Rancho Guajome Adobe is a historic 19th-century hacienda (and now a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

) in Rancho Guajome Adobe County Park, on North Santa Fe Avenue in

Vista Vista usually refers to a distant view. Vista may also refer to: Software *Windows Vista, the line of Microsoft Windows client operating systems released in 2006 and 2007 * VistA, (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture) ...

, San Diego County, California. Built in 1852–53, it is a well-preserved but late example of Spanish-Mexican colonial architecture, and was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1970. It is also a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

and on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Description

Rancho Guajome Adobe is located in the northwestern part of Vista, on the south side of North Santa Fe Avenue. It is located just east of Guajome County Park, a larger park on the north side of the road. The adobe complex includes the main house, around which are arrayed a number of outbuildings. The main house is a large, rambling, 20-room, Spanish Colonial-style hacienda with two

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

s, and an

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

veranda A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''vera ...

. The outbuildings include stables, a blacksmith shop, chapel, and carriage house. and

History

The adobe was built in 1852 and served as the headquarters of Rancho Guajome, a Mexican land grant.

Abel Stearns Abel Stearns (February 9, 1798 – August 23, 1871) was an American trader who came to the Pueblo de Los Angeles, Alta California in 1829 and became a major landowner and cattle rancher and one of the area's wealthiest citizens. Early life Stear ...

had given the rancho to Ysidora Bandini (sister of his wife Arcadia Bandini), as a wedding gift when she married Lieutenant Cave Johnson Couts in 1851. It was built with the profits from the cattle boom of the 1850s, when many California ranchos supplied the Gold Rush miners and associated new American immigrants with meat and leather.Historyandculture.com: Guajome adobe
. accessed 9.6.2012 Couts was appointed sub-agent for the native Luiseño people (San Luis Rey

Mission Indians Mission Indians are the indigenous peoples of California who lived in Southern California and were forcibly relocated from their traditional dwellings, villages, and homelands to live and work at 15 Franciscan missions in Southern California and ...

) in 1853. He used their labor to improve his properties in the area, including this one and nearby Rancho Buena Vista and Rancho Vallecitos de San Marcos.Michael Magliari, 2004, ''Free Soil, Unfree Labor: Cave Johnson Couts and the Binding of Indian Workers in California, 1850-1867''; August 2004; Pacific Historical Review Rancho Guajome 1-1

Beginning in the 1970s, the county undertook a major rehabilitation of the property, which was completed in 1996. It is now the centerpiece of a county park in size. Guided and self-guided tours are available, and the park facilities are available for special events.

References

External links

San Diego Parks - Rancho Guajome Adobe
* {{Clear G Houses completed in 1853 Houses in San Diego County, California Historic house museums in California Museums in San Diego County, California Parks in San Diego County, California California Historical Landmarks National Historic Landmarks in California Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Register of Historic Places in San Diego County, California History of San Diego County, California Vista, California

Description

History

See also

References

External links