Winter 2010 - Preservation Action Council of San Jose

ought 250 acres of farmland in Santa Clara Valley. Ashworthcame from Kentucky in 1852 and went directly to "thediggins" in Mariposa County.Having made his pile,Ashworth moved to Santa ClaraCounty and built this house forhis family, which included sixsons and one daughter. Thefamily farmed the property until1890 when Mrs. Ashworth died,and the aging Ashworth soldthe property and moved intotown.Ashworth sold his property tothe Remillard family, the largestmanufacturers of bricks in theBay Area. The Remillards werefrom Oakland, and alreadyowned a number of brickyardsthroughout the area. Three Remillard brothers came to Californiafrom Canada in 1861, and built their small businessinto a major corporation. The family owned brick yards inOakland, San Rafael, Greenbrae, Pleasanton and San Jose. TheRemillard Company was the major supplier of brick to rebuildSan Francisco after the 1906 earthquakeand fire.By the 1890's, the company was in thehands of Peter Remillard and his onlyson. Both men died unexpectedly, leavingthe business to the widow, MadameCordule Remillard and her talenteddaughter, Lillian. The two women ranthe business from their Oakland office.The Ashworth house on the San Joseproperty was used as a summer houseand vacation retreat by the family.Lillian Remillard, training as a musicianand singer in New York, abandoned herstudy and returned to help her mother.Lillian maintained her interest in music,using her wealth to sponsor local musicalevents and found the San FranciscoOpera Company. In 1932 at the age offifty, Lillian Remillard married anunlikely suitor who was twenty yearsher junior. Count Alessandro OlioliDandini was of Italian heritage but wasRemillard House (Cont’d)raised in Mexico. The marriage lasted only three years butthe litigation that resulted from the divorce went on fordecades. Alth o u g h t h eCount had longsince remarried,he was still tryingto claim aportion of theestate after herdeath forty yearsl a t e r . T h eCount's Mexicanheritage is mostevident in theRemillard house,since a wing ofthe structure wasadded to reflecthis Mexicantaste.The library, chapel, bedroom and bathroom are trimmed inheavily carved and ebonized wood and the poly-chromeddoors are simply spectacular. The library fireplace has beenrefaced using black ceramic tileand the bathroom also featuresblack ceramics. According to JosephCovey, who was the most recentowner, (Continued on page 19)Above, rear view of RemillardHouse: The Remillard family boughtthe property in 1892 and added a sunporch on the west side as well as expandingthe kitchen to the rear.Left, interior fireplace wall: Theowners were in the process of rebuildingthe fireplaces and findingdecorative replacements. The ceilingsare ten feet high and most of themoldings and woodwork are originaland in very good condition.(Photos: Hans Halberstadt)(Text: April Halberstadt)Continuity, Winter, 2010 PAC*SJ PO Box 2287, San José, CA 95109-2287 www.preservation.org Page 17