lived together at that the cottage until his death in 1963 at age 80. Susan remained there until her death in 1973 at age 87.[10]

Hart house, 335 Bassett Street (courtesy of Berkshire Hathaway)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] “Were Wedded on Tuesday,” Petaluma Argus, July 10, 1906 “Briefs,” Petaluma Courier, January 17, 1907; Ellis Hart Won Suit,” Petaluma Argus, February 14, 1908.

[2] “Jottings,” Petaluma Courier, October 15, 1879; “Baudau’s Election as County Assessor Seems Assured with Count Near End,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, November 19, 1938; “Blair Hart, Petaluma, Dean of Sonoma Supervisors,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, August 24, 1939. Note: Blair Hart was elected supervisor for District 1 from 1900 to 1912. Then he and his wife moved into Petaluma, and he was elected supervisor for District 2 from 1916 to 1938.

[3] “Local Brevities,” Petaluma Courier, July 22, 1903; “Soon to be Married,” Petaluma Courier, July 7, 1906; “Obituaries: Ellis O. Hart,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, September 30, 1963.

[4] “Our Real Estate Transactions,” Petaluma Argus, March 8, 1872; “Bloomfield Industries,” Petaluma Argus, October 31, 1873; “A Disastrous Fire,” Petaluma Courier, December 24, 1884; “$19,500,” Petaluma Courier, December 31, 1884; “The Golden Eagle Flouring Mills,” Petaluma Courier, July 1, 1885; “New Officers,” Petaluma Argus, January 7, 1888; “Petition,” Petaluma Argus, April 21, 1888; “Courierlets,” Petaluma Courier, July 4, 1888; “Death Calls W. Percival, Sr.” Petaluma Argus, January 25, 1926; “Golden Eagle Employs Many,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, August 17, 1955.

[5] “Were Wedded on Tuesday,” Petaluma Argus, July 10, 1906; Briefs,” Petaluma Courier, January 17, 1907; “Briefs,” Petaluma Courier, January 22, 1907; “Born,” Petaluma Argus, January 22, 1907; 1900 street map of Petlauma, Sonoma County Library.

[6] “Bassett Street Improvements,” Petaluma Courier, April 14, 1909.

[7] “Residence Being Completed,” Santa Rosa Republican, March 22, 1906; “Court Calendar,” Petaluma Courier, December 17, 1907; “Ellis Hart Won Suit,” Petaluma Argus, February 14, 1908.

[8] “Annual Meeting,” Petaluma Courier, June 11, 1908; “Cargo Will Be a Total Loss,” Petaluma Courier, August 20, 1910; “Obituaries: Ellis O. Hart,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, September 30, 1963.

“Fire Sweeps Golden Eagle Milling Plant,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, July 5, 1968.

[9] “Okay Building Permits in City,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, September 24, 1935.

[10] “Obituaries: Ellis O. Hart,”  Petaluma Argus-Courier, September 30, 1963; “Obituary: Susan D. Hart,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, June 26, 1973.

Who Built This House: 770 B Street

770 B Street, designed and built by A. M Seeberg in 1929 (photo John Sheehy)

The Mediterranean Revival Style home at the corner of B and Spring Streets was built in 1929 by A.M. Seeberg for Catterina Carpella Berri.

Catterina was born in 1868 in Ticino, Switzerland, to Giuseppe and Grace Bedolla Carpella. As a young girl, she immigrated to California to join her older sister Severina, who had married a Swiss-Italian dairy rancher in Olema named Stephano Toroni. A second sister, Modesta, also immigrated to California, marrying Joseph Silacci of Salinas. Catterina’s brother, Joseph Carpella, remained behind in Switzerland.

Catterina Carpella, circa 1894-1898 (courtesy of Dan Brown Collection)

Catterina lived in Olema with the Toroni family until her marriage in 1898 to Bartolomeo Berri. A 46-year old, Swiss-Italian immigrant, Berri was partners with his brother Vittore (Victor) in the Berri Bros. Dairy Ranch at Salmon Creek near Marshall in Marin County.

Batholomew and Catterina Berri, c. 1900 Bartholomew, Victor, and Catterina Berri, c. 1900 (Dan Brown Collection)

Catterina and Bartolomeo resided on the Berri Ranch, one of the largest in West Marin, until Bartolomeo retired in 1907, at which time they moved to Petaluma, purchasing a house at 816 B Street. Bartolomeo died in 1918, leaving Catterina a small fortune of $75,000 ($1.6 million in today’s currency).

The couple did not have any children. After Bartolomeo’s death, Catterina’s niece and nephew, Sara and Stephen Toroni, came to live with her following the death of their mother, Catterina’s sister Severina.

In 1929, Catterina purchased an empty lot on the corner of B and Spring streets from Charles Lynch, whose family had owned the property since 1875. She then hired A. Mariam Seeberg, a popular Norwegian architect and contractor in Petaluma, to build a new home for her and her niece and nephew.

The chimney at 770 B Street still displays the letter “B” for Berri(photo John Sheehy)

Seeberg, who had designed and built a number of residential and commercial buildings in town, designed Catterina’s new house in the Mediterranean Revival Style popular among his Swiss-Italian clients.

Acclaimed at the time as one most elegant homes in town, it became a signature building for Seeberg, along with his design of Charles Garzoli’s house on Old Redwood Highway in Penngrove.

The Charles Garzoli house designed and built by A.M. Seeberg in 1933 (photo John Sheehy)

A avid gardener, Catterina took great pride in her prize-winning flower beds, which she planted with seeds imported from Europe. She died at her home on B Street in 1937, attended by her niece and nephew, Sara and Stephen Toroni, who continued to reside at the house for the next couple decades.

******

SOURCES:

“Married in San Francisco,” Petaluma Courier, June 8, 1898.

“Marriage Licenses,” San Francisco Examiner, June 5, 1898.

“Mrs. Toroni Died in Olema,” Petaluma Courier, May 25, 1912.

“B. Berri is Summoned,” Petaluma Courier, June 12, 1918.

“Left Big Estate to His Widow,” Geyserville Gazette, July 5, 1918.

“Purple and Pink, Blue and Gold, Flower Show Story in Short is Told,” Petaluma Courier, May 1, 1927.

“A.M. Seeberg Will Build New Building for Hunt & Behrens,” Petaluma Argus, July 27, 1927.

“Mrs. B. Berri Will Build Costly Home,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, July 5, 1929.

“Gorgeous Flower from Berri Gardens,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, June 1, 1933

“Funeral Notices,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, July 6, 1937.

“A. Mariam Seeberg, Long Prominent Here, Succumbs,” Petaluma Argus-Courier, August 9, 1946.