Next structure of interest is the Missionary Settlement House, across the street at 14683 Oak St., which has been beautifully maintained and restored to its 1897 appearance. Its designation refers to its purchase in 1907 by the Missionary Settlement group of the Congregational Church as a residence for visiting missionaries. It has significance for me because it was the first Saratoga house my parents occupied when they came here in 1922, a year before I came along. My dad had just taken over the weekly Saratoga Star newspaper.

Across the street, at 14690 Oak St., is the Van Arsdale house, circa 1900, one of the last Queen Anne-style cottages built in Saratoga. A larger residence on the same property burned in the 1920s.

Now we are in Madronia Cemetery territory, and this is a truly significant piece of ground, aside from being an obvious necessity. Its history, which goes back to the 1850s, is somewhat voluminous, but for walking tour purposes we focus mainly on the variety of headstones, with inscriptions that one could spend much time reading.

Of special interest is the marker on the grave of Mary Ann Day Brown, widow of John Brown of Harpers Ferry note. Another to look for is the massive boulder with brass plate marking the grave of Edwin Sidney "Sunshine" Williams, founder of the Blossom Festival.

We proceed by backtracking to Sixth Street and going down the hill, where we note the site of St. John's Episcopal Church--one of Saratoga's five churches at the time--at the corner of St. Charles Street. It dated back to 1896, and, converted to residential use, it was distinctive for its Gothic windows. It was razed in 2003 and replaced by a modern residence. Farther down, at 14650 Sixth St., is the Nardie House, built in the 1890s and converted to commercial use in 1987, retaining much of its classic Victorian appearance.

Proceeding down to Big Basin Way, we note a condominium complex to our left. This is on the site of another of the early town's five houses of worship, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, which was dedicated in 1895. It is remembered today as a truly beautiful structure, which lasted until 1961. This site is also of interest because a quantity of Native American artifacts were found there, and an archeological survey was conducted in 1973. Many of the relics are believed to have dated back 6,400 years. They are now at the Saratoga Historical Museum.

Across Sixth Street, and facing Big Basin Way, is the John Henry House, which was built in 1869 as the home of an engineer at the nearby Saratoga Paper Mill. It has been preserved and restored as the office of architect Warren B. Heid, who has been there since 1967.

Proceeding down Big Basin Way, we come to two adjacent structures of considerable significance. To our left, at 14605 Big Basin Way, is the Erwin T. King house, believed to have been built in 1875 or 1876. It was rented to King, co-owner of the Saratoga Paper Mill, who occupied it until the mill burned in 1883. In the succeeding decade, the building housed a saloon and a stage-stop called the Oriental Hotel. After that, the house, though occupied, fell into disrepair until purchased by Barbara (Mrs. Walter) Caldwell in 1958, and she had it restored to its classic colonial salt box appearance.

To the rear of this house is the Pettis Livery Stable, built in l898, from which W.W. Pettis operated his stage line. The stagecoaches took passengers to Los Gatos, where they boarded trains of the South Pacific Coast Railroad. The stage service was superseded by electric cars of the San Jose-Los Gatos Interurban (later Peninsular) Railway, beginning in 1903.