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The Rancho San Jose was a Mexican land grant given to two prominent families from Los Angeles in 1837. The Palomares and Vejar families divided the rancho located in the eastern part of Los Angeles county. This land was originally controlled by the San Gabriel Mission. The mission grazed sheep in the beautiful Pomona Valley nestled between the hills of La Puente, San Jose, Padua, and the San Gabriel Mountains. After secularization the immense land holdings of the missions was available for public use. Rancho San Jose, named in honor of Saint Joseph, was 22,000 acres. It encompassed an area, which today includes the entire city of Pomona and significant portions of the towns of Claremont, La Verne, and San Dimas.
Throughout its illustrious history, there were several adobe haciendas built within the old boundaries of San Jose. Compared to most other land grants in Southern California which have long since vanished into oblivion, the Rancho San Jose has several sites which serve as testimonials to its existence when the rancheros were monarchs of the land. Ygancio Palomares built two adobe homes, which survive today. The first house or "La Casa Primera" was built in 1837, and was the first structure in the Pomona Valley. It still stands near Ganesha Park at 1569 North Park Avenue in the city of Pomona. Palomares built his second family home about a mile from the first in 1854. This place, simply known as Adobe de Palomares, currently stands in Palomares Park at 491 East Arrow Highway. La Casa Alvarado is a neighbor to La Casa Primera. This house of adobe was built in 1840 by Ygnacio Alvarado, a good friend of the Palomares'. It survives as a private residence at 1469 Old Settlers Lane. Then, there is the Carrion Adobe, which still stands within the city limits of nearby La Verne at 919 Puddingstone Drive. This home was constructed in 1868 by Saturnio Carrion, a nephew of Ygnacio Palomares. The Carrion Adobe is also a private home and not open to the public.
In the post adobe period, the Phillips Mansion was constructed at what is now 2640 Pomona Boulevard in Pomona. Louis Phillips acquired the southern section of Rancho San Jose from Ricardo Vejar in 1866 and built his three-story brick mansion in 1875. This house is open to the public. It is unfortunate that none of the adobe haciendas belonging to the Vejar family survived for preservation. However, the legacy of the Vejar family is memorialized in the form of street names. Vejar Street in Pomona and Vejar Road in the city of Walnut serve as reminders of this proud pioneer family. Then there is the Palomares Cemetery, which is located on the west side of Towne Avenue in the 2400 block. This old burial ground contains many members of Pomona's pioneer families.
So why does this area of Los Angeles County have so many surviving components of its early history? Part of it is due to the tremendous preservation efforts by various community organizations. Another reason may be that development in this part of the county has been relatively slow. Up until the early 1980's, the hills surrounding the Pomona Valley were sparsely populated. Today, the once barren hills are now covered with tract homes, thus allowing another area with country charm to become obliterated by greedy developers. However, as compared to other parts of the county, growth has been slow. It is amazing to see that the Gabrielino Indians, the first people to live in the area, were able to cling to their homeland well into the 1880's, while a majority of other indigenous people throughout Southern California had vanished at least four decades earlier.
Long before noisy earth-moving equipment and construction crews invaded the vicinity, the Pomona Valley knew a more simple and peaceful time. It was a time where all sorts of wildlife roamed free among the endless fields and the grassy hillsides with wild oak, sycamore, and willow trees scattered throughout the countryside. Wild flowers bloomed in the spring adding color to the green grass. Water was plentiful in the valley. The Arroyo de San Antonio flowed down from the huge mountain sharing the same name. Mount San Antonio, sometimes known by its more popular name, Mount Baldy, loomed over the plain to the north. Arroyo de San Dimas percolated down from the mountains through the western section of the valley. Arroyo de San Jose and Arroyo Pedregoso (Rocky Stream) closely paralleled each other through the gap between the San Jose Hills and La Puente Hills to the south.
This valley paradise was a perfect home for the Native American Indians, known as Gabrielinos. They lived peacefully here in thatched shelters called wickiups. There was an ample supply of food and water. They engaged in trade with the coastal Indians as well as those from the neighboring mountains and deserts. Tobacco grew in the "cienegas" or swamps along the banks of streams. The Indians lived harmoniously here until the arrival of the Spaniards. Following the creation of The San Gabriel Mission in 1771, soldiers under the directions of the mission padres forcibly brought the native people into the mission system. They were converted to Catholicism and were compelled to work for the mission.
