California History: Adobes and Guiding Lights
Adobe may not the ideal building material by today’s standards, but we now wish we’d preserved more of these structures. With one of the longest coastlines among the states and the largest bay in North America, California definitely has its share of vintage lighthouses.
Adobes (1769-1860s) (in addition to some adobe missions and forts)
...parks.ca.gov (California Department of Parks & Recreation: California State Parks)
| Name (in chronological order) | Location in Northern California |
|---|---|
| Pena Adobe (built between 1792 and 1800, CHL 249, ci.santa-clara.ca.us), now site of Santa Clara Women’s Club | Santa Clara, Santa Clara Co.* |
| Santa Cruz Mission State Historical Monument or Neary-Rodriguez Adobe (1793, santacruzstateparks.org) | Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Co. |
| Peralta Adobe (1797, CHL 866) & Fallon House (1855) Historic Site (historysanjose.org, sjparks.org, cr.nps.gov [select National Register of Historic Places under A Cultural Resource Program, then click on Travel]) | San Jose, Santa Clara Co.* |
| Branciforte Adobe (1797?) | Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Co. |
| Cooper-Molera Adobe and Garden (1826) in Monterey State Historic Park (mchsmuseum.com, mtycounty.com) | Monterey, Monterey Co. |
| Merritt House (1830 or as early as 1774, mchsmuseum.com, mtycounty.com) | Monterey, Monterey Co. |
| Soberanes Adobe (1830, CHL 712, mchsmuseum.com) in Monterey State Historic Park | Monterey, Monterey Co. |
| Castro Adobe (1830s, CHL 998) | Watsonville, Santa Cruz Co. |
| Salvio Pacheco Adobe (1835, CHL 515, cityofconcord.org [click on About Concord, then History, then Historical Buildings], nps.gov/juba/contraco.htm | Concord, Contra Costa Co.* |
| Larkin House (1835, CHL 106, larkinhouse.org) in Monterey State Historic Park | Monterey, Monterey Co. |
| Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park (1836, CHL 18, parks.sonoma.net, sacredsonoma.com) | Petaluma, Sonoma Co.* |
| Roberto-Sunol Adobe (c1836, CHL 898) and garden with 160-year old fig tree (willow-glen.com), now site of law offices | San Jose, Santa Clara Co.* |
| Alviso Adobe (1837, milpitashistory.org/home/) (closed to public) | Milpitas, Santa Clara Co.* |
| Yount Adobe (1837, CHL 564) | Yountville, Napa Co.* |
| Moraga Adobe (1841, CHL 509, ci.orinda.ca.us), now private residence | Orinda, Contra Costa Co.* |
| Gutierrez Adobe (1841, CHL 713, mchsmuseum.org) in Monterey State Historic Park | Monterey, Monterey Co. |
| Alvarado Adobe (1842, CHL 512, ci.san-pablo.ca.us) | San Pablo, Contra Costa Co.* |
| Pena Adobe (1843, CHL 534) in Lagoon Valley/Pena Adobe Regional Park (thereporter.com) | Vacaville, Solano Co.* |
| Richardson Adobe (1843, CHL 494) in Los Coches Rancho Wayside Campground | Soledad, Monterey Co. |
| Reading Adobe (1843?, CHL 10); marker outside Reading Island Park | Cottonwood, Shasta Co. |
| Salvador Vallejo Adobe (1840s, CHL 501) | Sonoma, Sonoma Co.* |
| Francisco Solano Alviso Adobe (1844, CHL 510) | Dublin, Alameda Co.* |
| Boronda Adobe Historic Center (1846, CHL 870, mchsmuseum.com) | Salinas, Monterey Co. |
| Sanchez Adobe Historic Site (1846, CHL 391, ci.pacifica.ca.us [click on History, then Sanchez Adobe Historic Site], visitsanmateocounty.com) | Pacifica, San Mateo Co.* |
| Hastings Adobe (1846, thereporter.com) | Collinsville, Solano Co.* |
