Rift leaves future of Hill House uncertain
The future of one of Lodi’s historical landmarks is uncertain due to a rift between the attorney representing a trustee of the Hill House Museum and the Lodi Historical Society.
For several decades, the two have maintained a steady relationship, but now Susan Lea, an attorney and the daughter of local historian and Hill House trustee Ralph Lea, said that relationship has come to an end.
“We simply made the decision to move forward in a new direction we think is a better direction,” she said. “The need to go our separate ways became very obvious and sometimes you can’t stay even in an informal relationship that’s not working.”
Lodi Historical Society President Loren Perry confirmed that the society is no longer involved with the Hill House.
“Have you recently driven past the Hill House, the beautiful Queen Anne Victorian House on Church Street? If so, you have seen the ‘no trespassing’ signs,” Perry wrote in a statement. “The plaque installed by the Lodi Historical Society honoring the house has been removed. The Hill House is now closed to the public and the house which was thought to belong to the people of the City of Lodi is now in private hands. There is no more public access to the home.”
Lea questioned whether the Lodi Historical Society is living up to its charter, and said that played a major role in the split.
“The Lodi Historical Society’s charter is to create a museum and preserve and protect Lodi artifacts, and you can ask them whether they’ve done that,” she said.
According to Lea, the Lodi Historical Society has held several fundraisers at the Hill House and solicited donations for the house. However, she claims that none of the proceeds actually went toward the house.
“There have been donations for the Hill House but all those donations were made to the Lodi Historical Society and I assure you that none of those donations have ever been given to the Hill House.” she said. “They’ve had a lot of stuff at the Hill House and never paid one penny of rent or compensated the House in any way.”
According to Perry, the Hill House has been cared for by the society since 1991, and the founding members of the society, along with its board of directors and the house’s trustees, have had an amicable relationship.
The society retained and arranged about 95 percent of George Washington Hill’s family belongings and began home tours for the public. Since taking on the care of the house, Perry said that society has done much of the work needed on the 116-year-old house. “Work included a new roof, painting, window repair and shades, porch repair, yard renovation, fencing, air conditioning and heating repairs and crenelation “dragon teeth” reinstallation on the roof along with other work,” Perry wrote.
The society holds an annual ice cream social and yard sale, which bring in about $2,200, Perry said. The rest of their income comes from membership dues, donations and door donations from Sunday afternoon tours. No one is paid and all the docent work is on a volunteer basis. Perry maintains that all the funds raised went toward the care and support of the Hill House.
“All treasurer reports, tax information and any other financial information is available and has been offered to anyone who wants to review,” he said. “The board of directors refutes any allegations of misuse of monies.”
Lea said that without the Lodi Historical Society, the house is in need of funds to keep going.
The Hill House was the home of the Hill family and was left by Maurice Hill to be turned into a museum upon his death. The house was designed by George Washington Hill and built in 1901 by the Cary Brothers, who were popular builders in that era. George Washington Hill, his wife Mary Lewis Hill, their two children Nellie and Maurice and Mary’s half-sister Daisy lived in the home.
Lea said that Maurice Hill left the house and its contents in a trust upon his death in 1984, along with $100,000 to maintain the house. That money has been left untouched, she said, and the house is maintained with interest earned from the trust.
A title search for the property located at 826 S. Church St. shows Ralph Lea as the assessed owner. It also lists the property as a taxexempt museum.
The Hill House will be closed for the next two to three weeks for cleaning and maintenance, Lea said.
“The house is very filthy and hasn’t been cleaned for a long time, so we will be doing some deep cleaning. There are substantial plumbing repairs that need to made,” she said.
According to Lea, her father kept the Hill House going over the years and they want to make an effort to honor him as well as Maurice Hill.
“Maurice Hill would not have left the Hill House to anybody other than Ralph Lea,” Susan said. “Maurice Hill understood that Ralph Lea’s love for Lodi matched his, and he trusted Ralph Lea.”
Lea also noted that her father was one of the original members of the Lodi Historical Society and everything originated with him.
In an effort to celebrate Maurice Hill’s legacy, Lea said she hopes to move the house in a more artistic direction and to get the community, young and old, more involved by bringing in more art, poetry and musical composition.
“That’s what Maurice Hill loved. He was a very talented person and we want to see that kind of life come back” she said. “That direction has not been taken, and that’s the direction we would like to go in.”
Lea said she hopes to have a peaceful separation with the Lodi Historical Society and said that what’s happened is “water under the bridge.”
“Whatever they decide to do, we wish them well and we hope that we can all move forward in peace,” she said.
Perry said the society has not strayed away from its mission of preserving, protecting and maintaining the history of the City of Lodi. The society has placed plaques at several historical sites throughout the Lodi area and have produced an array of historical publications.
“The Lodi Historical Society exists and the board needs Lodi’s citizens to support its continued endeavor to preserve Lodi History,” he said.