Eaton House Museum — Attraction in Redding

July 8th 1988, I married my husband in the Judges Parlor with my Dad and Mom,a our BEST Man and Friend for 34 years Pat, my Childhood friend Brenda, Pats wife Celeste, and our 9 month old Son Michael. They said that Judge Eaton was a Just man, fair to those who were caught up in a bad situation but VERY tough on those who didn't have a care about what they did to be in court. He had a very funny attitude and I remember when I was in High school and I was walking to court when my Dad had some trouble and was looking at a very serious sentence. The Judge walked with me to the court house and met with his lawyer and I. He wasn't practicing at the time and said he would look into the matter. My Dad was being held in the original old cells in the old courthouse and when they were bringing him to the court room, he told the officers that he was escorting me to the courtroom and they could remove the cuffs. He sat with me and then asked the Judge for a 45 min break so he could have a chat with my Dad and a few minutes of research in order to expedite the proceedings. We went to the cafeteria and just because, he asked my Dad all kinds of questions and had him telling the story in 15 minutes. Said he had lunch covered, Dad outside with me and the Sherriff until 10 minutes before court returned. He said not to worry and shuffled off to the Judges chambers with Dads Lawyer. The Judge had found the original text of the Law he supposedly had broken BUT the law had never been used in the form of how he was charged and NEVER should have been used against him. In the 70's my Dad was a union representative and he did a lot for the men. He made waves in the county while giving us a beautiful lake, a safer road to the county to the west, helped the railroad with straighten some bad curves, built race cars for the joy of local racing fans and us family members. I have very great memories of the trips we took to other towns to race and the places we got to go to and see. The song by (CCR) Credence Clearwater Revival "STUCK IN LODI AGAIN". we had some problems with the race car that weekend and we had fun going site seeing after we broke the race car and then the next day Sunday on the way home, coming home, our car blew the water pump. So the Judge knew of my Dad and our family. The statute that he was charged with was not what he found. He found that he was miss charged and that since he was charged with a different crime all together, he was dismissed with all charges dropped. It has been said that just a few months later a young Daughter of a Man could be seen walking around town with a distinguished elderly Gentleman while she was on her way to the main office of the California department of Forestry northern headquarters and was starting to make a name for herself. Not realizing how much the Judge would impact her life and her family's lives. After his passing, my Son bought the landscaping company he worked for, and maintained the contract with the Eaton Foundation and the property until they decided to go another way. He did get to meet the Judge one day when we went to get copies of our Birth certificates. He was so generous again to me, that he paid for the certificates AND we had lunch in the cafeteria again. We sat for awhile and he realized that we had been talking for about two hours. He asked if we were walking and Michael said that we were going to Mommy's work then to Papa's office. He laughed and said he would walk with us until the cascade theater. It was a great time. A few years later, we're on our way home from the lake, and I saw my Cousins at the old Shasta School house. As it turned out, she couldn't get a hold of me to send the invite and of course were welcome. We had a picnic already, and just had cake and punch. As I saw her brother, I Heard a familiar voice say, Miss Cole we meet again in this wonderful town. I married the young couple. How do you know them? Cindy is one of my favorite cousins just like all of them." I still...

Behind the courthouse and the jail you'll find a white house that's been turned into a museum the Eaton house. Overtime they've been fixing this house up turning it into a museum for the area. That house has been left a million dollars in a bank account and they use the money that that cash earns to fix it. Nowadays it's looking pretty good and it's open for tours. If you want to see a little bit of history and know a little bit more about the judge that left the house. it's easy to find it's the street right behind the jail and the courthouse fitting for a judge's house right. Just another interesting thing to do when you're wandering around...

Used to live down the street @ 1640 West St. ca. 1956 - 59. We'd go trick or treating at the Eaton house. The judge was always there to hand out candy. He was well thought of in the community - a beloved figure. I'm glad his house has been preserved and put to this use. A very fitting tribute to this man who did so much for the people of Redding. Next time I am down there, I'm going to make it a...