There were several large rancherias or villages in the valley. The Gabrielino name for the area was "Toibingna". Hugo Reid, a ranchero and Gabrielino historian, has recorded the names of Toybipet, Toibina and Tojvingna as being other possible names of one of the main rancherias in the vicinity. According to Gabrielino legend, these names come from the root word "Tojts". Tojts refers to a "devil woman" who lived nearby. She was an evil being or spirit from the rancheria at Mount San Antonio. There has been consistent legends circulating about a mysterious evil woman who was banished to the mountains in this area. The Luiseno Indian word "towis" which is close to the Gabrielino "tojts" means devil. So a very loose translation of Toibingna may mean the "Place of the Evil One." It seems difficult to understand why the Gabrielinos gave such a foreboding name to such a beautiful place, but be sure that the reason was significant to them.
These local villages survived much longer than their counterparts in the county. A survey map circa 1874 indicated that there was still a rancheria in existence at Towne and San Bernardino Avenues in Pomona. There was a thriving village in what is now Ganesha Park, just south of the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds. There was an Indian settlement in the vicinity of an area known as "Mud Springs." This was located near San Dimas Canyon Drive and Palomares Avenue on the La Verne-San Dimas border. Another rancheria of substantial size was located on top of Indian Hill in what is now in the city of Claremont. In 1870, there were as many as 200 Indians living there. The last to remain at this place vacated in 1883. Today the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden and the Claremont Golf Course now occupy this site.
In 1774, the party of Juan Bautista de Anza passed through the valley. They began their trek in Sonora, Mexico. They crossed the Colorado and went through the brutal Mojave Desert. They entered the Pomona Valley from the southeast and camped overnight near Mud Springs. They went on to establish a presidio at San Francisco. Another famous party passed through the area in 1826. This party consisted of fifteen fur trappers led by Jedediah Strong Smith. They blazed a trail from the Great Salt Lake, crossing the Rocky Mountains, becoming the first Americans to reach California via an overland route. They too stopped at Mud Springs before continuing on to the San Gabriel Mission. Today, a monument near San Dimas Canyon Road and Palomares Avenue commemorates the site of Mud Springs and the campsites of the two historic expeditions.
In 1834, the Mexican government secularized the Spanish established missions. Most of the vast land holdings belonging to the missions were sold to private citizens and converted to ranchos. The acreage of the San Gabriel Mission was divided and sold. Since 1771, the Pomona Valley was occupied by the San Gabriel Mission. Secularization caused the valley to become available for private use. Ygnacio Palomares and Ricardo Vejar took advantage of this and put in a claim for the ex-mission land. Both men owned a considerable amount of horses and cattle, which they kept at the 4400-acre Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas. At the time, Rancho de las Aguas was owned by Maria Rita Valdez de Villa, a widow of an army sergeant and the mother of seven children. She also grazed her own stock among the hills of this land. The place was too crowded for the livestock of three families, so Palomares and Vejar sought to get their own place.
In the spring of 1837, the Palomares and Vejar families loaded their possessions on to crudely built ox-drawn carretas (carts), rounded up their cattle and horses, and departed for the Pomona Valley. Along the way, they stopped at the San Gabriel Mission where Padre Jose Maria Zalvidea joined the party. On March 19th, on the feast day of Saint Joseph, the two families stopped and gathered by a giant oak tree. Father Zalvidea held a Benediction for the families and blessed their new home. They named the area San Jose in honor of Saint Joseph. The site of this blessing of the land is approximately two blocks south of Ganesha Park. The aged oak was cut down in 1922. Soon afterward, the Pomona Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a bronze tablet on the remaining stump, while an oak seedling was planted next to the site of the old tree. The monument marking the site of the "Blessing Land" can be found at 458 Kenoak Place, Pomona.
On March 27, 1837, Ygnacio Palomares and Ricardo Vejar filed a petition with Governor Juan B. Alvarado for "the place being vacant which is known by the name San Jose, distant some six leagues, more or less, from the Ex-Mission San Gabriel." Alvarado submitted their plea to the ayuntamiento (city council) of Los Angeles for inspection. The ayuntamiento returned with a recommendation that the land be granted to the two men to conform with the laws of colonization. Governor Alvarado approved the petition and granted Rancho San Jose to Palomares and Vejar. The two rancheros divided the grant between themselves. Palomares took possession of the northern half, which became known as Rancho San Jose Arriba (Upper), and Vejar settled in the southern half, which became known as Rancho San Jose Abajo (Lower).
On August 3, 1837, Jose Sepulveda, the alcalde (mayor) of Los Angeles rode out to San Jose with two chain bearers. The proceeded to survey and map out the rancho boundaries. They started at a black willow tree at the southeast corner of the valley. They place a cross of dried wooden sticks between the branches as a marker. From here, they headed west to the Puente Hills and circumvented the valley back to the start encompassing 22,000 acres. Along the way they left such informal landmarks as wooden crosses or the skull of a bullock set inside an oak tree. These informal markings often led to difficulties for rancheros trying to prove their land claims in later years.
