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Lopez Adobe

When the City of San Fernando celebrated its centennial anniversary in 1974, the newly restored Lopez Adobe opened its doors to the public. What an appropriate way to commemorate the history of the small city-the dedication of one of its oldest residences which belong to the "First Family of San Fernando." The two-story Monterey-type adobe town house was completed in 1883 by Valentin Lopez. It still remains standing at 1100 Pico Street and is described as being a fine example of Southern California architecture of the post-Mission era. One of the striking features of the house is that the upper and lower stories have verandas with hand cut wooden railings and a jigsaw pattern balustrade, which is painted in a turquoise blue. This beautiful house is furnished to reflect the period between 1883 to 1910.

Although built by Valentin Lopez, the house was primarily occupied by the family of his sister Catalina and her husband, Geronimo Lopez. They had thirteen children, nine of which survived to adulthood. The family had lived in the area long before the city of San Fernando was even conceived and had become known as the town's "First Family." Members of the Lopez family lived in the adobe home until 1962. Geronimo and Catalina were not only husband and wife, they were also cousins. They were members of the same family, which was rich in tradition and history.

Lopez Adobe
Photos: LAOkay.com

The Lopez family was among the early pioneers in Alta California under Spanish rule. They were among the settlers led by Lieutenant Jose Joaquin Moraga who founded El Pueblo San Jose de Guadalupe (San Jose) on November 29, 1777. The city of San Jose is California's oldest civil settlement. It was a Lopez who made the first discovery of gold in commercial quantities in California. The location was in Canon de los Encinos (Canyon of the Oaks) which is now known as Placerita Canyon. The site of this golden discovery is approximately five miles east of Newhall in the San Fernando Hills. This find preceded James Marshall's discovery at Coloma, California by nearly six years.

It was on March 9, 1842, when Jose (Francisco) de Gracia Lopez made this exciting find. Francisco was the mayordomo or overseer of Rancho San Francisco, which was owned by Ygnacio de Valle at the time. The area now known as Placerita Canyon was within the boundaries of Rancho San Francisco. On the morning of the 9th, Lopez and two other men set out to round up stray stock. Later that afternoon, Francisco grew tired and decided to take a nap beneath a live oak tree. Legend says that he dreamt of finding gold and became a wealthy man. When he woke up, Francisco felt hungry. With his knife, he dug up some wild onions growing by the tree for his lunch. He noticed shining particles resembling gold attached to the roots. Digging some more in the area he found additional pebbles. Francisco brought this golden substance to Abel Stearns in Los Angeles who verified that it was in fact gold.

Francisco attempted to file the first gold claim ever in California with the governor, but for an unknown reason he never received a response. The discovery created an insignificant gold rush. At its peak there were no more than 100 miners in the vicinity. It never received the notoriety of the Gold Rush of 1849. After the Coloma discovery, many of the miners left to attempt to make their fortunes in the north. However, Placerita Canyon yielded approximately $80.000 worth of gold. In 1843, Francisco found gold in nearby San Feliciano Canyon. The "Oak of the Golden Dream" still stands in Placerita Canyon State and County Park along Placerita Canyon Road. It is marked by a plaque indicating it as State Registered Landmark 168. Francisco was an uncle of Catalina Lopez.

Francisco's brother, Pedro Lopez, was Catalina's father. He was the mayordomo (manager) of the Mission San Fernando in 1837. Catalina Lopez was born in 1831. She lived at the San Fernando Mission when her father assumed the responsibilities of mayordomo. It was in 1837 that Catalina's nine-year-old cousin, Geronimo Lopez, came to live at the Mission. It was during this time they became childhood sweethearts. Young Catalina lived at the Mission until 1847, when she went off to school in the pueblo of Los Angeles. Soon after, Pedro Lopez retired to a small ranch he purchased from General Andres Pico. This ranch was located about two miles northwest of the present city of San Fernando. He built a large adobe house and planted vineyards and fruit trees. The property had a fine spring of water for irrigation. Catalina returned from Los Angeles to live with her father after her marriage to Geronimo. They were married on September 9, 1851.

