La Casa Primera
The story of La Casa Primera goes back to 1837 when Don Ygnacio Palomares and Don Ricardo Vejar, of the
Pueblo Los Angeles petitioned the Mexican Govenor, Juan Alvarado, for the appriximately 15,000 acres of
vacant land, marked on the crude maps as "San Jose". The petition was awarded and the grant included
what is today much of the Pomona Valley.
Don Ygnacio selected the present site for his first dwelling and built the La Casa Primera in 1837. It was the first home built in this locality. Like other homes of the [eriod its thick walls were made of adobe brick. The Palomares family lived here for seventeen years until they moved to their new adobe home, now known as Adobe de Palomares.
In 1867, the son of Ygnacio, Don Francisco Palomares, and his wife, Donna Lujardo Alvarado, moved to La Casa where they lived until the death of Francisco in 1882. Francisco discovered the first artesian well in the valley and planted orange trees. Some of these trees survive on the site and on the nearby Casa Alvarado site.
Don Francisco was a member of the first Board of Trustees of the San Jose School District tand the Los angeles County Board of Supervisors. He was declared honorary chief of the Indian rancheros of this area. Upon his death, they offered their tribal tributes.
In 1874, Don Francisco, Cyrus Burdick and P.C. Tonner formed the Old Settlement Water Company. The original open canal crossed Old Settlers Lane and continued to a reservoir near Holt Ave. Portions of the old stone lined ditch are still visible on the site.
In 1886 Dr. Benjamin S. Nichols, President of the newly formed Pomona Land and Water Company, purchased the land on which La Casa Primera stands. Roscoe Hart bought the property in 1947. Subsequently various families occupied La Casa until 1973 when it was purchased by the Historical Society and restored, in a joint effort with the City of Pomona, to what it looked like in the late 1800's. The Historical Society of Pomona Valley, Inc. has furnished many of the rooms of La Casa with authenic Ninteenth Century furnishings for viewing by the public.
After many alternations and additions the home still stands today as a lasting memorial to those bold and adventuresome pioneers who settled this area.
Text courtesy of the Historical Society of Pomona Valley, Inc.
Today the adobe is a museum.
Open the the public
Open Sundays 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
1659 N. Park Ave., Pomona, CA 91768
Map
Website
909 623.2198
Back |
 |
Porch |
|
Side |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
Possibly a blacksmith shop |
|
 |
