Overview
The Stow House stands at Rancho La Patera in Goleta, California, built in 1873 for Sherman Stow of the pioneering family whose lemon ranches shaped the Goleta Valley; its gabled, gingerbread-trimmed rooms held Stows for generations — including state senator Edgar Stow — before house and grounds passed to public care, and today the Goleta Valley Historical Society keeps it as a museum with the historic Sexton grounds, outbuildings and a celebrated giant fig, hosting tours, weddings and the valley's community events. Its ghost lore is soft and familial: docents, event staff and visitors have described a woman in Victorian dress in the parlour and on the stairs, a man's figure on the porch, children's voices in the garden, footsteps in empty upstairs rooms, and lights or doors misbehaving during evening events — attributed in telling to the family who never much left. Nothing documented anchors the stories, and the society treats them lightly. Present them as museum telling at a cherished local landmark. Opening days and tour details should be confirmed from the historical society's pages.