William Pinckey Harkey was born on 6 February, 1832. Born in Illinois, Harkey became a pioneer and married Clarinda Tennis on the trail in 1854. On 31 July of the same year he arrived in Marysville and settled here.

William Harkey became successful through running teams of pack mules, which enabled him to purchase almost two thousand acres of land in the Yuba-Sutter area. In 1873 Harkey's influence had grown to the point where Sutter County, a Democratic stronghold, elected him sheriff on a Republican ticket.

Sheriff Harkey kept his position for seventeen years; he also sat as the head of the Agricultural Horticultural Society and increasingly became a respected pillar of the community. In 1874 The sheriff built his own home right across from the courthouse, Harkey's 'special hotel' for lawbreakers. William Pinckey Harkey died at age 74 in 1906, fourteen years before Clarinda Harkey.

After Clarinda Harkey's death in 1919 the house changed hands to a Latin teacher and her husband, who owned the home for thirty years. Every year the Lazendorfs hosted a Roman banquet in the dining room for Latin students at Yuba City High School. In 1955 Sid and Elsie Smith purchased the house, and in 1971 Jim and Lee Limonoff became the owners. Lee is still the current owner with her husband Bob Jones.

In 1983 Bob and Lee Jones opened the Harkey House Bed and Breakfast which saw the the addition of a pool, carport, enlarged patio, bathrooms and other remodeling. Bob and Lee have invested time and care into the eclectic decor of the inn. Many of the antiques come from Lee's grandparents' Michigan farmhouse, and the Chickering piano has traveled around the Cape.

Bob and Lee Jones have carefully preserved as much of the original house as possible, from the marble fireplaces and parlor, the chandeliers, shutters, pedestal sink, screen door, to the blown glass windows. Other aspects of the house have changed, which adds to its unique quality. The Country French Dining Room was once a sun porch, for instance. The Tuscany Room was added along with several window conversions into bookshelves in the late Fifties.