Local Businesses Supporting North Star House

Acton Arboriculture provides professional tree care and arboricultural services throughout Nevada County, helping property owners care for trees with an emphasis on safety, long-term health, and responsible land stewardship. Based in Grass Valley, the company provides services including tree pruning, removal, assessment, and ongoing tree care.

At North Star House, that expertise is particularly important. The historic estate is more than the house itself. Its mature trees and surrounding landscape are an essential part of the property and require specialized care as the site continues to be restored and maintained. Acton Arboriculture has supported the care of the estate's grounds and heritage trees, helping North Star Historic Conservancy protect these important landscape features for the future.

Their support complements the broader work underway throughout the North Star House Heritage Garden and historic landscape, where volunteers and community partners are working to improve tree health, native habitat, pollinator resources, and the long-term resilience of the property.

Russell Davidson Architecture + Design is a Nevada County architecture firm led by principal architect Russell Davidson. Raised in Grass Valley, Davidson returned to Nevada County after studying architecture and working in San Francisco. Today, the firm works on projects throughout the region, including residences, commercial spaces, historic properties, and prominent local projects such as the Holbrooke Hotel and The Center for the Arts.

Russell Davidson is a new North Star House supporter in 2026, bringing an especially valuable form of professional expertise to the restoration effort. He has agreed to assist North Star Historic Conservancy with architectural drawings for the property, helping create the documentation needed to understand existing spaces and thoughtfully plan future work.

For a historic estate of this size and complexity, accurate architectural documentation is an important part of moving restoration projects forward. Russell's involvement gives North Star House access to local architectural expertise from someone who understands both historic properties and the Nevada County community.

We are grateful to welcome Russell Davidson Architecture + Design as a new supporter and for Russell's willingness to put his professional skills directly toward the next chapter of North Star House.

David Wright Associates is a Grass Valley architectural practice known for environmentally responsive design, passive solar architecture, and buildings designed around their site, climate, function, and regional character. David Wright has spent decades working in residential, commercial, and institutional architecture and was an early advocate for passive solar and energy-conscious building design.

David Wright's relationship with North Star House, however, goes far beyond that of a traditional business sponsor.

David is one of the founders of the North Star Historic Conservancy, the nonprofit organization established to preserve North Star House and guide its restoration and community use. His support reaches back to the earliest years of the effort to save the property, making him one of North Star House's longest-standing supporters.

Over the years, David has contributed his architectural knowledge, perspective, and commitment to the preservation of the estate. That continuity matters. North Star House has been restored gradually through years of work by people who believed the property was worth saving long before much of the progress visible today had been made. David has been part of that story from the beginning.

His continued involvement represents both professional support and a longstanding personal commitment to seeing North Star House preserved, restored, and used by the community for generations to come.

For more than a century, the Chicago Park Garden Club has brought together local gardeners around horticulture, education, community beautification, and the stewardship of gardens throughout Nevada County. The club dates to 1923 and is affiliated with California Garden Clubs, Inc., Pacific Region Garden Clubs, and National Garden Clubs. Its activities have included educational programs, floral design, community projects, and financial support for local gardens and horticultural organizations.

North Star House is fortunate to be one of the local historic garden projects the club has chosen to support. The Chicago Park Garden Club has previously directed proceeds from its annual Victorian Tea Affaire toward the North Star House Historical Garden, demonstrating a connection to the preservation and renewal of the estate's landscape that extends beyond a single contribution.

In 2026, the Chicago Park Garden Club contributed $300 toward the North Star House garden as a Friend of North Star House. That support helps the Conservancy continue caring for and restoring the landscape surrounding the historic estate, including garden areas that depend heavily on volunteer labor, community expertise, plants, materials, and ongoing maintenance.

Their contribution is especially meaningful because it reflects a shared commitment to preserving gardens as living community resources. As restoration continues at North Star House, partnerships with organizations like the Chicago Park Garden Club help ensure that the landscape receives the same thoughtful attention as the historic house itself.

Peters' Drilling & Pump Service is a family-owned Grass Valley company that has served Northern California since 1983. The company specializes in water well drilling and a broad range of water system services, including well construction and reconstruction, pumps, water filtration, production testing, trenching, water lines, holding tanks, and solar pump systems. Peters serves Nevada County as well as surrounding communities throughout Placer, Yuba, Sierra, Butte, and neighboring counties.

As a longtime local business, Peters' Drilling & Pump Service understands the infrastructure challenges that come with properties throughout the Sierra foothills. Their work centers on something every property depends on but visitors rarely think about: reliable access to and management of water.