The patented boundary lines of the Rancho San Jose are as follows:
Beginning at the Los Angeles-San Bernardino County Line at the Santa Fe railroad tracks, the eastern boundary went southwesterly, following along the county line. It continued along the south and eastern city limits of Pomona to a point near the Orange Freeway and Temple Avenue. The line followed along Temple Avenue to where the road leaves Pomona and curves west. From here, a northwesterly line cuts through Cal Poly Pomona, San Dimas, and stopped at the eastern city limits of Covina at Bellport Street. From this point, a forty-five degree angle branched in a northeast direction through San Dimas to the convergence of Foothill Boulevard and Base Line Road. The boundary line continued east along Foothill Boulevard, through La Verne, and back to the starting point at the county line.
According to earlier surveys the original boundary lines of the grant appeared to have included more area. The line dividing San Jose Abajo and San Jose Arriba was roughly a block or so north of today's Holt Avenue in Pomona. At about Huntington Boulevard the dividing line diverted to the northwest, skirting the west banks of Puddingstone Reservoir and on to the northwest corner of the rancho, where the boundary line crosses Bonita Avenue.
Both Palomares and Vejar were born into respectable Spanish families. Ricardo Vejar was the son of Salvador Vejar and Maria Josefa Lopez. He came to San Diego from Mexico in 1792. Salvador worked as an instructor of carpentry. The Vejars moved to Monterey in 1796, but returned to San Diego by 1802. Ricardo was born in San Diego, possibly in 1811. His older brother, Pablo, served as a soldier at the San Diego Presidio from 1821, but was later transferred to Monterey. Pablo was one of the leaders of a revolt there in 1828, and as a result, he was deported to Mexico in 1830. Pablo Vejar eventually returned to California and fought against American forces during the Mexican War. In the Battle of San Pasqual, (fought near present day Escondido) on December 6, 1846. Pablo Vejar was taken prisoner by the Americans. He was later released in a prisoner exchange.
Ricardo Vejar, although illiterate, was a man of prominence. In 1833, he served as Juez de Campo (Country Judge) in Los Angeles. He became a successful rancher of cattle and fine horses. In 1847, he made a request for his own land grant separate to that of San Jose. He received Rancho Los Nogales, which adjoined San Jose to the south. This triangular-shaped property was a little over 1,000 acres. This area became the city of Walnut, derived from the English translation of Los Nogales (the walnut trees). Vejar also maintained a winery. He was one of the wealthiest men in Los Angeles county. In 1851 he was assessed for $34,000 in personal property. In 1858, he was worth $42,000 being the fourth richest man in the county.
Don Ricardo built his adobe on the lower portion of Rancho San Jose along the Arroyo Pedregosos at the base of Puente Hills in 1837. He abandoned this home in 1844 due to its vulnerability to the open range and being prone to Indian raids. This adobe has since vanished many years ago. The approximate site of this structure is located in Pomona near the intersection of Mission Boulevard and Roselawn Avenue. Vejar built a second adobe home on his Los Nogales rancho. The two-story Monterey type house, considered one of the finest adobe mansions in Southern California, it stood atop one of the lower, southern slopes of the San Jose Hills. Unfortunately, this splendid house was torn down in the 1950s. The Sheriff Station now occupies the site at Valley Boulevard and Grand Avenue in Walnut.
In 1855, Ramon Vejar built a second adobe house on Rancho Los Nogales. The house, near his hilltop home, was a wedding gift to his son, Ramon. Ramon had married a daughter of Ygnacio Palomares. This house stood near Arroyo Pedregosos on the site of present day Frank D. Lanterman State Hospital (formerly Pacific State Hospital) in Pomona. It was later discovered that the house was actually built on open land. This house is no longer exists.
Ygnacio Palomares was the son of Cristobal Palomares. Cristobal was a native of Spain who came to Mexico. As a soldier in Mexico, he was sent to Monterey in Alta California. From there he moved to Santa Barbara, and later Los Angeles, where he died leaving his family. Ygnacio Palomares married Concepcion Lopez, who was affectionately called "Dona China". She was a member of the Lopez family who first discovered gold in California at Placerita Canyon in March of 1842. The couple had eight children: Josefa, Carolina, Maria de Jesus, Francisco, Manuel, Tomas (who married Magdalena Vejar), Luis, and Teresa (who married Ramon Vejar).
Ygnacio Palomares was active in Los Angeles politics in the 1830s and 1840s. Like Vejar, he served as Juez de Campo in 1834, and in 1840. He was Juez de Paz (Justice of the Peace) in 1841 and a regidor (councilman) in 1835, and again in 1838. He was an elector in 1843, voting for Santa Ana for the President of Mexico. In 1844, he was Captain of the Defensores (militia) and the following year he served as an alternate in the assembly. He was elected mayor of Los Angeles in 1848, but California's new American government invalidated the election of Palomares and replaced him with an American named Stephan C. Foster.
