The house that needed a hat

The Peña Adobe in Lagoon Valley has stood since the 1840s. Mud walls can last that long, as long as something keeps the rain off.

A Native crew sun-dried the bricks and built it for the Peña family, who had come west on the Old Spanish Trail in 1841. Its walls are two feet thick. The Peña Adobe Historical Society calls it “the oldest structure built in Solano County.”

The first roof was tule thatch. Within a few years it was replaced with hand-split redwood shakes, and by the 1880s the whole house had been wrapped in wood siding. That siding mattered more than anyone knew: the 1970 National Register form credits it for the walls’ “good condition when restored.”

The family lived there until about 1920. By the 1950s the house stood abandoned in a weedy meadow. The siding gave way, and, in the words of the walking-tour brochure the Society shares, that “exposed the adobe brick to rain, damaging the structure.” The south wall collapsed.

Volunteers put a plastic tarp over the house “to keep out the rain.” The City took title in 1961, and by 1965 the adobe was restored the old way, with sun-dried bricks and hand-split redwood. Everything but the thatch. In 2006 the roof came off again and was renewed.

It’s a lesson for any house, adobe or not: walls last as long as the roof and what’s around it keep the water off. Before the rains, check the roof, clear the gutters, and make sure the downspouts send water away from the walls. If for any reason you need a professional, give us a call, we’ll be happy to help. We have great tarps… (only kidding… 😉 Sunshine Gutters and Roofing – Let us shine on your rainy day.