We’re back to our series of Jacksonville “firsts.” This time Historic Jacksonville, Inc. is highlighting one of the Valley’s earliest pioneers, Mathew G. Kennedy. Kennedy had arrived in “Table Rock City” in 1852—at the time little more than a rowdy mining camp. In early 1853, he was appointed town constable at the ripe old age of 23 and became the first elected Sheriff of Jackson County later that year.
However, that was not the only “first” to Kennedy’s credit. Kennedy was the first Jacksonville settler to record his claim to a 100-foot frontage on the north side of California Street. Around 1854, he constructed 1 or 2 wood frame buildings that housed an “assemblage of shops” known as “Kennedy’s Row.” That site now houses The Pot Rack, The Blue Door Garden Store, Farmhouse Treasures, and the historic Beekman Bank Museum. Early newspapers carry advertisements for Kennedy Tinware (a hardware store) at what is now 150 W. California (The Pot Rack).
Kennedy sold his tin shop to Love and Bilger in 1856, and a year later left Jacksonville to build a hotel called the Metropolitan House Hotel in Yreka. By 1863, he had moved on to San Francisco.
However, Kennedy’s house still stands at 240 North 3rd Street. Constructed in 1855, it’s the oldest Jacksonville residence still standing!