Shinn Historical Park and Arboretum

The grounds are gorgeous. The Japanese garden area is really nice, though possibly not as micro-managed as you may anticipate if you have actually seen a real Japanese Garden

Shinn Historical Park and Arboretum

1251 Peralta Blvd, Fremont, CA 94536

H289+3W Fremont, California

https://www.fremont.gov/325/Historical-Parks-Facilities

(510) 790-5541

The home and gardens date all the way back to the 1850s, when the property was purchased by Dr. Joseph Clark.

Dr. Clark wrote to his sis Lucy Shinn and her husband James and persuaded them to come to California and run this 250-acre ranch. James and Lucy left Texas with their kid Charles Howard, and daughter Annie. They traveled by ship to Panama crossed the Isthmus and took a steam ship to San Francisco

Joseph and Florence Mayhew Shinn constructed the two-story cottage located to the right side of the entrance to the park, in 1910. Florence did comprehensive redesigning to the house, after Lucy died in 1916. The household moved from the bungalow to the bigger house in about 1922. Joseph Shinn passed away in 1947 while swimming in the quarry ponds between your home and Alameda Creek.

There are native plants here as well as imported ones with the humongous magnolia tree that must have been there for years! Florence Shinn took care of the old Japanese maple at the center of the garden which was 120-years-old when the garden was dedicated in 1982. The maple died in 1994. There's shaded area to put out table and chairs beneath more than 100 years of old imported trees.

The Shinn house tours are usually $5/person, however for the event we had complimentary tours. The trip was about 40 minutes long, more about family and household history than anything.

It's a great space for an outdoor wedding that is very budget friendly and doesn't break the bank.

All in all a very beautiful place. I still would enjoy to go back there for another historic home tour.