The Charles Copeland Morse House was the home of Charles Copeland Morse

Charles Copeland Morse

Charles Copeland Morse was an American businessman known as the "American Seed King". He co-founded the Ferry-Morse Seed Company, which became the world's leading flower and vegetable seed producer....

, founder of the Ferry-Morse Seed Company

Ferry-Morse Seed Company

The Ferry-Morse Seed Company is a supplier of seeds, and was at one time the largest such company in the world. It is currently part of Jiffy International.-D.M. Ferry & Co.:...

. It is located in Santa Clara, California

Santa Clara, California

Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...

, and is a California Historical Landmark

California Historical Landmark

California Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical significance by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below:...

 (#904), as well as listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

This house is a classic Queen Anne

Queen Anne Style architecture

The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...

 Victorian

Victorian architecture

The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...

. Rising three stories over a raised basement

Basement

__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...

, the twin gable

Gable

A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...

s, witches' hat turret

Turret

In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...

, decorative shingles

Roof shingle

Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...

, trims and stained glass

Stained glass

The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...

 windows all contribute to the grand effect. The entry is distinguished by an ornate front porch. Inside the mansion are rich wood molding

Molding (decorative)

Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...

, stained glass windows and chandelier

Chandelier

A chandelier is a branched decorative ceiling-mounted light fixture with two or more arms bearing lights. Chandeliers are often ornate, containing dozens of lamps and complex arrays of glass or crystal prisms to illuminate a room with refracted light...

s. A unique chandelier is found in the old dining room. This brass fixture came from the family of the founder of the Bank of America

Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...

, Amadeo Giannini

Amadeo Giannini

Amadeo Pietro Giannini, also known as Amadeo Peter Giannini or A.P. Giannini , born in San Jose, California, was the American founder of Bank of America.-Biography:...

. About 1975, Caroline and Vaughn Nixon bought the house and restored the ornate mansion to its original grandeur.

The Morse Mansion, located at 981 Fremont St., presently is a Sorority house for Santa Clara University and is not open to the public.

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