Built in the Eastlake style in the 1880's by David Umbarger, the Umbarger House exemplifies the fine craftsmanship and intricate decoration common to homes of the era. The ornate design gracing the exterior of the Umbarger home is today generally termed "gingerbread" or carpenter's "gothic," since it was usually the carpenter's task to laboriously produce an original and handcut decorative pattern.

One of the gold mining 49ers, David Umbarger was an early pioneer of South San José. Some twenty years after purchasing 136.5 acres off of Monterey Road in 1851, he built this house at 2662 South First Street, probably at the time of his marriage. Although survived by a wife and son, he bequeathed his house and land to his sister in 1891. Since then the house has passed through several owners and in this century has commonly been known as the Holt House after David Holt, a prohibition resort owner who owned the home for several decades. The home was moved to History Park in August 1970.

The house is furnished as a turn-of-the-century farm house. The furnishings are true to 1870 - 1880, the later years of the Victorian period but are not original to the house.