Dr. Willella Howe-House and Medical Museum

The Dr. Howe-Waffle House was built in 1889 by Alvin and Willella Howe, both were prominent Orange County physicians.

This grand two-and-one-half story, 12-room Queen Anne-style Victorian house was built in 1889. The mansion was moved in 1975 from a nearby location to save it from an urban renewal project. It was lovingly restored by the Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society and is used as a house and medical museum. Dr. Willella Howe-Waffle was a pioneering woman physician and birthed over 1,000 “Waffle Babies.” Her dedication to the community was self-evident. She died at 74 at the bedside of a patient she was helping.

The entire house is decorated to feel as if Doctor Willella had just left for a house call. The rooms are set with period furniture and linens. The medical home-office is set up as her original was – to show how Dr. Willella cared for her patients back in the late 1800s and early 1900s.