Building History

English-born businessman John Colpitts Ainsley (1862-1937) and his wife Alcinda May Shelly (1875-1939) erected this large, English-style cottage for an 83-acre, fruit orchard site on the southeast corner of Hamilton and Bascom Avenues. It was completed in 1925, to house John and Alcinda and their two children, Ernest Gordon Ainsley (1896-1942) and Dorothy Ainsley Lloyd (1900-1980). John operated the J.C. Ainsley Packing Company, founded in 1891, a business that initially canned fruit grown in the Santa Clara Valley and sold it (through his brother and co-owner Thomas) to stores in England. Ainsley sold his business to the Drew Canning Company during the Depression in 1933 and passed away four years later. The house and its property cost a substantial $50,000 in the 1920s. (See City of Campbell, CA.gov, "The Ainsley House," accessed 01/05/2026.)

The Ainsley Family owned the residence between 1925 and 1989, when its deed was transferred to the City of Campbell The city moved the structure to a new location at 300 Grant Street in Campbell, and utilized the house as a house museum, demonstrating what domestic life was like in the 1920s.

In 1902, Ainsley and his family resided in a residence near the corner of Harrison and Campbell Avenues in Campbell. (See San Jose, California, City Directory, 1902, p. 482.)

Building Notes

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, level of significance: Local.