The Vallejo Estate is a historic house in
Sonoma,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, one of the six sites that comprises the
Sonoma State Historic Park
Sonoma State Historic Park is a California State Park located in the center of Sonoma, California. The park consists of six sites: the Mission San Francisco Solano, the Sonoma Barracks (sometimes called the Presidio of Sonoma), the Blue Wing I ...
. The estate was owned by General
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (4 July 1807 – 18 January 1890) was a Californio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of the Republic of Mexico, and shaped the trans ...
, a ''
Californio
Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sinc ...
'' military leader and landowner. Vallejo began buying the acreage for the house after returning from the
California constitutional convention
The California Constitutional Conventions were two separate constitutional conventions that took place in California during the nineteenth century which led to the creation of the modern Constitution of California. The first, known as the 1849 ...
in
Monterey
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...
in 1849, and resided in the house from 1852 until his death in 1890. He named the house ''Lachryma Montis'' (mountain tear), a rough Latin translation of ''Chiucuyem'' (crying mountain) – the Native American name for the free-flowing spring on the property.
Developing the estate
![El Delirio - Vallejo Estate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/El_Delirio_-_Vallejo_Estate.jpg)
Vallejo's home was built beside the spring and its pool in 1851–1852. The two-story, wood-frame house was prefabricated, designed and built on the east coast of United States. It was shipped around Cape Horn on a sailing ship and then assembled at its present site. The design was
Victorian Carpenter Gothic
Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic or Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden structures ...
highlighted by a large Gothic window in the master bedroom, twin porches, dormer windows, and elaborate carved wooden trim along the eaves. Bricks were placed inside the walls of the house in order to keep it warm in winter and cool in summer.
[S/PSHPA – General Vallejo's Home] Insulation with adobe was a material which Vallejo felt had proven practical in California's climate.
[SSHP General Plan p. 86] The furnishings were eclectic, representing Vallejo's Spanish and Mexican heritage, the China trade, and styles popular with Americans. Each room had its own white marble fireplace. Crystal chandeliers, lace curtains, and many other furnishings including the handsome, rosewood, concert-grand piano, were imported from Europe.
![Vallejo Home - August 2019 - Stierch 13](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Vallejo_Home_-_August_2019_-_Stierch_13.jpg)
The estate included pavilions and other outbuildings, a large barn and houses for the working staff. The Cook House was a three-room rectangular wooden building behind the main house. The cook lived in one room while the other two rooms were used for food preparation and cooking. ''El Delirio'' is a small wooden structure in the garden next to the main house It served as a retreat for the Vallejo family and guests. A special warehouse was erected in 1852, in another architectural style, in order to store wine, fruit, and other produce. The original timbers were cut and numbered in Europe and shipped to California. The bricks came around the Horn as ballast in sailing ships. Eventually the building was converted to residential use and became known as the "Swiss Chalet".
[SSHP Historical Archaeology]
Grapevines were transplanted to the new site along with a wonderful assortment of fruit decorative trees and shrubs. The quarter-mile-long driveway lined with cottonwood trees and Castilian roses. A vine-covered arbor shaded a wide pathway around the pool into which the spring flowed, and a number of decorative fountains and delightful little outbuildings also graced the grounds.
Living at the estate
![LachrymaMontis-SWShaw](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/LachrymaMontis-SWShaw.jpg)
Vallejo and family moved into ''Lachryma Montis'' in 1852. He and his wife lived there for more than 35 years. As Vallejo suffered one economic setback after another they were forced to live more and more quietly and unpretentiously. He eventually lost nearly all of his vast land holdings and was even forced to sell the vineyard and other "nonessential" acreage at the estate.
During the 1850s and 1860s Vallejo became a leader of California's fledgling wine industry. He established more vineyards and became one of the first commercial winemakers in the region. In the 1870s, the vine louse Phylloxera devastated his vineyards as well as Vallejo's hopes for wine production.
[SSHP General Plan p. 86]
In 1873 he entered into an agreement with two partners to supply water from the pond to the citizens of Sonoma through redwood pipes. This secured some regular income. In 1881 he sold an easement to the Sonoma Valley Railroad bisecting his property.
[SSHP General Plan p 87]
Later years
In 1933 the Vallejo home and some 20 acres of the original land was acquired by the State in order to protect and preserve this historic site and its collection of historic artifacts and documents. On June 29, 1972, it was added to 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 v ...
. It is also
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 ...
Number 4
[ and is part of the ]Sonoma State Historic Park
Sonoma State Historic Park is a California State Park located in the center of Sonoma, California. The park consists of six sites: the Mission San Francisco Solano, the Sonoma Barracks (sometimes called the Presidio of Sonoma), the Blue Wing I ...
.
Gallery
Wine label Lachryma Montis Vineyard,Sonoma Red Wine 1858.jpg, Wine label, Lachryma Montis Vineyard, Sonoma Red Wine 1858. California Historical Society
The California Historical Society (CHS) is the official historical society of California. It was founded in 1871, by a group of prominent Californian intellectuals at Santa Clara University. It was officially designated as the Californian state hi ...
archives.
Notes
See also
*Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (4 July 1807 – 18 January 1890) was a Californio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of the Republic of Mexico, and shaped the trans ...
*Sonoma State Historic Park
Sonoma State Historic Park is a California State Park located in the center of Sonoma, California. The park consists of six sites: the Mission San Francisco Solano, the Sonoma Barracks (sometimes called the Presidio of Sonoma), the Blue Wing I ...
*Rancho Petaluma Adobe
Rancho Petaluma Adobe is a historic ranch house in Sonoma County, California. It was built from adobe bricks in 1836 by order of Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. It was the largest privately owned adobe structure built in California and is the largest ...
References
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External links
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{{National Register of Historic Places in California
Houses in Sonoma County, California
California Historical Landmarks
Carpenter Gothic architecture in California
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California
National Register of Historic Places in Sonoma County, California
Buildings and structures in Sonoma, California
Victorian architecture in California
Museums in Sonoma, California
Historic house museums in California
Carpenter Gothic houses in the United States