The Reid-Baldwin Adobe, formerly called the Hugo Reid Adobe, is an adobe home built in 1839. It is currently located at the

Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, 127 acres (51.4 ha), is an arboretum, botanical garden, and historical site nestled into hills near the San Gabriel Mountains in Arcadia, California, United States. Open daily, it only close ...

in Arcadia, California. The Hugo Reid Adobe was designated a California Historic Landmark (No. 368) on April 3, 1940. The Reid Adobe was built by Scottish−Mexican

Hugo Reid Hugo Reid (April 18, 1811 – December 12, 1852), a Scottish immigrant, was an early resident of Los Angeles County who became known for writing a series of newspaper articles, or "letters," that described the culture, language, and contemporary ...

on the shore of what is now called Baldwin Lake with the help of local natives. Reid received the full Mexican land grant for

Rancho Santa Anita Rancho Santa Anita was a land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California given to naturalized Scottish immigrant Hugo Reid and his Kizh people wife. Reid built an adobe residence there in 1839, and the land grant was formally recognized ...

in 1845, which included 13,319 acres of land. Reid farmed some of the land and planted grape vines. Hugo Reid (1811–1852), born in Scotland, was an early resident of Los Angeles County who became a naturalized citizen of California (then a part of Mexico) and who married a respected ''Gabrieleño'' woman, Victoria Reid. Victoria was born at the village of Comicranga and taken to San Gabriel Mission at the age of six, yet had acquired land through her first marriage and elevated Hugo's status. Elias Jackson “Lucky” Baldwin purchased Rancho Santa Anita in 1875. In 1879 Baldwin added a wooden wing to the old adobe home. Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin (1828–1909) was a pioneer of California business, an investor, and real estate speculator during the second half of the 19th century. He earned the nickname "Lucky" Baldwin due to his extraordinary good fortune in a number of business deals. He built the luxury Baldwin Hotel and Theatre in San Francisco and bought vast tracts of land in Southern California, where a number of places and neighborhoods are named after him. In 1947 the state and county acquired the land to create an arboretum around the lake and historic Reid-Baldwin structures.

Reconstruction

Without a good roof adobe structures can be damaged fast. With a good roof adobe structures still need constant maintenance. The Rancho-Era California Adobe is currently under repair and reconstruction, with completion expected in 2023. The original home was built with sun-dried adobe bricks, made with clay soil, water, and straw to add strength. The original adobe home's roof was made of rawhide animal skin used to tie giant cane reeds together. The roof was then coated with

tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bi ...

. The original reconstruction of the Hugo Reid Adobe tried to use much of the original methods and materials. arboretum.org, Strategic Plan 2017–2022 Summary
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Marker

Proposed State Marker for the site reads: *''NO. 368 REID-BALDWIN ADOBE – Reid, a Scotsman, petitioned the government of Mexico to grant him Rancho Santa Anita. His claim strengthened by his marriage to Victoria, a native Indian of the San Gabriel Mission, he received the grant on April 16, 1841. Immediately upon filing his petition, Reid took possession of the land, started to farm and plant vineyards, and built the first house – the Hugo Reid Adobe – in 1839. In 1875, E. J. Baldwin purchased the rancho and in 1879 added a wooden wing to the old adobe.

References

{{reflist California Historical Landmarks 1839 establishments in Alta California Arcadia, California

Reconstruction

Marker

See also

References