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I decided to write this book about fifteen years ago when I discovered how many eighteenth and nineteenth century adobe houses were still standing in the metropolitan Los Angeles County area. In 1984, I traveled all over this large widespread county to seek out and photograph as many of the vulnerable structures as I could. I wanted to get photographic documentation of these old adobes before they were destroyed by progress or natural calamities such as earthquakes, erosion, fires, and floods. I was truly amazed how these fragile adobe relics have persevered and stood the test of time. As I researched the stories behind these old dwellings, I gradually became more aware of the wealth of fascinating history that Southern California has. It has been my experience that people from the Eastern United States often say that California, especially Los Angeles, has no history. I am often quick to dispute that false claim.
Recently, a good friend asked me how my adobe book was coming along. I told him; "Slow, but I'm making progress. There is a significant amount of information in the book". He seemed puzzled and asked; "Well, how many ways are there to build an adobe?" I explained; "Its not a 'how to' book about adobe construction. It's about the rich and colorful history of each respective adobe. Its about the interesting people who built them, the succession of owners who lived in them, the locations they were erected, what purpose they served, and how they survived all these years." These old buildings are a part of Southern California's heritage and are windows to the past. This book does include how the adobe houses were constructed, but I attempted to focus on features that distinguished one structure from another.
This was how a typical eighteenth or nineteenth century adobe casa was built in Los Angeles County. Usually, they were constructed by Indian labor from the California mission system or neighboring villages. These Native-Americans would build houses for wealthy Spanish or Mexican rancheros (ranch owners) upon vast land grants called ranchos. Because, the Indians received an education in construction as well as religion from the mission padres, the adobes they built often resembled mission buildings.
The regal ranchero would search for the ideal homesite upon his rancho, preferably on high ground with a flat surface and near a fresh water source. Once the site was selected, the ground was cleared of trees and boulders, then made level with the help of ox-driven earth-moving implements. Stones were used to line the base of the foundation. Adobe houses were usually small and rectangular in shape, although some were "L" shaped, "H" shaped, or "U" shaped. The adobe bricks were made from a mixture of water, earth, and clay found near the homesite. Straw or horsehair was added to the mix to help the adobe hold together. The wet mud like substance was poured into rectangular wood frames, typically eighteen inches by twenty-four inches, and formed into bricks. The frames with adobe were spread out on the ground and allowed to partially dry. The frames were removed leaving an adobe brick to be baked for a few days by the warm California sun.
When the bricks were completely dry, they were assembled upon the foundation and held together with a mortar made of adobe. Layers of adobe brick were laid upon each other and thick walls were formed. Early adobes had no interior floor covering. They had compacted earth floors, which was swept out several times a day to remove loose dust. Later, wood plank floors were added. Traditionally, most early adobes in Southern California were simple single story buildings. In the mid 1800s, larger elaborate adobes and two story adobes, know as Monterey type adobes, started to appear. Three or more story adobe structures were almost non-existent.
Primitive adobe houses had thatched roofs made from tree branches or "tules" (swamp rushes) found near cienegas (swamps), rivers, or streams. The roof materials were sealed by molten tar or "brea" found in natural tar pools like La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. Most of the dwellings built in Southern California had their roofs covered by brea from these pits which still can be found in Hancock Park on Wilshire Boulevard. Later, roofs were made from wood support beams and planks. The wood was usually obtained from local trees or brought down from the mountains via ox-driven carts and hewn by sawmills. Brea was used to caulk the space between the planks. Generally, roofs were flat. However, in the 1860s, the American influx influenced local architecture and adobes began adopting gabled roofs covered with wood shake. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, some of the houses took on a Mission Revival style when shake roofs were replaced with red tile roofs.
Typically, adobe casas had "corredores" or roof covered porches on at least one side of the house, usually in front. Sometimes, these shady corredores encircled the entire dwelling. The overhang of the roof was supported by slender wooden posts. Upper level verandas were common among the Monterey style adobes. To the rear of these houses was a courtyard area. The courtyard was usually enclosed by the structure itself or a high adobe wall. The courtyard was a facsimile of a standard quad of a mission complex. Many homes had fountains in the center of the patio or courtyard, which also reflected the mission influence in landscaping. Early adobes did not have indoor kitchens. Most of the cooking was done outside, away from the house, in dome shaped adobe ovens called "hornos". Kitchens were added in the late Victorian era or the early twentieth century to attempt to modernize the old adobes.