Geronimo Lopez was born on September 30, 1828, in the pueblo of Los Angeles. He was educated at a private school, which was conducted at La Casa de Cahuenga, the home of Tomas Feliz. He knew nothing at the time, of course, but he was to take part in history a few years later at the very site of his school. In 1846, the United States was at war with Mexico. Several battles took place on the California theater. Geronimo Lopez was only eighteen years old when he served as a scout for General Andres Pico, the leader of the Californio (Spanish Californians) Lancers. On January 10, 1847, American forces under the command of General Stephen W. Kearny and Commodore Robert F. Stockton took possession of Los Angeles. In the meantime, Lieutenant Colonel John C. Fremont and his "Buckskin Battalion" were en route from the north. On January 10th, he was camped in the vicinity of Castaic Lake near present day Newhall. General Andres Pico, who had recently been appointed the supreme commander of the Californio forces, sent young Geronimo Lopez with a "flag of truce" to meet with Fremont. He carried correspondence from Pico regarding plans to negotiate a peace agreement.

The brave young man was frightened, but he was put at ease by Fremont. The two were to become good friends later in life. Fremont sent back Geronimo with a response to Pico who was camped at the Verdugo's Rancho San Pascual. On January 11th, Fremont arrived at the San Fernando Mission where he camped for the night. Here Fremont met and befriended Pedro Lopez, the mayordomo of the mission. The following day, a treaty was drawn up which included the terms of surrender for the Californios. On January 13, 1847, General Pico and Fremont met at La Casa de Cahuenga where they ratified and signed the Treaty of Cahuenga, thus ending the war in California. Geronimo Lopez was present as a witness to history. La Casa de Cahuenga still stands at 3939 Lankershim Boulevard in Universal City, directly across the street from Universal Studios.

Following the marriage of Catalina and Geronimo, the couple went to live with Catalina's father, Pedro Lopez, at his ranch. They remained with him until he died in 1861. Pedro's property was bequeathed to Geronimo and Catalina. In 1855, the couple purchased their own acreage nearby from a Maria de los Angeles Burrow. This forty acre plot of land, located a short distance northeast of the mission in a valley which was to become the community of Sylmar, had an excellent water source in the form of the San Fernando Creek. Lopez paid Burrow $4.00 an acre for the property. It was part on an original 200-acre grant that belonged to an Indian named Samuel. He received this grant in 1845 in recognition for his service to the San Fernando Mission.

In 1861, Geronimo built a large adobe house on this site. It was built large enough to accommodate his large family. The Lopezes had thirteen children, nine girls and four boys. Their names were Jose Jesus, Luisa, Pablo, Mary, Celeste, Grace, Miguel, Ramona, Steven, Catherine (Kate), Sara, Erlinda, and Ruby. Catalina always had at least one of their children living with them. Nine of the Lopez children married spouses with Anglo backgrounds. When the children reached adulthood, each was given their own home with a piece of land. One son, Pablo Lopez, was given an area north of the San Fernando which is now named for him, Lopez Canyon.

The large adobe Geronimo built was situated on the road used by the famous Butterfield Stage Line. Here Lopez established a stage stop and a general store, which was called Lopez Station.

Lopez Station
Photo: San Fernando Valley Historical Society

This valley stop would expect two stages a week from Los Angeles en route to San Francisco. Lopez Station served the Butterfield Stage Line throughout its run from 1861 until 1874. When the railroad was completed linking Northern and Southern California, stagecoach travel became obsolete. In 1868, Lopez Station was also became an overnight stop for Remi Nadeau's Cerro Gordo Freighting Company. Nadeau ran freight wagons hauled by teams of sixteen or more mules back and forth from San Pedro to the Cerro Gordo mines in the rugged Sierra Nevada Mountains in Inyo County.

