Historical Landmark #2 Juan Matias Sanchez Adobe House in Montebello

Address: 946 N Adobe Ave, Montebello, CA 90640 

Initially I was going to visit the old site of Mission San Gabriel which is actually located right by the Montebello Mall and not in the City of San Gabriel  but I could not find parking around the location as it was sweeping day for that neighborhood. I continued on Lincoln Ave until I saw some signs that pointed to the Sanchez Adobe House. Its a really quiet neighborhood but I was able to explore the house by myself without anyone bothering. This place is currently an actual museum owned by the Montebello Historical Society. I would want to visit this place during the weekend as they give you an inside tour of the house.

Weird Oddity: As I was taking pictures of this place I felt as if someone was watching me but did not really see anyone. After being at the place for about a good ten minutes I decided to leave. I drove a few feet and my car turned off. I turned on the car once  and continued driving, no check engine light went on and I had not had any problems with my car. Weird or just straight out coincidence. 

 

     The story of this historical site begins in  1844 when  Casilda Soto de Lobo  ( widow of a soldier who served at the   Mission San Gabriel) was given a Mexican Land Grant known as Rancho La Merced  by then Mexican Governor of Alta California Manuel Micheltorena. 

In 1850 after California is ceded to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, facing financial difficulty, Dona Casilda Soto de Lobo got out a loan for $1,225 from William Workman. She agreed to sell her property to Workman for $2,500 if she did not have the money. Sure enough Workman obtained the deed to Rancho La Merced after she failed to pay. 

In 1852 for just one dollar Workman  gave his long time friend Juan Matias Sanchez a piece of land. By accepting the piece of land Sanchez moved in to the Adobe house that once belong to Dona Casilda Soto de Lobo. 

In  the 1870's after financial woes and bank closings, Workman and Sanchez lost all of their land in what was once known as Rancho La Merced. Sanchez lost all his land California law allowed him to keep 200 acres (including the adobe) until this death.

After Sanchez death in 1885 the land which included the adobe house was maintained by the Sanchez family up until 1896 when  E.J. Baldwin filed a lawsuit against the Sanchez family for the remaining 200 acres for helping the Sanchez family pay all of the property taxes.  Baldwin won the lawsuit therefore became the owner of the land but allowed the Sanchez family to live here up until he died in 1909. 

After the Sanchez family were thrown out this land, the  Baldwin Estate sold the land to a group of oil investors. In 1915 William Benjamin Scott (oil investor)  obtained some surrounding  land and the adobe house. The adobe house remained through generations of the Scott family until 1972, when Josephine Scott Crocker granted the City of Montebello as owners in order to recognize it as a historical site

                              (Sanchez Adobe House in the 1920 Courtesy of the City of Montebello) 

 Pictures were taken July 21, 2014

Further Research:

http://www.montebellohistoricalsociety.org/mhs/WELCOME.html

http://lamercedmontebello.com/about/timeline.htm