He was elected district attorney in 1848 and married the former Louise Martin that same year, but resigned in 1851 and they moved to California to improve his health.

[4] The land that would become Kelley Park was purchased by Archer in 1861, and he planted 30 acres (12 ha) with cherry, apricot, and prune trees.

[5] Louise retained Charles Sumner Greene to design a conservatory, tile fountain, and servants' quarters for AR-KEL Villa, which were completed by the end of 1930.

[8] The house and 63 acres (25 ha) of land were sold to the City of San Jose in August 1951, to be used as a public park with the condition that Louise Kelley be allowed to live there for the rest of her life.

[5] According to History San José, Alden Campen, a prominent landowner and Jaycee in San Jose, learned the Kelley family was planning on selling the orchard in 1951 for a housing development, and since the city already owned the land east of Coyote Creek, he thought it could create a municipal golf course by purchasing the Kelley property and merging the parcels.

[5] Campen and Renzel later approached the city to develop the Kelley property as a children's park in 1956, leading to the creation of Happy Hollow,[10] which opened in 1961, followed by the Japanese Friendship Garden (1965), Leininger Center (1966), and the Historical Museum (construction started in 1965).