My nephew, Dr. Ricardo C. Tan, III. and his wife Jennifer Jo Lickiss-Tan have made a name for themselves in the wedding business around the Yolo and Sonoma Counties. Their Tan Weddings & Events Company officiate hundreds of weddings a year. Last October alone, they had 40 weddings. They also style venues, provide music, flowers and ribbons, photography, video, etc. They’ve been featured in many wedding magazines and have received several citations and awards. They also help manage a few events venues.
One of the events places where they hold frequent wedding ceremonies and receptions is the Park Winters Inn. I’ve been seeing beautiful photos of this place on the Tan Wedding & Events website. I have always wanted to go visit and see for myself but never had the chance. It has a building I want to copy, the 3 story barn but when I showed Edmund the picture, he said the construction could be expensive.
After the Thanksgiving, I messaged my nephew that I wanted to see Park Winters. He asked when I would be in the US next so he could bring me there. “I am here now”.
We scheduled our tour the following weekend (December 4, 2016). He confirmed first with the owners if the place was available on that day. Yes it was.
Unlike in the Philippines when December is the busiest wedding month, here in America it’s not because it’s too cold.
The current owners are originally from San Francisco. They fell in love with this Victorian mansion, sold their place in San Francisco and they’ve been putting their money and heart into this estate ever since. According to Jennifer, the owners have spent millions of dollars to make the 3-acre estate look like this.
History (from their website)
The original owner of Park Winters was George Washington Scott, born in New York on October 19, 1828 to Daniel and Sarah (Dunlap) Scott. The fourteenth of fifteen children, George had 7 children of his own after he and his new bride, Emma, crossed the plains in 1854–a six month trip! He was one of the first American settlers in the cottonwood area (now Yolo Country). He started a large grain farming and stock-raising operation and built the elegant Park Winters Mansion in 1865. George spent $18,000 of his own money to help build the train line roadbed for the Vaca Valley-Clear Lack Railroad through his area. By 1879, he owned more than a thousand acres and ½ interest in another 8000 acres. At the time of his death in 1912, he and his wife Emma were the owners of 14000 acres. One daughter would marry into the Rice family of Dixon, and his son Clarence would continue ranching on the large family estate for many years –both of them have descendants who live in and farm the area to this day.
Here’s our family tour of the gorgeous Park Winters estate on
December 4, 2016:
My nephew and his wife Jennifer, with kids Lynden and Wilson
The new owners renovated the whole house but kept some of the original details especially in the living room where the grand staircase is.
Fire place
The old pieces like this grand piano make the place feel authentic.
It also doesn’t feel creepy.
The rest of the house had been renovated with modern touches.
There’s a small parlor or seating area on the second floor.
The mansion has been transformed into a bed and breakfast with 3 large bedrooms on the second floor.
The bedrooms are so spacious and inviting. All of us wanted to jump right in. I told my nephew “I want to live here”. A night costs around $350.
I suppose this is the masters it has the biggest seating area.
Each has an en suite bathroom.
There’s a French door from the masters bathroom leading to a small balcony that overlooks the garden.
It was unbelievably cold on that particular morning. All of us were shivering despite our thick jackets.
Park Winters is a Bed & Breakfast Inn. They have a breakfast area in the main house.
Fully modernized kitchen
One of our favorite spots in the house, an all white sunroom leading to the sprawling garden.
Beautiful photo of my sister.
(to be continued)
Park Winters Inn
27850 Co Rd 26, Winters, CA 95694
Phone: (530) 669-3692
