Brief History
In 1834, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo was sent by the Mexican Government to the Sonoma Valley to accomplish three things: to secularize the San Francisco Solano Mission, to colonize the area by starting a pueblo, and to be near the Russian outpost at Fort Ross. The Mexican Government gave him his first land grant of 44,000 acres (later supplemented with another 22,000 acres) as payment and to further encourage his leadership. He chose a hilltop for his Petaluma Adobe rancho. The operation needed to be large in order to support Vallejo's military command in Sonoma, as they did not receive adequate support from the government.
The Adobe served as the center of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo's 66,000-acre (100 square miles) working ranch between 1836-1846. Made from adobe brick and redwood, its design is typical of hispanic architecture. The construction of the building is a reflection of the increasing trade in the area. The building began with tree nails and rawhide lashings to hold the beams together and moved to iron nails, hinges, glass windows, and a hand split shingled roof.
The rancho headquarters at Petaluma Adobe was unusual because many working areas were combined into one large building rather than a number of smaller outbuildings. There were between 600-2,000 indigenous people working at the Adobe; the vast majority of them had worked at the San Francisco Solano mission before its closure in 1834. Vallejo had vaqueros, or cowboys, as well as carpenters, blacksmiths, weavers, farmers, and many other skilled laborers working hard at the rancho. The workers of higher status and supervisors would have lived upstairs in the building. The majority of the workers would commute from the Coast Miwok village adjacent to the creek.
The main economic activity of the rancho was based on the hide and tallow trade. The rancho had up to 60,000 cows at its prime, as well as horses, sheep, and other smaller ranch animals. During the matanza season in late summer, rancho workers would slaughter cows to harvest their hide for leather and tallow for candles or soap. A fandango, or Californio-style dance, would also occur to celebrate this harvest. The rancho also produced many crops such as gourds, lentils, peppers, corn, and grain; which was traded in large quantities.
The adobe structure was not completed when Vallejo was taken captive at his Casa Grande home in Sonoma during the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846. By the time Vallejo was released months later, the Gold Rush had driven labor prices up and squatters had taken over portions of his land. The ranch would never again operate on the scale that it had previously. Vallejo eventually sold the building and some property in 1857 after attempts to lease it and make a profit failed.
The Petaluma Adobe building was once considered for the site of the University of California, but after a survey and discussion, another site was chosen. The Native Sons of the Golden West purchased the Adobe in 1910 and preserved it until the State bought it in 1951. Today, the State owns a small portion of what once a vast rancho and the largest privately owned adobe building in California. The Adobe was officially registered as California State Historical Landmark #18 in 1932 and in 1970 became a registered National Historic Landmark.