Martinez Adobe

The Martinez Adobe sits at the back of the main John Muir NHS park. It is part of the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail.

NPS Photo/L. Bailey

The Martinez Adobe

The Martinez Adobe, located on the western edge of John Muir's historic orchards, features bilingual exhibits for the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. Come learn the story of the Anza Expedition, when Spanish Lt. Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza led 240 men, women and children up the California coast in 1775. For more information, vist the Juan Buatista de Anza website.

Currently Closed

The Martinez Adobe is currently closed to the public for safety reasons. The indoor exhibit is not available. Guests may view the home from the outside, but the area around the building is roped off due to ongoing structural integrity issues. There is no projected reopening at this time.

Martinez Adobe

Thousands of acres were owned by individual families under the Spanish and Mexican land grant systems. The original Martinez grant contained over 17,000 acres and reached past the town of Pinole southwest of Alhambra Valley. (Don Vincente Martinez, son of the commandante of the Presidio of San Francisco, built this house of adobe bricks around 1849.)

The foundation of the Martinez Adobe is rough stone, while the walls are sun-dried adobe brick ranging in thickness from twenty-four to thirty inches. The roof was covered with shingles of either cedar or redwood. Don Vicente Martinez lived in his adobe only four years before he sold it to Edward Franklin, the first of a series of owners who would change the land again.Dr. John Strentzel, father-in-law of John Muir, purchased the adobe from an Australian, Thomas Redfern, in 1874. Dr. Strentzel, often called the father of California horticulture, soon replaced cattle with fruit trees of many varieties. Dr. Strentzel used the adobe as a store room and as a residence for his foremen.

Contrary to legend, John Muir and his wife never lived in the Martinez Adobe, but it was the home of his elder daughter, Wanda, and her husband, Thomas Hanna. John Muir would often eat meals at the adobe and find time to play with his grandchildren. The coming of heavy industry to Martinez in 1914, the year of Muir's death, saw the beginning of the end of orcharding in the lower Alhambra Valley. Population growth meant that the land had greater monetary value for homes than for orchards, and the land changed again. By the 1960s, open farmland was replaced with houses and streets. Concerned citizens organized themselves to preserve a small sample of the past before it vanished, and in 1964, the adobe became part of the John Muir National Historic Site.

Historical Significance

• Early Settlement: The Martinez Adobe was built in the early 1840s by the Martínez family, early settlers of the area. It served as their residence and played a role in the agricultural and ranching activities of the region during the Mexican and early American periods.

• Anza Expedition Connection: The Martinez Adobe is associated with the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail due to its location along the route of Anza's expeditions. While the adobe itself was constructed after Anza's expeditions, its presence in the vicinity underscores the historical context of Spanish and Mexican settlement in California.

• Cultural Heritage: The adobe reflects the architectural style and lifestyle of early Californian settlers, showcasing elements of Spanish and Mexican influence in its construction and design.

Visitor Experience

• Bilingual Exhibits: Prior to its closure for safety reasons, the Martinez Adobe featured bilingual exhibits that provided insights into the history of the Anza Expedition, the cultural diversity of early California, and the significance of the adobe in local history.

• Current Status: As of now, the Martinez Adobe is closed to the public due to structural integrity issues. While visitors cannot access the indoor exhibits, they can still view the exterior of the adobe and explore the surrounding area, which remains an important historical site within the context of the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail.

Juan Bautista de Anza

Juan Bautista de Anza was a Spanish military officer and explorer who played a pivotal role in the colonization and development of Spanish California. Born in 1736 in the Spanish province of New Navarre (present-day Mexico), Anza came from a distinguished military family and rose through the ranks of the Spanish army.

In 1775-1776, Anza led two expeditions from present-day Mexico to Alta California. The first expedition, known as the Anza Expedition, was commissioned by the Spanish crown with the goal of establishing an overland route to Alta California and founding a settlement at San Francisco. This route would provide a land connection between Spanish territories in present-day Mexico and California, facilitating trade and colonization efforts.

The Anza Expedition was a monumental undertaking, involving approximately 240 men, women, and children, including soldiers, settlers, and missionaries. The journey covered more than 1,200 miles through arduous terrain and encountered challenges such as hostile encounters with Native American groups and navigating unfamiliar landscapes. Despite these challenges, Anza successfully led his expedition to the San Francisco Bay Area, where they founded the Presidio of San Francisco and the Mission San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores) in 1776.

Anza's expeditions marked significant milestones in the history of California, contributing to the Spanish colonization efforts and the establishment of key settlements that would later grow into cities vital to the region's development.