In 1838, while serving as regidor in Los Angeles, Palomares took part in a rebellion against Governor Alvarado. This was the same Alvarado who granted Rancho San Jose to Palomares just one year before. Revolts in California were commonplace during this period. The Californios in the south were discontent with Alvarado's northern style of leadership. The rebels were led by Carlos Carrillo. Alvarado sent his main general, Jose Castro, south to quash the revolt. The two forces met at Mission San Juan Buenaventura on March 27, 1838. Carrillo's forces, Palomares being among them, were barricaded inside the mission compound. After two days of cannon barrages, Palomares escaped with Andres Pico and Luis Arenas, the latter of which was alcalde of Los Angeles at the time. They were captured by Castro's men near Saticoy, about ten miles east of the mission. The prisoners were taken to Santa Barbara, but were soon released by Alvarado. The rebellion was unsuccessful and Alvarado remained in power.
After Palomares received his San Jose grant in 1837, he began construction of his adobe house. He chose a site just south of the hills, which is today, Ganesha Park. This house, credited as being the first structure in the Pomona Valley, became known as "La Casa Primera", (The First House). It was the first of two adobe homes Don Ygnacio built for his family on Rancho San Jose. It was a single story house that consisted of five rooms arranged in a row. It had a wide, lengthy corridor along the front and wrapped around one of the sides. The roof was supported by slender wooden posts, probably from trees brought down from the Mount San Antonio. On the north side, there was a wood staircase that led to an attic. The house was typical of that era.
Between 1850 and 1854, Don Ygnacio had built a second house on an area he called his "San Antonio Vineyard", which was along the old San Bernardino Road which cut through his section of the rancho. "La Casa Madera", as it became known, was a much larger house. It had fifteen rooms to better accommodate his large family. The "T" shaped house had a cloth ceiling and a hipped roof made of shake. Like La Casa Primera, it was a single story structure and had an exterior corridor, which wrapped around the "T" portion. The original house had a corridor facing the patio as well. The old San Bernardino Road (now Arrow Highway) was the main path to all points east. It was a busy freight route and was well used by immigrants. In 1858, the famous Butterfield Stage Route started to use the old road on the way to San Francisco from St. Louis, Missouri. La Casa Madera became a popular way station for anyone wishing to take a respite from the long arduous journey. Don Ygnacio and Dona China were always the most amicable hosts.
Luis Arenas was the brother-in-law of Ygnacio Palomares. He came to California, possibly in 1834, with a group of colonists. He was the alcalde of Los Angeles in 1838, when Palomares served as regidor. Together they took part in the unsuccessful revolt against Alvarado that same year. Arenas wanted some grazing land for himself near Rancho San Jose. An additional league of land was requested to be attached to San Jose. The request was made through Governor Alvarado and on March 14, 1840, Rancho San Jose was enlarged and re-granted to Palomares, Vejar, and Arenas. It appears that Alvarado did not hold a grudge against his former adversaries.
Palomares retained his north part of the rancho, while Vejar kept his southern portion. Arenas received the northwest section, which became the 4,430-acre Rancho San Jose Addition. Arenas selected a homesite on the Palomares part of the rancho. He built his home near a spring along the San Bernardino Road. The Arenas house, which no longer stands, was located near the intersection of McKinley and Gibbs Avenues in Pomona. His livestock grazed on the San Jose Addition, which today include parts of Glendora, Covina, and San Dimas.
On November 8, 1841, Arenas received another league of land adjacent to Rancho San Jose Addition. It was called Rancho El Susa, which consisted of 4,431 acres. Arenas received the land by a grant from Governor (pro-tem) Manuel Jimeno. In 1844, Henry Dalton, a native of England, bought both ranchos belonging to Arenas for $7,000. He chose Rancho El Susa as his home renaming it Azusa de Dalton. Rancho Azusa de Dalton became what is now the City of Azusa. Dalton built a house here on a place known as Dalton Hill. The Dalton homesite was near 6th Street and Cerritos Avenue in Azusa.
Henry Dalton, known to the Mexicans as Don Enrique, made fortune as a trader of goods in Lima, Peru. He came to California in 1843 and continued his shipping trade. He married a daughter of Agustin Vincente Zamarano of Monterey. In 1845, he participated in a revolt against Governor Manuel Micheltorena, and the following year he was placed in charge of the San Gabriel Mission. Including the addition to San Jose and Azusa, he eventually acquired over 31,000 acres of ex-mission property. He was the grantee of Rancho San Francisquito (8,893 acres), and in 1847, he purchased Rancho Santa Anita (13,319 acre) for $2,700. Dalton ultimately lost the majority of his land as a result of court costs he incurred in order to pay for over twenty-four years of litigation against squatter's claims on his property.
