Juarez, Cayetano, Adobe

About this property

The Cayetano Juárez Adobe, often called locally the Old Adobe, is the oldest building in Napa, California. Built in 1845 by early Californio settler Cayetano Juárez, the structure was originally a family house and was later converted to a restaurant and bar. After an ownership change in 2014, it underwent an extensive restoration which was completed in 2019. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. It is currently the home of a Mexican restaurant. Cayetano Juárez (1809–1883) was a Californio soldier in the Mexican Army, and later a Mexican government official. He received a land grant, Rancho Tulucay in the Napa Valley in 1840, where he kept herds of cattle and horses. He built his original adobe home at his rancho in 1840, which is no longer standing. In 1845, he built this larger adobe house, which still stands. Juraez employed about 400 Native American workers raising cattle and field crops on his surrounding land, and his children were raised speaking the local Native American Patwin language. His descendants were active in Napa Valley civic affairs for five generations. The building is located less than half a mile east of the Napa River in what is now the city of Napa, California. It is at the beginning of the Silverado Trail, the first permanent road established in 1852 between Napa and Calistoga, California, which is near various mercury mines on the slopes of Mount Saint Helena. Constructed in 1845 in a rectangular form primarily out of adobe brick, the building has walls that are three feet thick at the foundation, tapering to two feet thick above the attic. The structure of the building also incorporates wooden beams and exposed wooden rafters. The overhanging porch is supported by four heavy wooden posts. These posts, which are chamfered, measure 8" X 8", and three are original old growth redwood. The porch rafters are finished with decorative details. The building displays many vernacular characteristics of traditional adobe construction common during the Spanish and Mexican periods of California history. Shortly after the house was built, an adobe brick shed was added to the northeast corner of the building. The building was the home of the family of Cayetano Juárez, his wife Maria de Jesus Higuerra and their descendants. The couple raised 11 children in the home. Considered community leaders, Juárez and his wife were well known for hosting rodeos and fiestas. After both died, their daughter Domilita Juárez Metcalf lived in the house and operated portions of the rancho as a farm until the 1920s. In the 1920s, the building was converted into a restaurant, and a series of modifications and minor additions began. About 1935, a stone and brick fireplace was added to the south side of the building. Around 1950, various additions made of shiplap planks allowed for expanded kitchen facilities. A restaurant and bar called the Old Adobe Hut operated in the building from 1951 until the late 1970s. During the 1970s, a fire caused moderate damage to the southern part of the building. During repairs, some ceiling joists were replaced and some timbers supporting the roof were reinforced.

Location

Categories

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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