Each chapter generally begins with the history of the area where each adobe was built. Included are brief narratives about the early Native American inhabitants who lived in the area prior to European exploration and colonization. Their amazing story is an important part of our local heritage that should not be neglected. Native Americans were vital to the early rancheros. They supplied the skilled labor that kept the ranchos running. Some duties included construction work, farming, general maintenance, cooking, and cleaning. The men mostly served as "vaqueros" or cowboys who were responsible for the large herds of cattle.
The first known human inhabitants of Los Angeles County were known Gabrielino Indians. The Gabrielinos lived primarily along the coast of Southern California from Topanga Canyon to Aliso Creek in Orange County. Inland, they stretched into the San Gabriel Mountain Range and to the San Fernando Valley. They also occupied the Channel Islands. Inland villages thrived along rivers and springs living off wild game and acorns from massive oaks. The coastal villages relied upon the wealth of the sea to sustain them and to produce items of value to be used in trade. The Gabrielinos are from Shoshonean tribes who migrated to California from the Great Basin. They were distant cousins to the Hopi and the Comanche. Their language derived from the Uto-Aztecan, which was later influenced and combined with the Hokan dialect. The Gabrielinos were named by the Spanish missionaries in the 1770s. When Franciscan padres founded the San Gabriel Mission in September 1771, they began mass Christianization of the local Indians. The neophytes, as they were referred, were brought into the fold of the mission, some by force of the Spanish soldiers assigned to the mission guard. They became known as Gabrielinos because they were within the jurisdiction and control of the San Gabriel Mission.
The Gabrielinos lived in dome shaped thatched huts made of tules or reeds. A collection of huts was called a "rancheria" or a village. Some names of old Gabrielino rancherias survive today such as Cahuenga, Topanga, Tujunga, and Cucamonga. They had a fascinating culture and religion that emphasized mythology and the reverence of certain animals. They were not warlike people although they engaged in some conflicts between rival villages. They were essentially hunters, gatherers, fishermen, and traders. With the advent of the colonization of California, many Gabrielinos interbred with the Spanish, Mexican, American, and European newcomers. Smallpox epidemics in the mid 1800s wiped out most rancherias and those inhabitants who survived fled into the local mountains. For the most part, the Gabrielinos became extinct, however in 1973, some San Gabriel residents claimed Gabrielino heritage.
During the Spanish period, explorers such as Gaspar de Portola in 1769 and Juan Bautista de Anza in 1775, passed through the county, and camped near the future sites of several ranchos. Some of the names given to locations by Portola such as La Puente, La Brea, and Encino, have remained to this day. As the Spanish established the Franciscan Missions, presidios (military barracks), and pueblos (towns) throughout the Alta California province of New Spain, soldiers were assigned to protect these components of colonization. The soldiers of the Royal Army were poorly paid and usually uneducated. The Spanish Crown rewarded some of these men for their years of loyal service by giving them vast land grants when they retired. These land grants were used predominantly as cattle ranches called ranchos. Crude adobe casas were built upon desirable locations on the ranchos, but the ranchero and his family usually lived in one of the nearby pueblos. The adobe was usually occupied by a "mayordomo" or ranch manager.
In 1821, Mexico won its Independence from Spain and land grants were given more freely under the new regime. Mexican land grants were given by provincial governors to citizens who petitioned to occupy vacant land. They were often provisional grants which stipulated that the grantee must construct a dwelling on the property within a years time and make improvements to the land, such as cultivation or digging irrigation ditches. Sometimes included were provisions prohibiting rancheros from interfering with the Indians who lived near or even within rancho boundaries. If the provisions were not met, the land grant was subject to denouncement and taken from the ranchero. This happened twice in the case of Rancho San Pascual, upon which the City of Pasadena later developed. In 1834, the Mexican government succeeded in secularizing the missions, which were highly revered by the former Spanish government. The Secularization Act allowed for the private lease or sale of all mission properties. This led to the downfall of the mission system in California, but it made large areas of land available for private use. Many prospective rancheros petitioned for ex-mission grazing land. Ranchos La Puente, San Jose, Santa Anita, and Paso de Bartolo were all former San Gabriel Mission land holdings.
