Built in 1882-83, this Italianate Victorian house, shown above in a 1909 photo postcard view, was the home of rancher-banker, Robert McHenry. The McHenry home was only one of many stately Victorians built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the town.

Most residences in Modesto were built on lots that cost between $20 and $40 each, located within three blocks of the train depot. An average house occupied two 25-foot lots. In the 1880's, many beautiful residences were built east of downtown on lots that cost between $75 and $100 each. The McHenry Mansion is the only one of these residences that remains.

The McHenry's ranch was located a substantial distance from the city. The Bald Eagle Ranch had a less ornate home, still carrying the unique features of a typical Victorian home. The dirt road from the in-town home to the ranch would later become McHenry Avenue, Modesto's "main" thoroughfare and part of the state highway system (Highway 108).

Shortly after building the Mansion, McHenry founded the First National Bank of Modesto. He also was named first board president of the Modesto Irrigation District. From 1884 to 1887, the home at 15th and I Streets was opened to the community on New Year's Day, a practice that many of the wealthier homeowners also took part in.

Oramil McHenry, Robert's son, inherited the McHenry Mansion upon his father's death. In 1903, he owned, according to the Stanislaus County Weekly News, about 8,000 acres in the two irrigation districts. "Of this, fully 5,000 acres are being subdivided into small areas and put on the market under terms and conditions which make them accessible to settlers with moderate means."

Being altruistic, upon his death in 1906, he bequeathed three lots on 10th Street and $20,000 for the building of a public library. When the estate was finally settled, 10th Street had become a mercantile center, so the lots were sold for $10,000 and property at 14th and I Streets was purchased for $5,800. A San Francisco architect and contractor were hired to build the new library at a cost of $22,500 plus another $3,000 for furnishings. Construction of the neo-classical style building started on Oct. 11, 1911. The building was dedicated on April 29, 1912.

The library, as it looked in 1912, shortly after completion. An annex was later added to the building. When the new Modesto-Stanislaus Library was built in the 1970s, the McHenry Library became the McHenry Museum.

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