In 1845, Henry Dalton persuaded Ricardo Vejar to request a formal partition of Rancho San Jose. Ygnacio Palomares was reluctant at first, but was curious as to what he owned and agreed to the partition. The request was made to Judge Juan Gallardo, who was then the alcalde of Los Angeles. A surveyor was hired to map out the divisions. His name was Jasper O'Farrell, or to the Mexicans he was known as Don Gaspar de Farrell. O'Farrell two years later, would survey and officially mapped the City of San Francisco. It took O'Farrell five days to survey the property and produced a map for Judge Gallardo. On February 12, 1846, the partition was approved. Ygnacio Palomares was not satisfied with the outcome and disputed the findings of the partition for years to come in a series of legal battles.
At the beginning of the American period, all the Spanish and Mexican land grants in California had to be validated by the new government. Rancheros had to prove they owned what they say they did. Ygnacio Palomares filed a petition for a United States title to Rancho San Jose in September of 1852. Ricardo Vejar filed his petition for title one month later. That same year, Henry Dalton filed claims for his part of Rancho San Jose and his Rancho Azusa. It was not until January 20, 1875, that a United States Patent was issued to Palomares, Vejar and Dalton for San Jose.
Rancho San Jose was hit with difficult times during the 1860's. In 1862, a deadly smallpox epidemic broke out. Many Indians in the Pomona Valley died and many others fled into the mountains. Don Ygnacio's youngest daughter died as a result of the deadly disease. Both his oldest and youngest sons died, but from other causes. In the spring of 1864, Don Ygnacio became ill and died on November 8, 1864. Drought during the early part of the decade brought additional tragedy. Cattle died by the thousands throughout California. Rancho San Jose was not spared. Many ranch owners borrowed money from shrewd American merchants at high interest rates. Many could not pull through and lost their properties by default. Ricardo Vejar, once one of the wealthiest men in Southern California, had to secure a private loan to attempt to keep his rancho. In 1863, unable to repay a loan of $30,000, Don Ricardo was compelled to give up the deed to his section of San Jose to his creditors. He lived the rest of his years in the Spadra area with his family. He died in poverty in 1882.
Isaac Schlesinger and Hyman Tischler, a pair of American businessmen, assumed ownership of Vejar's land, but never took possession of it. Shortly after acquiring Vejar's 12,000 acres, Schlesinger, while en route to San Francisco, was killed in an explosion while aboard a steamboat. The vessel, S.S. Ada Hancock, exploded violently in Los Angeles Harbor near Wilmington on April 27, 1863 killing twenty-six people. Not long after Schlesinger's death, Tischler and a companion, Edward Newsman, were riding from the ranch to San Bernardino when they were ambushed by a group of Mexicans. Newsman was shot and killed, but Tischler had escaped. It was assumed that Tischler was the intended target, the attack being motivated by retaliation for his role in the Vejar foreclosure. Realizing that occupation of the ranch may prove fatal, Tischler hired Louis Phillips, to operate the ranch for him.
Louis Phillips was a native son of Germany, although he had a French name. He first settled in Louisiana before coming to California in 1850. In California he owned a small business on Long Wharf in San Francisco. He moved to Los Angeles in 1853 where he became a merchant. He was living at Paredon Blanco, which is now Boyle Heights, when he was asked to take care of Rancho San Jose Abajo. He received $100 a month and half of any increase in livestock from the new owner. On April 6, 1866, Louis Phillips received a quitclaim deed from Tischler for the rancho for a consideration of $30,000.
Phillips lived at the Vejar adobe when he first occupied the ranch. Later, in 1875, he built a three-story brick mansion at what is now 2640 Pomona Boulevard in Pomona. It was designed in the Second Empire, Napoleon III style, and was the first brick structure in the valley. He lived at the brick house until his death on March 16, 1900. This house which is extant, is restored and open to the public on the first Sunday of every month. Today the area is known as Phillips Ranch.
Phillips began selling sections of his ranch to other parties who used the land for farming. This started the subdivision and development on Rancho San Jose. Soon after he purchased his one-third of the rancho, he sold some land to William Rubottom just across the road from where Phillips was to build his brick mansion. William Rubottom, who went by the nickname of "Uncle Billy", was living at El Monte at the time he purchased land from Phillips. He built a house and a tavern in between Arroyo de San Jose and arroyo Pedregoso in the southwest part of the rancho. The place became a renown stage stop and hotel known as "Rubottom's." A thriving community was here between 1866 and 1870. Rubottom established a post office and named the settlement Spadra, after his hometown of Spadra Bluffs, Arkansas. This townsite, which was the first American settlement in the valley, was eventually absorbed by the city of Pomona.