Geronimo Lopez started the first English-speaking school in the valley in 1860. He hired an English-speaking teach to come teach class in a small building used as an old stage depot at Lopez Station. The Lopez children attended classes here. Later, in 1884 when a new school district was created in San Fernando this school was consolidated with the schools in the town. Geronimo Lopez, who always emphasized the importance of education, became one of the first school board members of this new school district. In 1869 Geronimo was the first to establish a post office in the San Fernando Valley at Lopez Station and became the first post master.

Being a remote outpost, Lopez Station received many travelers. Don Geronimo and Dona Catalina were always the most gracious hosts. Their hospitality was known throughout California. The Lopezes opened their doors to everyone, from the rich and powerful, right down to impoverished vagrants. Everybody, regardless of social standing, received the utmost kindness and generosity at the Lopez home. Throughout most of the nineteenth century, the northeastern part of the San Fernando Valley was virtually unsettled. The only structures that early travelers would see were the mission and Lopez Station. Then, in 1874, with the advent of the Southern Pacific Railroad, the subdividers and the homesteaders came to the vacant valley.

In the spring of 1874 three prominent men from Northern California, Benjamin F. Porter, George K. Porter and Senator Charles Maclay purchased the entire northern half of the San Fernando Valley. Senator Maclay platted out 1000 acres on his share of the land adjacent to the railroad tracks to be used as a townsite. On September 16, 1874, Maclay filed a subdivision map of the city of San Fernando with the Los Angles County Recorder and a new town was born. San Fernando was the first city founded in the valley. Plots of land immediately went on sale. Twenty-five foot town lots were sold from $10 to $25. Farm lots were selling between $5 an $40 an acre. Maclay Street is named for the Senator.

Geronimo Lopez constructed the first building in the new town at the corner DeCelis and Maclay Streets. The building was a small structure made of adobe walls, three feet thick, and a shake roof. It was completed in 1874 and was used as an office by Senator Maclay and George Porter. Years later, the structure was replaced by the city's first federal building and post office.

In 1883, Valentin Lopez began construction of the Lopez Adobe on the northwest corner of Pico and Maclay Streets in the infant city of San Fernando. Pico Street was named in honor of General Andres Pico. He built the house in the two story Monterey style, which was popular in California in the mid to late 1800s. He also included some attributes, which reflected the Victorian style of architecture. The walls were two feet thick and were made by sun-dried adobe brick, twenty-four inches by six inches in dimension. The original roof was made of wood shake and gables at two ends. The adobe originally planned to have seven rooms. The original house had a living room and dining room on the first level, and three bedrooms on the upper level. A porch and balcony were built around three sides of the house. Each upstairs bedroom had its own door opening up to the balcony. A rear stairway led to the upper balcony. There was a single story structure built near the house that was used as an area for food preparation. It has since been attached to the main house.

Lopez Adobe
Photos: LAOkay.com

Valentin Lopez completed the house in 1883 and lived there for about one year. When Valentin moved out the house, his sister and brother-in-law made the place their new family home. Catalina planted a beautiful garden at adobe. She developed a love for gardening when she lived at the San Fernando Mission and brought her talents to the new house.

Lopez Station was no longer a remote outpost, therefore it was no longer needed. The Lopez family wanted to live in the growing city, so old adobe stage stop was razed. The Lopez Station site was eventually acquired by the city of Los Angeles. In 1913, the city built the San Fernando Reservoir on the property. Today, it is known as the Van Norman Reservoir.

In April 1889, the San Fernando Times, the first newspaper in the city, was published at the Lopez Adobe. The newspaper operated here for one year.

Don Geronimo and Dona Catalina lived their later years in the adobe town house. So that old couple would not be lonely, each of their daughters came to live with them. They alternated living in the house and brought their own families with them, so that the house was never empty. Catalina Lopez passed away in 1918. Geronimo Lopez followed his beloved wife a few years later when he died on April 24, 1921, at the Lopez Adobe. He aged ninety-one years.

