Officially opened to the public on July 28, 1985, the entire park includes a farm, a large forest and a mansion now called the Patterson House.

[1][3][2] The original house was a two-story farmhouse built in redwood and having a rectangular floor plan and a gable roof.

In sometimes around c.1883–1889, a Queen Anne style addition designed by noted architect Samuel Newsom, and funded by Patterson and his wife Clara.

[2] A review of available aerial photographs by Earth Metrics reveals[8] that the area immediately to the south was used for agricultural purposes from at least 1960 until some time in the late 1970s cultivated with a grain crop.

Based on the lack of visible rows on the aerial photos, it is most probable that the area to the south was used for hay production rather than cauliflower.