Cattle was the main source of income for the Southern California ranchos. Herds of cattle were abundant and allowed to roam the wide-open plains, hills and canyons in the pastoral days of the rancho. Their fat was boiled down to tallow, which was used to make lard, candles and soap. Their meat was used to feed the ranchero's family and the vaqueros employed at the rancho. Cow hides were sun dried and made into leather goods. The hides were also known as "leatherback dollars", because they were as good as money. Hides were usually brought to coastal landing or ports, like as San Pedro Harbor, and were purchased by merchant ships, mostly from Europe and New England. Often, the hides were traded for goods such as; spices, coffee, furniture, China, glassware, silks, and clothing material. Trade was vital, because there was virtually no manufacturing or industry in early nineteenth century California.
In 1846, the Mexican War came to California. Several battles, including the Battle of San Gabriel and the Battle of Rancho San Pedro, were fought within boundary lines of ranchos. Other ranchos and adobes within Los Angeles County were scenes of several significant events of the war on the California front. Military leaders on both sides used adobe dwellings as their headquarters. Also, many rancheros depicted in this book were participants in the war in California on both sides.
After the Mexican War, California fell under the authority of American military rule until 1850 when it became one of the United States. The American transition was difficult for most Spanish and Mexican rancheros. However, their counterparts, the American rancheros, who became naturalized Mexican citizens, easily adapted to the new way of life. The American government allowed the rancheros to keep their land grants, but they had to prove the legitimacy of their titles. In 1851 the United States Land Commission was formed to investigate the old Spanish and Mexican land claims. Proving these early titles were difficult due to a lack of or poor documentation on the part of the rancheros. Many grant boundaries were ambiguous in their descriptions and maps of ranchos called "disenos" were typically just crudely drawn sketches. Landmarks such as a pile of stones, a small wood cross, or an oak tree were common boundary markers. Rancheros had to rely upon eyewitness testimony of to substantiate claims. This was a long and costly process. Legal fees were taxing to the ranch owners, and in lieu of payment, they gave their attorneys part of their land.
In the early 1860s, a severe drought brought colossal devastation to the cattle industry. Rancheros who diversified by dry farming or raising sheep were able to survive. However, those who relied solely upon cattle as main source of income were ruined. The once wealthy rancheros now found themselves in financial difficulties and resorted to obtaining loans from shrewd Yankee businessmen. With their ranchos used to secure the loans, the owners had to pay high interest rates; usually three percent per month, which was the standard of the day. Debts quickly grew to great amounts and they defaulted on the loans causing them to lose their land. American merchants, lawyers, landowners, and developers purchased the lost ranchos by the means of a public auction. The new breed of American ranchers subdivided the land to farmers and fruit growers. They also sold acreage to developers who platted townsites sometimes named for the old ranchos or the rancheros themselves. Soon, towns sprouted throughout Southern California and reached a peak in the mid 1880s. Some of these "boomtowns", as they were called, failed or were absorbed by larger towns. Some were annexed to larger cities such as, Los Angeles or Glendale. Several towns survived on their own and later incorporated as cities.
In the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century, many of the adobes were abandoned or neglected. They fell into ruin while being subjected to vandalism and erosion. The overwhelming majority of these dilapidated structures were demolished to make way for progress. In the 1920s and 30s, civic groups and historical societies intervened and managed to save some of these historic buildings. They raised funds for restoration and solicited donations for antique furnishings. Through their efforts we have these wonderfully preserved links to our past.
Today, there are thirty-eight adobes still standing within the county. Many are historical museums and parks open for all to enjoy, but quite a few are still used as private residences or offices. Although the addresses of the private adobes are given and some may be viewed from the outside, please respect the privacy of others and do not disturb the occupants. It is my hope that you enjoy this book and appreciate the beauty of these old adobe structures, which are a great part of our rich Southern California heritage.
John Kielbasa
September 1996
Historic Adobes of Los Angeles County © 1997 John R. Kielbasa
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