The Camron-Stanford celebrates 150 years in 2026!
The Camron-Stanford House was built by Samuel Merritt in 1876 and is the last of the beautiful Victorian houses that once surrounded Lake Merritt. The house was home to five influential families before becoming the first museum in the City of Oakland in 1907. The home has been beautifully restored to its original glory, allowing visitors to travel through time to the founding days of the City of Oakland.
Visit the house for a tour to learn about the first people who lived at Lake Merritt more than 10,000 years ago, the Mexican and Spanish explorers and colonizers, the Victorian era, the Gold Rush, the Wild West, the railroad, and more recent chapters of Oakland’s story—from Jack London to the Black Panthers and the world’s first popsicle.
You can also learn more about the House, take a virtual tour, and explore our Collections online!
Visit Us
1418 Lakeside Drive
Oakland, CA 94612
The Camron-Stanford House is open for docent-led tours by appointment only. Please contact us to schedule at tour via our contact form or by emailing at admin@cshouse.org.
Check back soon for Spring 2026 open hours and events!
Land Acknowledgement
The Camron-Stanford House acknowledges that the Oakland land was part of a culturally vibrant indigenous community long before the arrival of European settlers. For over 10,000 years, generations of the Ohlone people have called the Bay Area and the Northern California coastal region home.
In the East Bay, the Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone people knew this area as xučyun (Huichin). Their homeland spanned across most of what we now refer to as Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville, El Cerrito, and Oakland.
The Ohlone way of life was devastated by the arrival of Mexican and Spanish explorers and colonists who claimed lands as their own. The Ohlone, like most other North American Indigenous tribes, were subjected to forced assimilation, exposure to illness, expulsion from their lands, and genocide.
By 1820, nearly all of the East Bay was known as Rancho San Antonio – land granted to Don Luis Maria Peralta by the Spanish king. The Peralta family and other Spanish and Mexican landowners were, in many cases, forced to forfeit their land as United States territories expanded west and laid claim to what would eventually become California.
The Camron-Stanford House recognizes that we are on the unceded territory of the Ohlone people, and we seek to uplift indigenous experiences through our interpretation of 19th-century Oakland and California history. The Camron-Stanford House encourages actively learning about the diverse cultures that shape our Oakland community.
Learn more about the Ohlone experience and their work in the Bay Area community today by visiting www.muwekma.org.