John Barton owned the Union Pacific Salt Company that produced 20,000 tons of salt a year. He had this 15,000-square-foot home built on Broadway in 1879 and lived here with his wife Isabella and children William and Grace until his death in 1900. The family sold the building, which the new owners subdivided into apartments. The house was demolished in the 1920s. The Hotel Alameda stands on the site today.