How Montague became the Home of the Wool Bed
- Told by Eliana Jantz

We visited Patrick to celebrate the mill’s opening on Easter of 2002, feeling especially inspired by the season that was upon us and the daily birthing of new lambs in the pasture! Patrick took us (Eliana, Sarah and Logan) for our first drive through the tiny, almost ghost-town of Montague to show us an empty brick building in downtown. We imagined that this may be the future home of Shepherd’s Dream operations.

The two-story red brick building in the heart of town was built in 1890 by Italian master masons in the newly born rail road town of Montague. Conveniently, the new wool carding mill stood barely a quarter mile down the road. Located in the middle of the Shasta Valley, the town sits in golden fields, surrounded by snow capped mountains and touched by the sunshine 300 days of the year. This was all that it took to convince us that this was the place for us to be.

We returned to Sonoma County to pose the question to a great friend and collaborator, Bob Davidson. Since Bob and I had been sharing the same vision for creating live/work architecture as the foundation for sustainable community, it was clear that this was the perfect opportunity for us. The building was purchased in June of 2002 and after 1 year of remodeling, 140 S. 11th St. became the new home to Shepherd’s Dream.

Eliana Jantz and Bob Davidson