The Palomares family also began selling off their portion of San Jose. Dona Concepcion sold seventy acres to Robert S. Arnett in 1868. In 1870, Cyrus Burdick bought land in what is now Ganesha Park, where he raised orange trees. In 1873, Reverend Charles F. Loop and Alvin R. Meserve purchased 2,000 acres of Palomares land in the northwest section of the rancho. The price was a mere eight dollars an acre and included La Casa Madera. The Meserve family made the adobe their residence for over ten years. At the Loop and Meserve Tract, the new owners began experimenting in horticulture growing citrus trees, grapes and olives. They subdivided the tract into farms and sold them to settlers. The valley, which once bloomed with wild flowers, was now blossoming with fruit orchards.
In 1873, Louis Phillips gave land to the Southern Pacific Railroad to be used as a private right-of-way through his ranch. In January 1874, the railroad arrived in Spadra from Los Angeles. The railroad stimulated interest in planning a town. In 1874, the Los Angeles Immigrant and Land Co-operative Association was formed to facilitate the sales of real estate in the vicinity. The Association purchased 5,000 acres from Phillips, and also acquired land from Cyrus Burdick and the Palomares family in April 1875. In the summer of 1875, the Association set aside 2,500 acres east of Spadra adjacent to the railroad. Here, they plotted a townsite that included farm lots. The new town was to be called Palomares in honor of the pioneer family who first settled the valley. But, a local fruit grower by the name of Solomon Gates proposed that a more appropriate name would be "Pomona", after the Roman goddess of fruit. It was decided that Pomona would be the name of the new town and a map was filed with the Los Angeles County Recorder in August 1875.
Pomona got off to a slow start. By 1880, there were only 130 people living in the town. In 1882, the Pomona Land and Water Company, led by Cyrus T. Mills and Moses L. Wicks, purchased the subdivided interests in Pomona. The company secured water rights and made great improvements to the town. The magnificent Palomares Hotel was erected in 1883, and enlarged in 1888. At the time, it was revered as a premier establishment comparable to grandiose hotels in Pasadena. The wood structure burned to the ground in 1911. In June 1887, Pomona was incorporated as a city with a population of 3,500.
Francisco Palomares was the second to the youngest son of Don Ygnacio Palomares and Dona Concepcion. When his father died, he assumed the position of the family patriarch. In 1867, he moved into the unoccupied adobe known as La Casa Primera with his beautiful bride, Lugarda. Here, they raised four children. He planted orange trees near the house, some of which still survive in the front garden area. Like his father, Francisco Palomares was philanthropic and active in community service. In 1873, he was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. That same year, he donated land for a school to be built in Pomona and was elected to the school board. He was credited with sinking the first artesian wells in the Pomona Valley and formed the first water company. William Mulholland, who in 1905 would bring water to a thirsty Los Angeles with his famous aqueduct from the Owens Valley, was his assistant. Palomares was one of the organizers of the Los Angeles Immigration & Land Co-operative Association, which platted out the township of Pomona.
Palomares took it upon himself to care for the local Indians by giving them food and clothing. He freely dispensed advice and assisted any way he could. If an Indian was arrested and jailed, he would bail them out. The Gabrielinos respected him and repaid his kindness by making him an honorary chief. In January 1882, Francisco fell from his mule injuring his leg. His condition worsened and he died a few days thereafter on January 11, 1882. After his death, the Indians came and performed an ancient ritual for their departed "chief". He was buried at the family cemetery on Towne Avenue. Perhaps the death of Palomares may have been a significant factor resulting in the last of the Gabrielinos leaving Indian Hill in 1883. Maybe his unselfish efforts aided to their survival, and they were able to outlive many other native settlements in this region.
La Casa Primera was occupied by various families as a private residence until 1973,
when the city of Pomona purchased the old adobe. On May 25, 1975 the Native Daughters of the Golden west,
Rancho San Jose Parlor #307 placed a plaque on the front exterior wall of the house. Today, the property is
owned and operated by the Pomona Valley Historical Society. The Historical Society furnished the six
remaining rooms with authentic furniture and artifacts dating back to the nineteenth century.
