Though the Sonoma County Assessor’s Office records show construction date of ca. 1880, the earliest recorded owner of the Marshall House was William H. Bartley. Subsequent owners of this property at the northwest corner of Church and Fifth Streets were Archibald Scott, Elizabeth Farley, E.F. Manchester, Donald McKenzie and William H. and Annie Marshall.
Sonoma County Recorder’s Office show the Marshalls bought the property in 1898. The title changed hands several times but was always kept in the family. William Marshall, a native of Pennsylvania, was a mill-hand in local sawmills. Anne was a native of Indiana. Only one of their children, Mabel, was born at home in Guerneville. Clifford was five years old when the family moved here.
After returning from World War I, son Clifford Marshall opened the first auto repair shop in the River Area on Main Street in 1919. Then in 1934, he built a machine shop on the family’s Fifth Street property. He operated it until his retirement in 1969. Two years later he died at the age of 77.
Winston “Itch” Loundigan purchased the Marshall property in 1969 for his expanding auto repair business: Noonan’s Garage. After being on the property for over 40 years (the second longest ownership), Loundigan sold the property to Burbank Housing Development Corporation in March 2008 to build Fife Creek Commons, a low income housing project.
In September 2010, the Marshall House was moved to West County Community Services Senior Center on Armstrong Woods Road in Guerneville and is undergoing a renovation. West County Community Services, Burbank Housing and Community Housing Sonoma County are collaborating on the renovation of the Historic Marshall House. West County Community Services will use the renovated space for senior center activities once the renovation is completed.
