Millhouse Mall

Long before it became the commercial hub known as the Millhouse Mall, this corner at Monterey Road and West Second Street was the center of local pioneer life. Built in 1896 by early entrepreneurs George Mason and James Triggs, this classic two-story building was the town's premier dry goods emporium during the height of the "Valley of Heart's Delight" era. While the ground floor supplied local ranching families with everything from flour to fabric, the spacious second floor served as the town's original community social hall for dances, town hall meetings and festive celebrations.

 In 1907, the business became Mason and Edwards, selling buggies, wagons, and carts to the valley's farmers. That same year, F. V. Edwards purchased Triggs' share of the business, and he, along with his sons and son-in-law, operated the store until 1912. The building continued to evolve with the times. From 1920 to 1944, J. R. Goold operated a popular department store here, serving the growing community.

As Morgan Hill entered the postwar boom, the town itself began to change. In 1948, increasing automobile traffic prompted the city to widen Monterey Road. While masonry buildings such as the Skeels Hotel required major structural alterations, the old wooden Mason and Triggs building received a remarkable solution. Workers carefully lifted it onto rollers and, with the help of a team of horses, pulled the entire structure back exactly 17 feet from the street. Thanks to that extraordinary feat of engineering, the building was preserved and continued serving the community as restaurants, offices, bookstores, and specialty shops.

Its story didn't end there. During an extensive restoration in the 1970s, Ray Lopez uncovered the building's original windows and restored the charm of its long portico that once shaded pedestrians along the sidewalk. Then, in 1983, while Ralph Lopez was renovating the Millhouse Mall, another piece of history emerged. Hidden beneath years of paint was a colorful Levi Strauss overalls advertisement on the Second Street wall. Today, that vintage sign has been preserved and can still be seen on the second floor near the back stairway entrance on Second Street—a colorful reminder of the building's long and ever-changing history.

The historic Millhouse Mall is one of the oldest surviving commercial properties in Morgan Hill. It serves as a bridge across eras– from farms and orchards to Silicon Valley residential communities– and as a testament to the town's preservation spirit.