It has been reported that the house was originally larger than what survives today. There may have been some rooms attached to the rear of the house that no longer exist. The missing rooms may have been older than the remaining ones. The adobe walls are two and a half feet in thickness and are whitewashed. A low sweeping shake roof extends over the wide corridor creating ample shade on sunny afternoons. Trees and shrubs abound upon the grounds with some plantings going back to the Palomares era. The front of the house is complimented by an old fashion garden. Here, jasmine, oleanders, roses, tulips, and lilies bloom in the sunshine. Orange and peach trees are mixed in the garden, along with yuccas and pomegranates. The tall palm trees stretch upward as do the oak and avocado trees. Nearby, an old water ditch lined with stones can be seen. Located at 1569 North Park Avenue, Pomona, La Casa Primera is a museum operated by the Pomona Valley Historical Society. It also serves as their main office. More photos
Adobe de Palomares or "La Casa Madera" (The Wooden House) was so named because
its roof was made of wood. Hand cut wood beams came from the Mormon mill in the San Bernardino Mountains.
The Meserve family lived in the house when Dona Concepcion sold the property. They stayed for about ten
years. Afterward, the place became a roadside tavern and rest stop. It boasted a huge fireplace in the sala
(living room) which travelers would gather to warm themselves on cold winter evenings. Eventually, the adobe
was abandoned and left defenseless to vandals, thieves, and the elements. The rains eroded away the exposed
adobe walls causing the heavy roof to cave in. By 1934, the old house was reduced to ruins. The city of
Pomona had since purchased the adobe and planned to build a reservoir on the site. Various community groups
led by the Pomona Valley Historical Society led a concerted effort to raise money to save the historic
vestige. The campaign was a success and the city of Pomona sponsored the restoration.
Work began in 1939 to reconstruct the ailing structure, which by that time all that was left standing was the east and west wings. Tremendous pains went into research to assist with the restoration process in order to replace everything as it originally appeared. Even the gardens and trees were replanted in original locations. Approximately 25,000 adobe bricks were made on the grounds much in the same way as the early days. Many of the original broken bricks were repaired and replaced. On April 4, 1940, the restoration was complete and a grand dedication celebration took place with surviving members of the Palomares families attending in costumes of the period of Don Ygnacio and Dona Concepcion. Porfirio Palomares, one of the grandsons of Don Ygnacio, and his family lived in the north section of the house. The house was open for public display with Porfirio Palomares welcoming all who entered.
The largest room is the sala. Located at the stem of the "T" shaped house, it was the social center of the home and was also used as a chapel. The room is authentically furnished in the period before 1875. The sala and the master bedroom featured wood plank flooring, a rarity in adobes of the period. Wood floors and wood roofing were signs of opulence at the time. The master bedroom and another large bedroom were on both sides of the sala. Don Ygnacio and his wife occupied the master bedroom, which today features English made, hand carved, furniture. Three smaller bedrooms are aligned side by side within the south wing, while the large dining room, kitchen, and storeroom formed the north wing. Most of the rooms now have planked floors, but the children's bedroom and the kitchen have earth tone mission tile flooring. Dona Concepcion's kitchen has a variety of Indian and other antique utensils on display. A wide corridor extends along the entire east side of the house. There are two fireplaces in the house, which were also uncommon for early adobes.
Many interesting items may be found on the grounds surrounding the adobe. The old blacksmith shop, where horseshoes and tools were made, stands to the east of the dwelling. An open spring wagon, circa 1870, was used on the rancho. The olive cart was used when the Meserves lived at the adobe. A rickety old carreta, similar to the one that brought the Palomares family to Rancho San Jose in 1837, can be found in the courtyard area. In the north courtyard near the kitchen, stands the dome shaped "horno" (an outdoor beehive oven) where the family meals were cooked. In the southeast part of the grounds, an old water well still survives.
The plantings on the grounds are closely accurate to what they were in rancho days. Today trees such as black walnuts, cottonwoods, olives, oranges, palms, pomegranates, poplars and wild cherries shade the yard area and surroundings. Wisteria and grapevines hang from pergolas. Colorful and fragrant flowers and herbs add to the tranquil beauty. Today, the Adobe de Palomares is a true California treasure that is open to the public. It is State Historic Landmark #372 and is recognized by a monument. Located in Palomares Park at 491 East Arrow Highway, it is open to the public. More photos
In 1840, Palomares invited his cousin, Ygnacio Alvarado to come and build a house on his
rancho near La Casa Primera. Alvarado built his adobe home just a stone's throw from the Palomares' house.
The sole condition of the arrangement was that Alvarado place a chapel in this new house. He complied and
included the chapel in the northeast corner of the adobe. Until that time, the San Gabriel Mission, located
20 miles due west, was the closest destination for the Palomares family to attend religious services. Once a
week, a priest would come from the mission to celebrate Mass in Alvarado's chapel, with the Palomares, Vejar,
and Arenas families. La Casa Alvarado still stands at 1459 Old Settlers Lane, about 300 yards to the south
and west of the first Palomares adobe. The structure was originally "L" shaped, but the rear wing has been
demolished. Today, the house is in poor shape and the yard is overgrown with vegetation. It is a private
home and it is not open to the public.
