As the home's new owners, Fred and Cathleen Fortune ran their design firm, Fortune², out of the basement. Their daughter, Victoria, spent summertime splashing in the swimming pool before leaving for college. Cathleen collected a family of pets—seven turtles, five chickens and a white, regal cat named, Shasta, which, she says, adopted them. Each year, they especially enjoyed springtime when their Western bud tree went into full bloom.

Then, last year the Fortunes decided the 87-year-old house was long overdue for renovations. "The roof is being held up by the vines," Cathleen says.

In searching for ways to fund their renovations, the Fortunes had to look no further than the swimming pool on the southwest border of their property. After their daughter grew up and moved out of the house, the pool fell into disrepair from never being used and the detached garage beside the pool was falling apart, Fred says.

The Fortunes had an idea. They could split their spacious 20,289-square foot property into two lots.

The first lot, which was 13,454-square feet, would sit at the corner of Pine and Cottle avenues. The parcel would retain their home and yard. The second lot, 6,835-square feet, would face Cottle Avenue. Although they would have to demolish the old detached garage and fill the pool, selling the lot would not only end the maintenance on the pool, but also fund their home renovations.

But when they went to the city in 2004, seeking to rezone the property from residential to planned development, the city required a historical report based on its age.

The city hired Franklin Maggi of Campbell-based research firm, Archives & Architecture, along with consulting historian Bonnie Montgomery. With Montgomery's historical analysis, the Fortunes discovered the house at 1260 Pine Ave. was steeped in history.

Like other houses in Willow Glen, the Craftsman and land had a story of its own that stretched back into the mid-19th century. To Cathleen, it was proof that the house was as special in its past as it was the day she entered it.

"We've loved this house since we walked in the door," Cathleen says.

In fact, the Fortunes came upon the house by mishap. When the Fortunes were ready to move out of their home near Darlene and Cherry avenues, they saw the 'For Sale' sign posted on the property.

As they drove by, Cathleen and Fred remember Cathleen's father saying, "That's the house you should buy."

And as far as they're concerned, he was absolutely right.

"It's like your grandma's house," Fred says. "Solid and thick."

It was as if, from their open porch where Cathleen reads the newspaper on weekends, they could see the older days of Willow Glen, turning the corner of Pine and Cottle avenues into their own wrinkle in time.

Westward Ho

The story begins with gold.

Originally from Missouri, one of San Jose's renown ranchers Royal Cottle was in Oregon when he caught wind that gold was discovered at Sutter's Fort. That was in January 1848. After Royal ventured into California to pan for gold, five of his nine siblings moved to "the Willows," what would become present-day Willow Glen.

It's unclear whether Royal's efforts gold digging paid off or discouraged Royal, but he returned to Oregon in 1850 to continue farming, married his second wife and served a term on the Oregon Legislature, according to author Patricia Loomis in her book, Signposts.

Then in 1857, Royal decided to buy land near his bother, Ira. Ira lived on 125 acres he bought from San Juan Bautista Narvaez Rancho near Minnesota and Lincoln avenues. At $15 an acre, Royal also bought 140 acres from the Narvaez Rancho. The northwestern boundary of Royal's ranch was near the corner of Pine and Cottle avenues.

According to Pen pictures from the garden of the world by H.S. Foote published in 1888, Royal was a pioneer grain grower and one of the valley's earliest fruit growers. "Perhaps no finer orchard than his is to be found in the Willows," the book read. "He has had an active life, and in the early days was quite prominent in public affairs."

Before Royal died in 1891, he sold off five acres that border the southwestern corner of Pine and Cottle avenues, to John Boynton. Boynton then bought five more acres of the property in 1895. It was Boynton who built the first house on the corner of Pine and Cottle avenues. He lived there and operated a prune ranch on the land until his death in the early 1900s. His niece, Clara I. Smith, took over the ranch with her parents and eventually sold all 10 acres to her neighbor at present-day 1300 Pine Ave.—Edwin Wilcox, a local attorney. Nearby Wilcox Park was once part of the Wilcoxes' estate.

By 1918, Wilcox had sold three-quarters of an acre to Fred Sundquist. Sundquist was believed to be the Wilcoxes' ranch manager and built the house the Fortune's currently reside in. Montgomery believes that the house was constructed using salvaged wood from the former Boynton home because building materials were hard to come by during the last months of World War I.

Like other European immigrants, Sundquist had made his way to California in stages. At the time, many were fleeing war in Europe and Sundquist had journeyed from his native Sweden to the United States traveling through South Dakota and Sonoma County, eventually settling in San Jose with his wife and two sons.

During World War II Sundquist sold the property to Harry and Lupe Drake. Then in the 1950s John Davis, treasurer of California Fruit Concentrates, bought the property and lived there with his wife. Once again the property passed hands in the early 1960s, when Carlton Elementary School principal Warren Bernard purchased the house. The next known occupants of the home were Hannah Kennedy and Carl Jacobsen who sold the house to the Fortunes.

Along with the details in the historical report, strangers come to visit the house and tell their own tales, Cathleen says. One woman remembered when Pine Avenue was a dirt road and the Fortune's front yard was used for one man's javelin practice, according to Cathleen.

"The whole orchard history is gone and this [house] is the one link in that neighborhood," Montgomery says.

Recovering History

Now after numerous owners, the Fortunes will go before the San Jose Planning Commission for rezoning approval in early spring. If OK'd, the Fortunes may sell the second smaller lot.

Seeking approval from the city has been a long process, but working through it has offered up its own surprises. When Montgomery visited the Fortune residence to survey the house, she found out that the Fortunes had experience designing book covers and hired the couple to create the cover of Cottages, Flats, Buildings & Bungalows: 102 Designs from Wolfe & McKenzie which Montgomery published with local architect George Espinola.

That connection also helped the Fortunes find an architect, Espinola, who will construct a new garage for the couple. The old garage is located on the lot the Fortunes are selling.

Under Espinola's design, the new detached garage will sit in the back of their home. He also plans to add a back porch to complement their grand, open front porch and a porte cochere—a roof extending over part of the driveway at the house's back entrance.

Espinola, who has been interested in historical residential design since his high school days in Santa Clara, considers the Pine Avenue home a "dream job."

"It's like a puzzle, trying to get pieces to fit," Espinola says

Espinola's design does little to the historical structure of the house, but incorporates new elements to flow with the old design.

The Fortunes are optimistic about receiving rezoning approval and have already gotten positive feedback from both the San Jose Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement and San Jose District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager's office. "They're very much in favor of us doing this because they want to save the house," Cathleen says.

Once they sell the lot, the Fortunes will be able to repaint the house, landscape the property, and upgrade the kitchen, bathrooms and plumbing. "The house is going to look like a 1918 house," Fred says.

The four-bedroom, two-story house already has historical flair. The living room hosts a parlor grand piano and an antique Koken President barber chair.

By documenting the historical significance of their home, the Fortunes hope it will make future owners and the city want to preserve the house. According to city historic preservation officer Courtney Damkroger, the Fortunes can apply to have the house listed on the city's historical resources inventory, which would make any future modifications subject to a more rigorous permit process.

"It's just a neat, neat old home," Cathleen says.

"And we want to save it," Fred adds.