The Fernandez Mansion is a rare local example of 19th-century architecture combining Second Empire French with elements of Queen Anne and Northern Italian styles. Perched near the waterfront in Pinole, the mansion, with its tower-like construction, gabled roof and projecting cupola, has the classic look of a haunted house.

Third-Time Charm

The 22-room house, built in 1894, was the third constructed on the property for Bernardo Fernandez, a Portuguese businessman who emigrated in 1854 as a teenager. Flooding destroyed the first; fire, the second.

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Eureka

While other immigrants in the mid-1800s sought fortunes of gold, Fernandez mined the bay front for riches, building a pier, warehouses, a store and a post office. His empire expanded to 20,000 acres, some in San Francisco.

Got Pinole?

The town was named for what Native Americans called pinolli, a seed-and-acorn mush. The popular book “Born to Run” about barefoot Mexican endurance runners has led to a recent resurgence of corn-based pinole recipes.

Wild Kingdom

Accounts by early colonizers in the 1770s mentioned elk, deer and grizzly bears. Fernandez bought his land from the Martinez family, whose girls reportedly roped grizzlies from horseback.

Shipped Out

Tanbark, tree mulch used to tan leather, was shipped on Fernandez’s barges, as were hay and produce. Today, steelhead trout swim in nearby Pinole Creek, and striped bass can be snagged from the bay at neighboring Fernandez Park.

Flotsam on the Ground

The schooner Carlotta, named for Fernandez’s wife and mother of his six children, sank dockside in the early 1900s. In 1976, volunteers calling themselves the Ship Lifters of Pinole (SLOP) pulled the remains of the 52-ft boat from the mud flats and reconstructed it in the mansion’s front yard, where it deteriorates today.

Lucky Numbers

In 1903, 150 men voted to incorporate Pinole; the population now tops 18,000. Famous residents include band members of Green Day; two attended Pinole Valley High. Three generations of the Mariotti family now live in the mansion, which Dr. Joseph Mariotti bought with a partner in 1969 for $27,000.

A Place for Birds

A Southern Pacific Railroad caboose and the Carlotta in the yard make some think the property is a museum. A 1965 T-bird and a 1950 Bentley are parked on the 2.5 acres, which also have a garden, chicken coops and a goose and duck hatchery.

House of Spirits

The mansion’s front doorknob disappeared a month ago. The Mariottis say mysterious bumps in the night are common.

This article also appears in the Bay Area edition of The New York Times.