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Sanchez Adobe Park
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| Location: | Linda Mar Blvd., 1 mi. E of CA 1, Pacifica, California |
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| Area: | 5 acres (2.0 ha) |
| Built: | 1785 |
| Architect: | Multiple |
| Architectural style: | Adobe-Spanish Colonial |
| Governing body: | Local (San Mateo County) |
| NRHP Reference#: | 76000525[1] |
| Added to NRHP: | April 13, 1976 |
The Sánchez Adobe Park, home to the Sánchez Adobe, is located in Pacifica, California at 1000 Linda Mar Boulevard, on the north bank of San Pedro Creek, approximately one mile from the Pacific Ocean in Linda Mar Valley. The 5.46-acre (0.02 km2) county park, established in 1947 contains the Sanchez Adobe Historical site, designated a National Register Historical District in 1976 and is California registered landmark 391.
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The park site has a long and rich history. The Sánchez Adobe at the park is considered the finest example of Spanish era architecture in San Mateo County. Archaeological and historical evidence identify four main periods of history, followed by the purchase of the site by the County of San Mateo in 1947.
Prior to 1786, the Ramaytush division of the Ohlone people occupied the site, with the village Pruristac. Evidence of this village, in the form of a shell midden, can be seen near the park ranger's building. The Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola camped nearby, one mile to the west, from October 31, through November 3, 1769. Journals from his expedition give no indication that he visited the village, though there is record of meetings with the villagers.
The very first Indian baptised at the Mission San Francisco de Asís on June 24, 1777 was 20-year-old Chamis of Chutchui, from the village Chutchui, whose mother lived at Pruristac. In 1782 and 1783, many or most of the people from Pruristac including village captain Mossués and village leader Liquiique with their wives and daughters were baptised and joined the Mission Indians in Mission Dolores near Yerba Buena— that would be renamed San Francisco in 1847. Two men of this group from Pruristac, with baptismal names Hilarion and George, served as leaders of Mission San Francisco and were alcades of the Mission at the time of their deaths on February 7, 1807 as part of a Mission posse during a skirmish with the Suisunes tribe.
In 1776 the Spanish established a Mission and Presidio at nearby San Francisco, and baptismal records identify many Ohlone people from Pruristac emigrated to Mission Dolores. In 1786, the Mission established a asistencia, an outpost known as San Pedro y San Pablo Asistencia, at the site for the purpose of Missionary work and farming in support of the Mission. The site consisted of a granary, a chapel and four other rooms surrounding three sides of a plaza. Little remains of these original buildings, but archeological study has identified the location to be at the northeastern part of the park grounds. Initially, the farming included wheat, corn, beans, barley, asparagus, peas, rosemary, grape, peach and quince. Four years later, the farming was abandoned following a dramatic decline in the Native American population, after which the outpost subsisted through cattle ranching. The outpost was abandoned in 1834 with the dismantling of the California Mission network.
Francisco Sánchez, Commandante of the San Francisco Presidio and eighth alcades of the City of San Francisco,[2] was awarded a land grant by the government of Mexico that included much of what is now northwestern San Mateo County. He built an adobe residence near the center of this 9,000-acre (36 km2) ranch[2], known as Rancho San Pedro,[3] in the San Pedro Valley (now Linda Mar Valley) at the site of the abandoned Mission Outpost San Pedro y San Pablo. It is widely speculated that he reused some of the bricks from the Outpost to construct the Adobe, which he began in 1842 and completed in 1846.
Edward Kirkpatrick purchased the property in 1871 and remodeled the Adobe extensively during the late 1880s, enlarging it to twenty rooms. In the following decades, the Adobe served a variety of purposes including a hotel called the Adobe House, and during Prohibition as a speakeasy. Ultimately, the Adobe served as a farm building associated with artichoke farming in San Pedro Valley during the 1940s.
The County of San Mateo purchased the Sánchez Adobe and the surrounding 5.46 acres (.02 square km) in 1947, and began a comprehensive restoration project completed in 1953. This included structural and architectural restoration of the Adobe and construction of several outbuildings on the park property including a caretakers residence. In 2002, the Adobe was further restored with a new roof.
Annually, the City of Pacifica celebrates early California history with the an event in mid-September known as Rancho Days, including music, historical reenactments and food.
The San Mateo County History Museum operates Sanchez Adobe as an historic house museum. Visitors can explore the home, look at artifacts from archaeological digs and view the location of the original farm buildings. Admission is free. The museum offers school programs designed to teach students about life on a California rancho.
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