WOODLAND - This was once the wealthiest town in America, so it's doubtful anyone thought it extravagant when Lenora Caldwell turned her white clapboard cottage into a Spanish Revival bungalow in the early 1920s.

Earthy stucco haciendas with a red terra-cotta roof were the architectural rage then, and Caldwell had the money for a significant remodel. Her husband, who died soon after their return here, made a fortune in oil and silver mining in Mexico, where the couple lived for 20 years.

As the story goes, the Caldwells left Mexico just ahead of the infamous bandit Pancho Villa.

"They couldn't have been in too big a hurry if they brought these gates, the amphora and the fountain," says Mary Aulman, who has lived in Caldwell's Spanish-

flavored bungalow for 30 years.

One of Aulman's favorite spots, where she and husband Mark dine occasionally, is the shady courtyard that Caldwell's treasures from Mexico, including the handmade wrought-iron gates, have occupied for 85 years.

The Caldwell-Aulman house, 904 First St., is one of seven Woodland homes open to the public from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 6 during the 20th annual Stroll Through History. Tickets are $25. (A series of docent-led neighborhood walking tours, with sidewalk views, are free. See accompanying chart on this page for details.)

The open-house tour represents several decades of Woodland architecture, from an 1883 Italianate Victorian (faithfully restored after fire damage in 2002) and an 1890 Queen Anne with a 48-foot-high tower to a contemporary house built just nine years ago.

Mark Aulman grew up across town in the Beamer Park neighborhood and walked past what's now his home on his way to and from Woodland High School. He never paid much mind to Lenora Caldwell's old place, but when he, Mary and daughters Celeste and Noelle (son Tom was born later) moved to town in the late 1970s, they liked the house but fell in love with the grounds.

"It's really why we bought the place, and we think the emphasis for us on the stroll will be the yard," says Mary Aulman. "People will think, 'This is a nice old house, but let's spend time in the yard.' We'll have ice water and lemonade, and they can sit if they want. There will be a lot blooming."

Heritage roses, lavender and rosemary make for a fragrant introduction at the front door. Out back, Caldwell's 1920s natural rock waterfall trickles merrily, flanked by a retaining wall made of cobblestones from an early Woodland street. The organic garden is producing cucumbers, bell peppers, eggplants and tomatoes, and the large pomegranate tree is Mary Aulman's homage to the retired couple whose pomegranates she swiped as a kid in Los Gatos.

A deodar cedar shades the courtyard, where Caldwell had the Mexican tile fountain, a tall amphora and a painted bench put in place. The little gazebo and ivy growing on the low-slung wall date to her time.

"She did a lot of entertaining," says Mary Aulman. "Her granddaughter (who was once their neighbor) told me that every summer when it started to get hot in Woodland, she caught a boat in San Francisco and went to Hawaii. When we moved here, there was still a little house for the servants and a little bell in the bedroom. We rang it, but no servants came."

The Aulmans have done work inside the 1,800-square-foot house, remodeling the kitchen and adding a bathroom, stained glass windows and a deck.

The original clapboard house was built in 1903, 15 years after the Pacific Coast Coastal Record named Woodland the richest town per capita in the United States. Its 3,000 residents in 1888 had accumulated assets of more than $2 million - well over $45 million in today's dollars.

The town prospered because of the railroad, a hospital and secondary school and its role as the seat of Yolo County government. The wealthiest residents, who included grain barons, lawyers and bankers, built many fine homes on the city's south side, where Caldwell's remodeled Spanish Revival bungalow is located.

Caldwell hired the Sacramento architectural firm Dean & Dean to draw up plans to remake the original clapboard cottage. Charles Dean was the chief architect, and his brother James was his business partner.

Call The Bee's Dixie Reid, (916) 321-1134.