1000 Linda Mar Boulevard
Pacifica, CA 94044
Directions | 650.359.1462 | Email
Tuesday – Thursday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday, 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Free admission
Parking available on-site at the Sánchez Adobe parking lot.
For educators and students, we have an incredible hands-on history program for Sánchez Adobe.
View ProgramVisit the Sánchez Adobe Historic Site which features the first three periods of California History: Ohlone Indian, Spanish and Mexican.
In 1947, the County of San Mateo purchased the present five-acre Sánchez Adobe site. Restoration was completed in 1953. The San Mateo County Historical Association operates the site. Planned renovations to better interpret the history of the site can be found in the Master Plan.
Docents and community members dance to early California music at the Rancho Day Fiesta. Photo by Joe Messina.
Start your visit at the Sánchez Adobe Interpretive Center (look for the building at the back of the site). Exhibits in the Interpretive Center explore the early periods of the site’s history.
Celebrate Mexican California during the Rancho Day Fiesta. Enjoy early Californian music and dancers, real rancho food and make-it-yourself crafts and demonstrations.
Join the Fiesta!Start your visit at the new Interpretive Center (located at the back of the site) to learn more about the earlier eras of its history.
Learn about the Aramai who lived at Pruristac in this issue of La Peninsula.
Download the IssuePrior to 1786, Native Americans were the sole human inhabitants of the site. There is limited historical evidence from this time period, but there are references to a Native American village known as Pruristac being located in this area. Archaeological evidence indicates the existence of a shell midden in the vicinity of the existing ranger’s residence on the site.
Detail from Pruristac Village by Amy Hosa and Linda Yamane, 2019.
In 1786, padres found it difficult to grow enough food at Mission Dolores. They created an asistencia in the San Pedro Valley named San Pedro y San Pablo. This mission outpost was a support farm where crops such as corn and wheat were grown. The asistencia building included living quarters for the padres, a chapel, workrooms and storage for grain. Food production slowed after an epidemic in 1792. Archeological excavations in 1978 and 1990 uncovered the foundations of the asistencia building.
Asistencia by Mary Breshahan.
The Sánchez Family first came to California with the Anza party in 1776. Born in 1805, Francisco served as commandante of the Presidio and alcalde or mayor of Yerba Buena (San Francisco). He was granted Rancho San Pedro in 1839.
Sánchez was a leader of Mexican California who led volunteers against United States forces at the Battle of Santa Clara. After California became a state, Sánchez served as a San Francisco County Supervisor. Francisco and his wife, Teodore, had 13 children. Sánchez died in 1862 after falling from a horse.
In 1839, Don Francisco Sánchez was granted Rancho San Pedro. The boundaries of his land grant roughly parallel those of the present-day City of Pacifica. Sánchez raised cattle for the hide-and-tallow trade. When ships came to California, Sánchez could trade his hides for manufactured items. Known as the “California Bank Notes,” hides could be made into clothes, shoes, and saddles. Tallow or cow fat was made into soap and candles. He built the Sánchez Adobe as a home for his family between 1842-1846. It is the second oldest building in the county.
Sánchez Adobe by A. Chase, 1865.
After Francisco Sánchez died, General Edward Kirkpatrick purchased the adobe. He extended and remodeled the house with wooden additions creating a total of 20 rooms. In 1908, the adobe became the Hotel San Pedro. It was a popular stop for tourists traveling on the Ocean Shore Railroad. During Prohibition, it became a speakeasy with whiskey stills hidden in the nearby artichoke fields.
Discover the Sánchez Adobe’s history as a speakeasy in this issue of La Peninsula.
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Hotel San Pedro became a speakeasy during Prohibition.
Located in the 1910 County Courthouse, the San Mateo County History Museum explores local history from prehistoric times to modern day.
