Hello All:
Just as we have watched Boyd and others pour their life energy into a
seemingly insurmountable fight over the Presidio, it looks like it's my (and
perhaps your) turn.
The Moraga Adobe and surrounding 20 acres, which has stood as a discrete
piece of property since the last of my Moraga family were forced out in
1885, has quietly been sold to developers who propose building 16 homes to
encircle it. It's been for sale for three years; I never even knew about it.
As you may know, it was built in 1841 by Joaquin Moraga and supposed Indian
laborers from the Presidio in 1841 on the grant he shared with his first
cousin Juan Bernal. His son (and my GGGGrandpa Jose de Jesus Moraga added
two more rooms in 1848 and a few more were added for servants within the
period of occupation by the Moragas. The Bernals constructed a place on the
opposite end of the total grant.
It is the oldest intact adobe in Contra Costa, I believe, (the Alvarado
Adobe is a reconstruction) and is on the National and State Historic sites
registers.
My GGGrandmother Gomecinda was born there and her "x" was on the final
forced sale in 1885 to that scoundrel of all time, Horace Carpentier. At age
12, she had the distinction of being whipped with a rifle butt by an
Anglo-American squatter , so badly, that the neighboring communities were
outraged and she won a civil suit award, though I doubt she saw a penny of
it. The Adobe is also where the family was besieged by the squatters
rifleros, and a ranch hand was shot dead at the site during the attempted
forced eviction.
This is the adobe where Joseph Lamson, who squatted in the nearby redwoods
(that Joaquin basically gave up trying to protect and sold to Elam Brown),
visited a fandango and left a detailed description of the evening, including
physical and personal descriptions of my GGGGmother and father, Jose de
Jesus and Maria de la Cruz Sibrian. My GGGrandmother was a toddler during
that visit. So much has happened there, and IS documented. It's a truly
valuable site of historic relevance to the period and beyond.
The adobe is in incredibly good condition compared to many missions and
other sites, mostly because it was sheathed in wood, some inside and all
out. An outside staircase leads to attic and you can see the adobe walls and
the original roofing brackets, and hand cut wooden pegs that hold them in
place. There is some cracking, and some ground collapse near the front door,
but this has been an historic problem since a basement was excavated nearby
to keep milk cool when it was operated as a dairy, ironically, by my
GGGrandfather John Avila's family (he married Gomecinda). It currently has a
shake roof, rather than tile.
The house was basically saved and turned into an estate by the SoCal Irvine
family. I always thought the place was safe as an estate, but I was wrong.
The adobe has a beautiful, nay commanding view of the valley. The surrouding
20 acres, thought mostly hilly, afford a glimpse of a working ranch and
garden site. There is a golf course above, houses to the north, and the bulk
of the open space is to the south, leading downhill toward Miramonte High
School.
Behind the house is a courtyard or perhaps garden area of later times, build
of adobe bricks but using concrete mortar. It's somewhat intact but the
developer intends to demolish it (pending historical review), as well as a
nearby barn that is 20th century vintage.
It is an ideal site for small events, living history, community garden, dog
walks, nature walks, art exhibits, etc. It would be perfect for 4th grade
history events, even overnighters, like the Petaluma Adobe. It's similar in
situation as the Alviso Adobe but not quite as encircled by housing. The ad
hoc group liked the idea of the field trip usage because it's during the
week, rather than all weekend usage, but there is room for everything.
Nothing has been decided. A group of concerned locals, the Friends of the
Moraga Adobe (which met last night), has quickly formed to try and get some
kind of input going during the process. The site has yet to have a historic
evaluation, but I am concerned about the integrity of the process because
the developers represent big bucks no doubt. The fact that they even think
they can do this to such a historic site is really troubling. A similar
proposal was shot down in the 1970s. Because of the ancient spring nearby
that caused the family to even construct the adobe there, there is a deep
and similarly ancient landslide zone, apparently 90 feet deep underfoot,
according to a neighbor who attended the meeting.
For the first time in my life, I was allowed to visit the Adobe last
Thursday (with the group and the developer). Teenagers had broken through
the windows and partied there, including spray painting grafitti on a few of
the inside walls. The developer, seeking to protect it, put plywood over all
the windows, which was promptly covered by new grafitti demanding access to
the place by the cheeky juveniles! The house was dank and smelled of rats,
in fact , a dead rat was in the bathtub.
Personally, I was so distressed by the sight I could barely contain my anger
and sadness. I always thought I'd never see it. Instead, I saw what was
presented SOMEWHAT as a rotting corpse of a house, that actually is in good
condition if you strip away the added materials of the last 124 years. . Not
only has the place been vandalized, but when I questioned the developer of
his plans, I saw little inkling of respect for the integrity of the site
beyond the single building itself. He was a friendly and accomodating man,
but I don't think history is on his mind. I asked his where the nearest
homes would be, and you could toss a softball and hit them from the front
porch.
Any support, inquiries, etc. that you wish to offer at this time may be
directed to the President of the Friends of the Moraga Adobe, Kent Long
It is early in the process and Kent can't provide a detailed action plan,
but I will keep you posted. At this time, the group is pursuing definitive
info about the title and ownership. Of course, we are trying to figure out a
pathway of preservation, via city, county, regional or other jurisdictional
possession. this letter is just a part of the effort. Please forward this to
others in LC; as you know we don't have a group email capacity until it has
gone through procedural review, which is fine with me.
As there is an ancient spring, it's likely that there were animals and
hunters at the site. And because there were Indian servants on the premises,
it's likely that there is a burial spot somewhere on the property. Most of
the Moraga family, including my direct kin, are buried over the hill at St.
Mary's Cemetery in Oakland. I can't believe that there isn't archaelogical
heritage involved beyond the obvious.
Thanks,
Primo Lance Beeson
