The village of Mendocino was founded in 1852. One of the key services in a lumber town is, of course,
making beer. Responding to this pressure, an Austrian immigrant named Mathias Brinzing established
the first Mendocino brewery here at Agate Cove (the brewery itself was next door by the stream,
but it was all one property back then). The main farmhouse was built in 1860 by Brinzing as his own
residence — he certainly chose the finest view on this stretch of the coast!
The property was also home to a turn-of-the-previous-century apple orchard, and half a dozen trees
still produce fruit. The exterior of the Farmhouse appears much as it did a hundred years ago, with a candlestick fence framing the entry garden. The property became an inn around 1980, and there have been five sets of owners over the last 25 years. You can still find Sallie MacConnell in town at her store SallieMac.