More photos
[La Casa Alvarado has been beautifully restored since this publication. Ed.]
La Casa de Carrion stands at 919 Puddingstone Drive near the Puddingstone Reservoir just across the La Verne city
limits. It is set upon the northern part of the San Jose Hills along the Old San Bernardino Road. The house
of thick adobe walls and shake roof was built by Saturnio Carrion in 1868, and today it is considered as one
of the most attractive smaller adobes in Southern California.
Saturnio Carrion was born in 1832, to Cassiano Carrion and Josefa Lopez. Josefa was a sister of Concepcion Lopez de Palomares. Saturnio was orphaned at an early age and came to live with his aunt Concepcion and uncle Ygnacio at Rancho San Jose. They raised him as if he were their own child. In 1843, Don Ygnacio gave his eleven-year-old nephew 300 acres of his Rancho San Jose Arriba. This generous gift of land is now the present site of Puddingstone Reservoir and Brackett Field in San Dimas. When young Carrion was old enough to move out on his own, he chose not to settle on his land on San Jose. Rather, he settled closer to the pueblo of Los Angeles in Paredon Blanco, now Boyle Heights. Here he raised his cattle and began his own family.
The devastating drought of the early 1860's had hit Southern California. Carrion thought it would be beneficial if he were to move his livestock to the Rancho San Jose, which was fed by several springs and arroyos. In 1863, he moved to the land that his uncle had given him twenty years prior. He planned to construct a permanent home and had an Italian architect design the house. He chose a site on a hill about a half-mile south of Mud Springs. Construction commenced in 1864. Building materials such as door and window frames were transported from Los Angeles. Adobe bricks formed walls along an "L" configured foundation. The front of the one and a half story house faced north, welcoming visitors from the Old Road. La Casa de Carrion was completed in 1868. His wife, Dolores, and their three sons moved into their new home. While living at the house, five daughters-Josefa, Dolores, Rosa, Agnes and Luisa-were born there.
Carrion had a reputation for being strange and a bit dimwitted. He often kept to himself and stayed home most of the time. He had a black horse, which he simply named, "Horse". Perhaps he was just a slightly eccentric.
In the late 1890's plans were proposed for the construction of the Puddingstone Dam. The dam would cause a fraction of Carrion's land to become inundated in water. In order to oppose this action he had to raise funds to cover his legal expenses, mortgaging his land in order to save it. However, in the early 1900's the battle was lost and so was all of Carrion's capital. The Carrion family was forced to abandon their property and moved to a house in Pomona. The Carrion Adobe stood vacant and decaying for nearly forty years. The roof had buckled inward and the walls were eroded. Vandals had stolen the doors and a majority of the original hardware. In 1941, the adobe was rescued from extinction when Edwin E. Fuller purchased it. Then, in 1951, the adobe was bought and restored by Paul E. Traweek. Additions to the original structure included modern conveniences to advance the old place into the twentieth century standard of living. Robert M. Tatsch became the next owner and used the house as his residence. Mr. Tatsch also made improvements to the place.
Many artifacts and records of historic interest pertaining to the Carrion adobe can be found on display at the Adobe de Palomares on Arrow Highway in Pomona. On August 9, 1959, a plaque was placed at the Carrion adobe by the State Park Commission in cooperation with Rancho San Jose Parlor #307, Native Daughters of the Golden West. It is designated as State Historic Landmark #386. However, the state does not provide assistance for the adobe's upkeep. The house is also registered in the Library of the United States Congress as a Federal Monument.
Today, the adobe house is owned and occupied by Robert M. Tatsch Jr. and his wife Dorothy. Although the Carrion Adobe is a private residence, Mr. Tatsch opens his home to the public only a few times a year on selected holidays. Tours may be offered by appointment only to schools, historical groups, our just plain interested individuals.
La Casa Primera
Website
1569 North Park Avenue, Pomona, CA 91768 Map
909 623-2198
Open the the public: Sundays 2 to 5 p.m.
Adobe de Palomares
Website
491 E. Arrow Highway, Pomona CA, 91767 Map
909 620-0264
Open to the public: Sundays 2 to 5 p.m. Closed holidays.
La Casa Alvarado
1459 Old Settlers Lane, Pomona, CA 91768 Map
Private residence
La Casa de Carrion
919 Puddingstone Drive, La Verne, CA 91750 Map
Private residence
Historic Adobes of Los Angeles County © 1997 John R. Kielbasa
Photos © 2001-2004 LAokay.com