Samuel E. Holden built this home in 1886. Born in Concord, New Hampshire, in Feb. 1845, he gained experience in the wool industry in his youth, served with the New Hampshire Volunteers during the Civil War, graduated from Wesleyan University in 1869, and practiced law with Mason & Holden in Bristol, N.H. from 1872 to 1875. He came to Napa in 1875 as bookeeper for B.F. Sawyer & Co., became a member of the company in 1889, and later served as president of Sawyer Tanning and Woolen Mill. Holden was also a director of the Bank of Napa, a member of the Napa City Council, and president of Napa College. He married Anna Smyth in 1879, and they had three sons, Robert, Harold, and Phillip. Samuel Holden died Dec. 31, 1900. The house displays elaborate ornamentation characteristic of the Victorian building period and originally had eleven rooms, including a library, music room, dining room, and parlor. It features hand carved oak woodwork, four fireplaces, 14 ft. ceilings, stained glass windows, and solid redwood construction. In the early 1900’s the house was sold and converted to apartments, and in 1913 the original tower and high roof were removed because of the high cost of maintenance.