Maurice Edwin Ginn Residence

2016 HERITAGE AWARD RECIPIENT

The Redlands Area Historical Society, Inc.
Heritage Award 2016

Maurice Edwin Ginn Residence
356 Franklin Avenue
1898

Wealthy Boston businessman Maurice Edwin Ginn purchased nearly seven acres of citrus on Redlands Heights in 1897. Consisting of two lots, the property on Franklin Avenue was conveniently located near the Garden Street car line to Redlands Country Club. Since Ginn excelled at both golf and tennis, one can assume he enjoyed the proximity to the country club.

 

Maurice Ginn was the son of Edwin P. Ginn, of Ginn and Company, schoolbook publishers.  Edwin Ginn put his fortune to good use and founded the World Peace Organization. Young Maurice was educated at St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire and later attended Harvard. He married Katrina Van Rensselaer in May of 1901. The following year he purchased the Slocum ranch in “the Highlands” for $50,000. The 60-acre citrus property included a large Victorian home, suitable for their growing family. Although he travelled back and forth between the two places, title of the Redlands property transferred to Ginn’s younger sister, Clara. In 1909 three rooms were added by contractor Richard Munzig.  Five and a half acres, or most of the grove, was sold off in 1916. Clara continued to occupy the house until it was acquired by the Turner family in early 1922.

 

Major George E. Turner brought his wife Edith and their three children to Redlands after his retirement from the United States Army. Once here he became interested in the citrus industry and began working for Redlands Orange Growers Association. Like Mr. Ginn, he was a scratch golfer. He was president of Redlands Country Club and was a commissioner of the local Boy Scouts of America. Well-known for her beautiful gardens, Mrs. Turner was a charter member of the Assistance League. She served on the board of Redlands Day Nursery and was president of Redlands’ Trash and Treasure Club. Major Turner died in 1938 and his wife in 1978. Their spinster daughter, also named Edith, inherited the house as her brothers had died young and without issue. Miss Turner, a psychologist, shared her mother’s passion for gardening. She passed away in 2000 and having no immediate relatives, the property was left to her caretaker’s daughter.

 

This one and a half story cottage sits on an uncut granite foundation and is clad with horizontal wood siding. The roof is hipped, with composite shingles, and has three front-facing dormers.  Its three chimneys are constructed of brick.

 

The east elevation has two double-hung sash windows below a hipped dormer. Rounding the corner to the north-facing facade, one encounters a beautiful leaded-glass, multi-paned window.  The partial width front porch is supported by five squared pillars with unadorned wooden railing between. Two more hipped dormers with three windows each flank the central shed dormer, with its center window and cut glass windows on either side.

 

Four steps lead to the paneled front entry, which is not as large as the original so a small transom window has been added above it. A large double-hung window sits to its left. An ornamental window with a geometric pattern is located between two double-hung sash windows, and to its right, a bay with similar features. A half paneled door with a transom window above and two windows on either side leads to the sunroom. The sunroom is more in the Prairie style with it low slung roof and deep overhang, and has four contiguous pocket windows with ornamental casement windows above. As we continue on to the west elevation we see the only exterior chimney, with three of the same windows described earlier on either side. Below the hipped dormer vent, one ribbon window wraps around to connect with the other four on the rear or south side of the house. Another cut glass window with a transom above completes the area.

 

While playing with matches, two six-year-old boys started a brushfire behind the property destroying the barn in 1957. Miss Turner subsequently had a carport built, and in 1990 she had the detached garage constructed.

 

Miss Turner’s heirs sold the property in 2004. Following a tumultuous period in which the house sat empty and the remainder of its former grove was subdivided, Marcus and Elizabeth Paulson rescued the home in 2012 and began their restoration. Dr. Paulson, a local orthodontist and history buff, has spent countless hours researching the provenance of his home, collecting artifacts and photographs, and has enjoyed decorating the fence with advertisements representing Redlands’ businesses of yesteryear.

 

Compassion, commitment, and exhaustive amounts of time are required for such an undertaking.  Redlands Area Historical Society is pleased to present this award to Marcus and Elizabeth Paulson for their vision in restoring this lovely property.

 

Researched by: Marie Reynolds & Marcus Paulson

 Presented 20 June 2016