| Nash-Patton Adobe (c1847, CHL 667), now private residence | Sonoma, Sonoma Co.* |
| Martinez-Franklin Canyon Adobe (1849, CHL 511) | Martinez, Contra Costa Co.* |
| Swift Adobe (c1849, CHL 345) | Orland, Glenn Co. |
| William B. Ide Adobe State Historic Site (1850, CHL 12) | Red Bluff, Tehama Co. |
| Weber Adobe (1850, CHL 165, sanjoaquinhistory.org [click on Exhibits, then Captain Weber Home Site & Garden]) | Stockton, San Joaquin Co. |
| Chinese Adobe Building (1850) | Fiddletown, Amador Co. |
| Swiss Hotel (c1850, CHL 496) | Sonoma, Sonoma Co.* |
| Fernando Pacheco Adobe (1851, CHL 455) | Concord, Contra Costa Co.* |
| El Adobe de los Robles Rancho (1856, CHL 206, californiaweekly.com [click on Resources, then California Ranchos]) | Lemoore, Kings Co. |
| Gil Adobe (1865, mchsmuseum.com) | Jolon, Monterey Co. |
| Vasquez House (18xx, CHL 351) | Monterey, Monterey Co. |
Lighthouses (1854-1890s), 50+ total statewide
...cr.nps.gov/maritime/ (U.S. Department of the Interior: National Park Service—Links to the Past…Maritime Heritage Program)
...parks.ca.gov (California Department of Parks & Recreation: California State Parks)
...us-lighthouses.com (US Lighthouses)
| Name (in chronological order) | Location in Northern California |
|---|---|
| Alcatraz Lighthouse (1854, rebuilt in 1909) on Alcatraz Island (alcatraz.us, nps.gov/alcatraz/) | San Francisco, San Francisco Co.* |
| Fort Point Lighthouse (1855) at Fort Point National Historic Site (1853-1886, nps.gov/fopo/) | San Francisco, San Francisco Co.* |
| Point Pinos Lighthouse (1855, ci.pacific-grove.ca.us, mtycounty.com) | Pacific Grove, Monterey Co. |
| Point Bonita Lighthouse (1855) | Sausalito, Marin Co.* |
| Farallon Lighthouse (1856-1972) on Southeast Farallon Island (closed to public) | San Francisco, San Francisco Co.* |
| Battery Point Lighthouse (1856, CHL 951) | Crescent City, Del Norte Co. |
| Humboldt Harbor Lighthouse (1856-1930s) | Eureka, Humboldt Co. |
| Cape Mendocino Lighthouse (1868-19xx) (closed to public); replica on Humboldt County Fairgrounds in Ferndale (humboldtcountyfair.org) | Capetown, Humboldt Co. |
| Santa Cruz Lighthouse (1869), rebuilt in 1967 as Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse | Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Co. |
| Point Reyes Lighthouse (1870, ptreyeslight.com, nps.gov/pore/) | Point Reyes National Seashore, Marin Co.* |
| Point Arena Lighthouse and Museum (1870, rebuilt after 1906, pointarenalighthouse.com) | Point Arena, Mendocino Co. |
| Trinidad Head Lighthouse (1871) | Trinidad, Humboldt Co. |
| Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park (1872, CHL 930) | Pescadero, San Mateo Co.* |
| East Brother Light Station (1874, CHL 951, ebls.org) | Point Richmond, Contra Costa Co.* |
| Yerba Buena Lighthouse (1875) on Yerba Buena Island (closed to public) | San Francisco, San Francisco Co.* |
| Point Montara Light Station (1875) | Montara, San Mateo Co.* |
| Point Sur Lighthouse (1889, CHL 951) in Point Sur State Historic Park (pointsur.org) | Big Sur, Monterey Co. |
| Table Bluff Lighthouse (1892) on Woodley Island | Eureka, Humboldt Co. |
| St. George Reef Lighthouse (1892-1972, stgeorgereeflighthouse.us) on St. George Reef | Crescent City (St. George Point), Del Norte Co. |
An asterisk indicates San Francisco Bay Area destination; CHL means California Historical Landmark.
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