In 2026, Peters' Drilling & Pump Service made a $50 contribution to North Star House. Gifts at every level help sustain the work of the North Star Historic Conservancy, from ongoing maintenance and preservation to programs and improvements that keep the estate active and accessible to the community.

North Star House has been preserved through many forms of participation. Major restoration projects matter, but so do the individual businesses and community members who choose to contribute what they can. Peters' support is part of that larger local effort to keep this historic Grass Valley property moving forward.

The Sierra Foothills Audubon Society is a Grass Valley-based chapter serving Nevada, Placer, and portions of Yuba and El Dorado counties. Its mission focuses on education, conservation, restoration of natural ecosystems, and the protection of birds, wildlife, and their habitats.

One of the chapter's longstanding conservation initiatives is its Bluebird Trails Project, which establishes and monitors nest-box trails for Western Bluebirds and other native cavity-nesting birds throughout Nevada and Placer counties. The organization currently coordinates numerous trails, with volunteers monitoring breeding activity and contributing data used to better understand local bird populations.

At North Star House, Audubon's contribution of bluebird nest boxes adds another layer to the stewardship of the estate. Preservation of the property includes not only its architecture and historic gardens, but also the living habitat surrounding them. Properly placed nest boxes provide additional nesting opportunities in suitable habitat where natural tree cavities may be limited.

The project also connects North Star House with a larger regional conservation effort. Western Bluebirds depend on open grassy areas near trees and water, making large rural properties particularly valuable when appropriate habitat is present. Sierra Foothills Audubon uses nest-box monitoring as a form of citizen science, tracking nesting success while helping support bluebirds and other native species that may use the boxes.

Adding bluebird nest boxes to the grounds is a small but tangible example of how historic preservation and ecological stewardship can work together at North Star House.

B&C Ace Home & Garden Center is a locally operated Grass Valley business serving homeowners, contractors, gardeners, and organizations throughout Nevada County. The store offers hardware, lumber, tools, paint, building supplies, garden products, plants, and many of the everyday materials needed for home, landscape, maintenance, and improvement projects.

B&C's sponsorship of North Star House helps support the ongoing work required to care for a large historic estate and keep it moving forward.

Preservation is not limited to major restoration projects. North Star House requires continual attention to its buildings, gardens, grounds, public spaces, and infrastructure. Support from local businesses helps North Star Historic Conservancy direct resources toward that ongoing work while continuing to make the property available for community events, programs, tours, and gatherings.

Having established Nevada County businesses invest in North Star House also strengthens an important local connection. The future of the estate depends on the community around it, and business sponsorship is one of the ways local companies can take an active role in protecting this landmark.

We appreciate B&C Ace Home & Garden Center for helping support the continued preservation and community use of North Star House.

The History Mill is a local research cooperative made up of citizen historians working to research, document, and share the history of Grass Valley and the surrounding Northern Mines region. Members explore the people, industries, communities, and events that shaped one of California's most important historic gold-mining districts.

Their work is particularly relevant to North Star House. The estate cannot be fully understood without the history surrounding it, including the North Star Mine, Grass Valley's mining era, the Foote family, and the broader community that developed around the region's mining industry. The History Mill helps preserve those stories and make historical research accessible to a wider audience, supporting North Star House's mission of preserving both a historic place and the history connected to it.

The group's work has also directly benefited the estate. In 2025, The History Mill released historian Jerry Martini's extensive study of mining fatalities in the Grass Valley Gold Mining District as its first publication, with proceeds from the booklet designated to support restoration work at North Star House.

New Wave Green is a Nevada City landscape design practice founded by horticultural designer Molly Breen. The company specializes in naturalistic garden design that brings together horticulture, ecological function, and a strong sense of place. Rather than treating landscaping as purely decorative, New Wave Green creates layered plant communities designed to support biodiversity, pollinators, wildlife, healthy soils, and climate resilience while remaining beautiful throughout the seasons.

That philosophy has had a visible impact at North Star House. Molly Breen and New Wave Green have helped guide ecological landscape projects on the property, including development of the native hedgerow along the east lawn. The project combines the historic tradition of estate hedgerows with drought-tolerant California native plants selected to provide habitat, support pollinators, and reduce long-term irrigation needs.

The partnership is helping North Star House think about landscape preservation in a broader way: honoring the historic setting while creating a healthier, more resilient landscape for the future.

WPF Creatives is a California-based creative and digital agency working with businesses and organizations on web, branding, marketing, and digital strategy.

Their support of North Star House is through a monetary sponsorship, helping fund the ongoing preservation, care, and community use of the historic property.

We are grateful to WPF Creatives for investing in North Star House and supporting the work that allows this nationally significant historic site to remain active, cared for, and connected to the community.