Historic Property #3: Senator I.S. Titus - H.S. Morey House

Address: 801 Morey Drive

Year Built: 1859

Architect: Unknown

Builder: Unknown

Architectural Style: Vernacular Greek Revival

Commissioned in 1859 by Dr. Isaac Sutvene Titus and his wife Seba Spicer, this Vernacular Greek Revival cottage was constructed of locally milled wood framing. The single story home originally featured a simple side gable roof, a symmetrical facade with horizontal wood siding, and a full width porch supported by columns. The block-shaped structure utilized a central hall with a compact four room floor plan, while a rear shed or cooking porch likely served as a detached kitchen. A notable original feature is the herringbone brick pathway, which was fabricated by a Diamond Springs factory in the late 1850s.

Dr. Titus was a prominent figure, representing El Dorado County as a State Senator in 1859 and 1860. At times, he operated his medical practice directly from the residence. An 1859 advertisement directed patients to his office on High Street, noting it as the fourth house on the right from Coloma street. A founding member of the El Dorado Medical Society, he helped establish the early hospital in Placerville. After raising five of their six children here, the family sold the homestead in March 1871 to Henry Sylvester Morey for $1,000 in gold coin.

Henry Morey was a distinguished industrialist and Civil War veteran who fought at Gettysburg before arriving by wagon train. Born in Maine in 1838, Morey purchased the Placerville Foundry in 1870. The foundry became the backbone of the local mining industry, producing heavy machinery and ore cars for the Comstock Mines and the Pino Grande Railroad. A civic leader, Morey helped broker the settlement that brought the Southern Pacific Railroad to Placerville in 1888 and founded the Placerville Philharmonic Society.

Courtesy: El Dorado County Historical Museum

Under the ownership of the Morey family, the home underwent extensive expansions. They added a rear dining room, enclosed the original porch kitchen, and expanded the front western portion of the home to create an ample living room, an additional bedroom, and an indoor bathroom. The family laid new wood floors throughout and replaced ornate Victorian embellishments with restrained, turn of the century interior styles. Eventually, they modernized the historic Placerville residence by installing indoor plumbing and electricity. Remaining in the Morey family for multiple generations, the property has served as both a place of business and an inn over the years. Today, it operates as the Glen Morey Bed and Breakfast, owned and operated by Tom and Alison Loeprich.