Name/Title
1850 First Adobe House in Los GatosEntry/Object ID
HC001Description
On May 21, 1840, Mexican Governor Juan B. Alvarado granted 6,631.44 acres of land to Jose Maria Hernandez and Sebastian Fabian Peralta, land which became known as Rancho Rinconada de los Gatos. Available records indicate that Hernandez and Peralta "had a house upon the land" before the grant was made. An 1853 "Deposition for Ascertaining and Settling Private Land Claims in California" states that Peralta and the Hernandez family lived in their original adobe dwelling until about 1846, and that they had "cattle and sheep upon the ranch." Sebastian Peralta's first wife, Maria Gregorian Cibrian, was born in 1806 and died in 1837, which indicates that Peralta was a widower at the time of the land grant. Peralta was remarried in 1846 at Mission Santa Clara to Maria Paula Sepulveda, and at that time he and his new wife moved to the northerly portion of the rancho and built an adobe home there. The house pictured here, and the surrounding 114 acres, were acquired by John Jackson Roberts in 1865. A member of the Roberts family painted this image from memory, long after the adobe was torn down. HC001Collection
Hamsher Clarence CollectionMade/Created
Artist
A member of the John J. Roberts familyDate made
circa 1850Dimensions
Height
36.14 cmWidth
20.73 cmLocation
* Untyped Location
Clarence Hamsher CollectionCopyright
Notes
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