The adobe was passed on to the Lopez children. Some decided to make the place their own residence. In 1926, the first substantial remodeling was done to the home. The single level adobe cooking house was attached to the main house. An arched doorway was placed at the old breezeway and the old screened porch facing the patio was enclosed enlarging the kitchen area. This section along with the original dining room of the main house and a bath in the single story wing was closed off creating its own apartment. The large living room, the dining room, the small kitchen, and a bathroom was segregated becoming another apartment. The second story bedrooms were converted into separate apartments also. A narrow hallway divided the upstairs bedrooms creating five rooms out of the previous three. All rooms were connected by the hallway. The original floors were covered over by two-inch tongue and groove flooring.

In 1928, when Louisa Lopez McAlonan occupied the house, she had replaced the shake roof with the current red tile roof in an attempt recreate the Mission style. This was not a popular alteration. Many criticized that this ruined the authentic character of the late 1800s adobe. Mrs. McAlonan may have been influenced by the Mission-Revival style of architecture, which made a resurgence in the 1920s.

From 1935, Catherine (Kate) Lopez Millen lived in an apartment in the upper level of the Lopez adobe. She remained there until her death in 1961. She was the last of the Lopez children to occupy the place as a home. During the 1950s, the east side ground floor apartment was leased to doctor and used as a medical office. The other two apartments were rented to private tenants. Mrs. Millen's children; William Millen and C. Louisa Millen Penney showed as being owners the house when a chain of title search was done in 1967 by Ticor Title Insurance Company of Los Angeles. The children of Kate Millen sold the adobe in 1970.

On February 9, 1971 a large earthquake rocked an unsuspecting Southern California. The epicenter was in nearby Sylmar. The Lopez Adobe sustained substantial damage. The City of San Fernando purchased the adobe and grounds on March 10, 1972. The purchase was made possible by a grant for the purpose of historic preservation. They commenced to repair the earthquake-damaged house. The majority of the roof tiles had to be replaced and the adobe walls were reinforced with cement plaster. Inside, all the floors and the stairway were repaired. The rear patio was fixed and Mexican tiles were placed around the base of the old fountain. The exterior was painted to match the original color of the house as it looked in 1883.

Restoration efforts were completed in 1974 and the Lopez adobe was officially dedicated and opened to the public on March 8, 1975. The dedication was one of a series of events in the celebration of San Fernando's 100-year anniversary.

Through donations by local families, the newly restored house was nearly filled with antique furnishings. By 1982, the house was completely furnished. The style of the interior is reflective of the period between 1883 to 1910. Things on display include; old books, dolls, quilts, clothing, and various household items that date back to the time when Don Geronimo and Dona Catalina lived at the house. Also displayed are some of the former possessions of Jessie Benton Fremont, the wife of John C. Fremont. The Fremonts were good friends of Geronimo and Catalina Lopez. These articles were given to Catalina when Mrs. Fremont died.

The old house is on a large corner lot situated between two busy thoroughfares. Its location is unlike most adobe museums, which are situated within a park-like setting. But, what the grounds lack in space, more than makes up for it in beauty. Lofty palms and manicured rose bushes, as well as a variety of other trees, flowers, and bushes, decorate the yard area nicely. The lush landscape surrounding the rear patio provides a tranquil atmosphere, where one would hardly notice vehicle traffic rushing by only yards away.

The Lopez Adobe is registered as a National Historic Site. It is also a recognized by the State of California and the County of Los Angeles as a historic landmark. The adobe is operated as a museum by the San Fernando Historical Site and Preservation Commission.

The Lopez Adobe  Official Website
1100 Pico Street, San Fernando, CA 91340   Map
818 365-7810

Open the the public
Open the the public 4th Sunday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

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