Redman-Hirahara House gets a lift

BY: REGISTER-PAJARONIAN STAFF

Workers from Fresno House Movers prepare to hoist the 1897 Redman House skyward Monday as part of a major restoration project. Preparations are under way and the site work has begun to lift the Redman-Hirahara House onto cribbing, stabilizing the historic 1897 home until a new foundation is constructed.

The lifting of the house will begin today at 10:30 a.m. and will take several hours. Ron Campbell of Fresno Housemovers is currently on site placing steel I-beams and smaller cross beams underneath the house in preparation for the lift.
The house is recognizable throughout the region as it rests just off Highway 1 west of Watsonville at the corner of Beach Street and Lee Road. The house is significant, not only for its agricultural history, but its cultural history as well. It is the first known farmstead owned by a Japenese-American family, the Hiraharas. The family was interned during WWII and was forced to leave the home. Fortunately, local residents watched over the home and it was waiting for the Hiraharas when they returned and then the barn was transformed into a dormitory for other Japanese-Americans left homeless by the internment.

"The story behind this house is heart-wrenching and it needs to be told,” said Redman Foundation board president Geoff Scurfield.

Lifting the house is a huge step forward for the Redman Foundation, the nonprofit organization that is overseeing the restoration of the home and plans to transform the site into an educational and cultural center. Already, 10 acres of the farm are being leased by a local organic farmer and school children are already visiting and learning.

“In the 10-year history of our efforts, this is the biggest step we’ve made in restoring the house,” said Scurfield. “This is such an important project for the entire Central Coast. Highway 1 is California’s most historic highway and so many people drive by this house, millions each year. We can reach so many people.”

The approximately 115-ton, 2 1/2-story home will be hoisted up on jacks after beams have been put in place underneath. When put back down on the new foundation, the house will sit two feet higher, lifting it above the flood plain of the Pajaro River.

Redman board vice president Dean Coley said raising funds for the foundation will be the next challenge, but once that is complete, he hopes the house will be resting on a new foundation by next winter.

“This is great for the community of the entire Central Coast,” said Coley. “Millions of cars pass that house along Highway 1 each year and it could be such a wonderful showcase. We need to take pride in our history here.”

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*Photos by Tarmo Hannula*