Blair House

An 1888 Victorian home that became one of Mendocino's best-known inns - and, to millions of television viewers, the home of Jessica Fletcher in Cabot Cove.

Some Mendocino houses are famous because of who lived in them. Blair House managed to become famous twice - first as one of the village's grand Victorian homes, and later as the television home of one of America's best-known fictional detectives.

Overview

Blair House stands at the northwest corner of Little Lake and Ford streets. The house was constructed in 1888 for Elisha and Hattie Blair after Elisha purchased the property from William Heeser in 1887. Historical material from Kelley House Museum identifies the property as the Elisha W. Blair House and shows it with its original water tower behind it.

Today Blair House again operates as a small historic inn. Its current owners describe it as an 1888 Victorian retreat with four guest rooms, gardens and ocean views.

Location

The house sits at 45110 Little Lake Street, just a short walk from Mendocino's commercial center and the Headlands.

Its gables, bay windows, decorative woodwork and broad Victorian form make it one of the village's most recognizable residences. The current Blair House history says the structure was built with Douglas fir framing and flooring and clear-heart redwood walls and foundation.

History

Elisha W. Blair came to Mendocino from Maine in 1857. He initially worked at the Big River mill and later became involved in lending and finance within the growing village. He married Hattie Taylor Blair, and their daughter Florence was born in 1884.

Elisha purchased the Little Lake Street property in 1887, and construction began the following year. Sources agree on the 1888 construction date, although there is a small disagreement over the builder: Blair House's current history credits prominent local builder Oliver Johnson, while Kelley House material used in its Angela Lansbury historical exhibit identifies J. D. Johnson. The safest conclusion is that the house dates to 1888 while the exact builder attribution deserves further documentary checking.

A community memory adds a more personal and tragic chapter, recalling that Elisha Blair was injured in a wagon accident and died before the house was completed, after which his widow and daughter Florence eventually sold the property and moved away. That detail appears in the local reply thread, but no independent historical source has yet been found confirming the timing of his death in relation to completion of the house.

The house continued through a succession of owners and uses. One community memory recalls it operating as a boarding house during the 1960s and 1970s. That period remains an open part of the documented story and could likely be filled out further through directories, property records and additional community memories.

Then television changed everything.

Beginning in the 1980s, Mendocino regularly doubled for the fictional Maine village of Cabot Cove in Murder, She Wrote. Blair House was chosen as the exterior of mystery writer Jessica Fletcher's home. Angela Lansbury played Fletcher throughout the series, which ran from 1984 through 1996. Although the exterior of Blair House appeared repeatedly, the interiors seen on television were studio sets rather than rooms inside the actual house.

Only nine complete episodes were filmed on location in Mendocino, but exterior and establishing shots of the village appeared throughout the series, making Blair House one of the program's most recognizable landmarks.

In 1986, Grover Wickersham purchased Blair House and converted it into a bed and breakfast. Kelley House's Angela Lansbury exhibit documents that ownership and conversion, tying the beginning of the inn era directly to the years when Murder, She Wrote was making the house famous to television audiences.

Community memories confirm that the inn was operating by at least 1988, when one commenter remembers staying there as a bed and breakfast.

The television connection became part of the inn itself. Its largest accommodation became known as Angela's Suite, named for Angela Lansbury. Older guest recollections also refer to a room called Jessica's Room, while another former innkeeper remembers an upstairs room as Jennifer's Room. Those recollections may reflect different names used during different periods rather than one permanently fixed room name. Published guest reviews from the 2000s likewise show some uncertainty between "Jessica's" and "Angela's," suggesting that the room naming did change or was remembered differently over time.

The property had other activity as well. One community memory recalls Mendocino Restorations operating from a shop at the back of the property during the 1990s.

Another former innkeeper remembers working there in 2005 and later returning to help again after renovations. Blair House closed for a period and subsequently underwent extensive renovation before reopening. Recent lodging information says it reopened in 2023 after substantial remodeling, while retaining its historic character.

The Building Today

Blair House again operates as a small historic inn, reopened in 2023 after substantial remodeling that retained its historic Victorian character. Four guest rooms, gardens and ocean views remain part of the experience, and visitors still stop at the corner of Little Lake and Ford to photograph the house they recognize from television.

Why It Matters

The building began as a prominent Victorian residence, became a boarding house and later a bed and breakfast, gained international recognition without ever leaving Little Lake Street, and now attracts visitors who sometimes know its fictional resident before they know anything about Elisha Blair.

The real house and the television house have become almost impossible to separate. But underneath Jessica Fletcher's Cabot Cove address is still an 1888 Mendocino home with a history of its own.

Community Memories

The replies add an unusually rich collection of memories to the Blair House story.

One person remembers staying there in 1988 when it was already operating as a bed and breakfast.

Another remembers running a restoration business from a shop at the rear of the property during the 1990s.

A former innkeeper and housekeeper remembers working at Blair House in 2005 and helping there again more recently, noting that the property has since been remodeled.

Two former guests and workers also compared memories of the room names. One guest distinctly remembers staying in "Jessica's Room," located upstairs above the front door, while another person who worked at the inn remembers that room as "Jennifer's Room" and identifies the downstairs suite as Angela's Suite. Rather than one memory necessarily being wrong, the names may simply have changed through different periods of the inn's operation.

And several replies are less about dates than affection - people remembering stays, recognizing the house immediately, or simply appreciating that its history is being preserved.

Timeline

1857 - Elisha W. Blair arrives in Mendocino from Maine.

1884 - Daughter Florence Blair is born.

1887 - Elisha Blair purchases the Little Lake Street property from William Heeser.

1888 - The Blair House is built.

1960s-1970s - Community memory recalls the house operating as a boarding house.

1984-1996 - Murder, She Wrote airs, using Blair House as the exterior of Jessica Fletcher's Cabot Cove home.

1986 - Grover Wickersham purchases Blair House and converts it into a bed and breakfast.

1988 - A guest remembers staying at the inn.

1990s - Mendocino Restorations operates from a shop at the rear of the property.

2005 - A former innkeeper and housekeeper works at Blair House.

2023 - Blair House reopens after substantial renovation.

Sources & Original Research

Blair House official website and historical property information; Kelley House Museum historical material on the Elisha W. Blair House; Kelley House Museum Angela Lansbury and Murder, She Wrote historical exhibit documenting the house, its use in the series and Grover Wickersham's 1986 purchase; historical and current lodging records for Blair House Inn; published guest accounts documenting former room names and earlier inn operation; original post text and photograph provided by Gee Bee; comment thread provided by Gee Bee with community memories from Christee Coleman, Jeni Lee Smith, Brian Crasno, Dorothy Hatchell Wasser, Lois Phillips, June Richmond and Nadine Davie.