The Wilbur Farmhouse - originally built in 1786 by George Wilbur, the farmhouse is the oldest structure within the Park. Wilbur raised cattle on the property, which was later sold and occupied by generations of farmers until the land was purchased by the Ames family in 1949 and incorporated into their sprawling estate, Borderland.
Oakes Ames and his wife Blanche were heirs to a great fortune established by his father and grandfather, who produced the first shovel to be mass manufactured in America. The Ames shovel proved to be an indispensable tool during the California Gold Rush and the Civil War. The family later became involved in the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. The Ames' were deeply interested in botany, literature, politics and the arts and developed thier estate as a living laboratory for thier varied interests. Borderland was donated by the Ames Family and became a state park in 1971. Borderland was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Borderland Historic District in 1997.