The Ríos-Caledonia Adobe is a historic

adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...

house in

San Miguel, California San Miguel (Spanish for "St. Michael") is a unincorporated community in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,172. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined San ...

. Built in 1835 by Petronilo Ríos, the adobe is a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

. Today, the Ríos-Caledonia Adobe is open to the public as a

house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

and library.

History

Petronilo Ríos, corporal commanding the Mission San Miguel guard and later owner of

Rancho Paso de Robles Rancho Paso de Robles was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Luis Obispo County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to José Pedro Narváez. The name means "Pass of the Oaks". The grant encompassed present-day Paso R ...

, supervised the building of the two-story adobe home using indigenous

Salinan The Salinan are a Native American tribe whose ancestral territory is in the southern Salinas Valley and the Santa Lucia Range in the Central Coast of California. Today, the Salinan governments are now working toward federal tribal recognition ...

labor on property belonging to Mission San Miguel (which is now across the street). When the mission property was sold by Governor

Pio Pico Pio or PIO may refer to: Places * Pio Lake, Italy * Pio Island, Solomon Islands * Pio Point, Bird Island, south Atlantic Ocean People * Pio (given name) * Pio (surname) * Pio (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer * Pio (footballer, ...

after the Mexican secularization act of 1833, Ríos and William Reed purchased the mission and adobe in 1846. The original building was made of adobe, had a roof of hand-made tiles, and used strips of

rawhide Rawhide may refer to: *Rawhide (material), a hide or animal skin that has not been tanned * Whip made from rawhide Entertainment * ''Rawhide'' (1926 film), a Western directed by Richard Thorpe * ''Rawhide'' (1938 film), a Western starring baseball ...

to tie the pine rafters in place. The Ríos family used the home as a residence until Warran C. Rickard purchased it from the state on a possessory claim. From 1868 until 1886, George Butchart operated the building as the Caledonia Inn, a stagecoach stop, hotel, and tavern on El Camino Real. The arrival of the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

in San Miguel put an end to the Inn. In 1887, it served briefly as an elementary school. After that, it was used for various businesses (including a mattress factory and tailor shop from 1889 to 1895) and again as a home from 1895 to 1910 for various families. Charles Dorries purchased the property with of land in 1923 and restored it to use as a tourist attraction. Dorries also built the gift shop in a similar style in 1938 specifically to serve visitors. By 1964 the adobe had fallen into disrepair. That year, the County of San Luis Obispo purchased it. In 1968, the Friends of the Adobes formed to preserve and restore the adobe.

Current

Major restoration work completed in 1972, and the building was then formally dedicated. A building that was added in 1930 serves as a local history research library. A museum and gift shop opened in June 1978, also opening the adobe for tours. The site is now operated as a county park.

References

External links

*
Early History of the California Coast, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary
{{Registered Historic Places Adobe buildings and structures in California Museums in San Luis Obispo County, California Historic house museums in California Houses completed in 1835 1835 establishments in Alta California California Historical Landmarks National Register of Historic Places in San Luis Obispo County, California Houses in San Luis Obispo County, California Parks in San Luis Obispo County, California Regional parks in California