May 6—It had been nearly a decade since the Harkey House Bed & Breakfast was a featured stop on the annual American Association of University Women (AAUW) Marysville-Yuba City Branch Garden Tour, which helps raise money for the youth education camps in the summer.

Despite a consistent rain shower that fell most of Saturday morning in Yuba City, people flocked to the Harkey House to visit Sutter County history and a home that has stood since 1874.

The property was originally built by William Pinckney Harkey, where he lived with his wife, Clarinda Harkey, for many years while working within the region. W.P. Harkey was a Sutter County Sheriff and landowner off Township Road and George Washington Boulevard, according to Harkey, who was played by Yuba City Councilmember Wade Kirchner on Saturday as a part of the 30th anniversary of the AAUW Garden Tour.

Kirchner, a.k.a Harkey, stood as a greeter with his wife, Clarinda, played by local resident Peggy Carberry, as folks made their way inside the Harkey House during the tour.

“This house has a lot to offer,” Kirchner said.

The current owners of the property are Bob and Lee Jones. The duo became the fourth owner of the home in 1971 when Lee moved here with her first husband from Michigan. Over the years, Lee and Bob Jones turned the four bedroom Italian-style Victorian home into a bed and breakfast where three rooms are rented out to individuals and families from all over the world, Lee Jones said.

Jones said her home is a bed and breakfast year-round and is a potential adventure for families on vacation and honeymoons, as well as anyone coming to Sutter County on work visits. Each bedroom has its own bathroom, Jones said, in addition to a backyard area that includes a fire pit, pool and jacuzzi, Jones said.

It remains Yuba City’s only bed and breakfast on site and the first in Sutter County to be established as a smoke-free lodging site, according to a previous report published in the Appeal.

In 2019 in order to provide a little more authentic history from the days the Harkeys owned the 212 C Street property, the Harkey’s great-great-grandson, Bill Harkey, gifted the couple with some old family relics.

These pieces included the original Harkey Ranch sign and mule bells that Jones explained to those visiting the home on the garden tour.

Jones said it’s the sixth time that the Harkey House has been featured on the tour in over a half-century.

This year the AAUW group brought the historic property back to coincide with the 150-year anniversary of the Harkey House.

“We are happy to celebrate 150 years,” Jones said.

The Harkey House was one of eight properties — sixth in south Yuba City and two in north Yuba City — on the tour. In addition to the Harkey House, garden tour participants visited the UC Master Gardener Learning Center, located at the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds; 1841 Saratoga Court; 866 Karen Drive; 747 Mariner Court; and 422 Second Street for a reception that featured local artists showing their work in the yard of the McCampbell Mansion in Yuba City. Edie Fogel, Terri Foley, Diane Funston, Cindy Gaven, Sue Graue, Leslie Greenetz, Nikki Pearson, Eileen Sparks, Linda Trudgeon and Walt Zukas were the artists scheduled to make a stop on the tour.

The Garden Tour is an AAUW fundraiser that supports scholarships for women and girls each year. Tickets and openings to be a featured tour participant are available at mvyc-ca.aauw.net/garden-tour.

Jones said to be on the tour it’s important to have a good story of the garden and how it was created.

“There are marvelous gardens on the tour,” Jones said.