Project Description
334 I Street
This impressive structure has elements from both Colonial Revival and Queen Anne styles. It was built in 1911 by Theodore G. Schmeiser who was born on his parents’ ranch west of Davisville in 1877 and established the Schmeiser Manufacturing Co. next to the railroad tracks in 1905, just blocks from his house. “TG,” as he was known, manufactured farm implements and either invented or improved a number of widely used agricultural mechanisms. In 1910 he organized the town’s first water company and he was a charter member of the Davisville Almond Growers Association. He and his wife were active in
community affairs between 1900-1925 when the manufacturing plant was moved to Fresno and the Schmeisers divorced, she remaining in Davis. An innovative fire protection system was built into the house, consisting of a large cistern in the back yard, a water tank in the attic connected to water hoses on all floors and, at one time, a method for catching rain water on the roof.
