Francis J. Smith House

Francis J. Smith House. Home of Francis J. Smith. , Pioneer Evergreen settler Francis J. Smith built this home in 1874 on land originally part of the Chaboya Mexican Land Grant, Rancho Yerba Buena. The Village of Evergreen’s commercial center stood near this site, where in 1868, brothers Charles C. and Francis J. Smith opened a general store. In 1870, the farmers of Evergreen petitioned for a post office. Francis J. Smith became Evergreen’s first postmaster and held the post until the post office was discontinued in 1914. Farmers picked up their mail at Smith’s store and patronized nearby businesses, including a blacksmith shop and winery. The house stood behind the general store and is pictured in Thompson and West’s 1876 historical Atlas Map of Santa Clara County. Although the store burned in 1929, the house remained a home for one of Smith’s children. Katherine R. Smith, a schoolteacher, lived here until her death in 1973 at the age of 103. An elementary school in the Evergreen School District bears her name. In 2019, the house was moved closer to the road to make room for new development. Some of the eucalyptus and pepper trees Francis J. Smith planted still remain.