The Camron-Stanford House — a historic Victorian building and Oakland landmark at Lake Merritt — sustained moderate damage to its exterior and small area of the interior when a fire broke out early Saturday morning. 

But firefighters from the Oakland Fire Department were able to prevent major damage to the building, which was long ago converted into Oakland’s first museum and holds a variety of local historic art and artifacts, according to Oakland Fire Department spokesperson Michael Hunt. 

The structure was built in 1876 by Samuel Merritt, who was a doctor from Maine who came to California in 1849 and became Oakland’s 13th mayor, a local businessman and philanthropist. He is considered by some to be one of the Bay Area’s most prominent influences of that era and helped advance the construction of Lake Merritt, Oakland City Hall and Oakland Public Library, according to the university bearing his name and Camron-Stanford House’s website. 

Camron-Stanford House is the last Victorian estate on Lake Merritt, according to the nonprofit historical society that maintained the house as a museum for decades, the Camron-Stanford House Preservation Association. 

Firefighters responded to the fire at the house at 14th Street and Lakeside Drive at about 12:40 a.m. and controlled the flames within about 40 minutes, according to a statement from the Oakland Fire Department. 

Some interior walls were ripped open during the response, which involved 28 firefighters entering the structure to attack the flames from inside. But firefighters were able to save art, furniture and other local history from being destroyed, according to the Fire Department. The rear exterior and a corner of the interior sustained the most damage.

The museum was closed in 2024 due to a loss of financial support from the city, according to the Camron-Stanford House Preservation Association, which is leading a fundraising campaign to reopen it, according to the Preservation Association’s website. 

Preservation Association representatives and city officials will assess the building to determine next steps, according to the Fire Department.