Campaign on to restore Contra Costa County’s oldest house.
The Joaquin Moraga Adobe in Orinda was built 179 years ago
ORINDA >> Most home renovations modernize. But supporters of the Joaquin Moraga Adobe aim differently: Return a shaky structure to what it was in 1841, when rancheros herded cattle outside not far from its front door and California was nine years from becoming a state.
Back then, ranchhands danced fandangos, their boots pounding on the redwood planks of the mud house’s floor, as they hoped for a kiss from a senorita.
Now there are plans to restore the home — Contra Costa County’s oldest — and make it a place where visitors again can step onto a red
wood floor, only this time to learn about our state’s history, especially school kids on field trips.
“I grew up in Orinda,” said Kent Long, president of the Friends of the Joaquin Moraga Adobe, the group striving to transform the spot into a museum. “Even as a kid, I was wondering: ‘ Why can’t you go up there?’ I thought, ‘ Well, why not?’ I want to make that happen.”
So far, things are looking good for the nonprofit, which has raised about $275,000 toward the $500,000 needed to buy the house.
Located at 24 Adobe Lane in Orinda, the structure sits on a knoll within 20 acres near the Moraga Country Club and Del Rey Elementary School and Miramonte High School.
Branagh Development is building a 13-house subdivision called J& J Ranch on the site and owns the building.
It has agreed to sell the house to the Friends of the Joaquin Moraga Adobe. The developer’s crews already are working to return the house to more closely resemble what it looked like when it was built.
The purchase terms for the house and a surrounding two acres require the nonprofit to pay $450,000 in installments, plus show it has an additional $50,000
in reserves. The deadline to complete the transaction is September.
Which means time is ticking for gathering donations.
The group, formed in 2010, also wants to raise an additional $500,000 as an endowment to provide for ongoing costs after the museum opens.
“We are getting some great excitement, and the community is responding,” said Jeff Boero, its secretary. “I really think we will be able to do it.”
On Thursday, the Orinda Theatre marquee bore the announcement “Save Our Adobe!” and included the group’s website address.
The house was built by Don Joaquin Moraga — the Contra Costa County town is named after him. He was the grandson of Jose Joaquin Moraga, a leader of the DeAnza expedition to colonize and explore what was then known as Alta California in the 1770s.
Jose Joaquin Moraga is credited with founding San Jose, as well as San Francisco’s Presidio.
Don Joaquin Moraga and his cousin, Don Juan Bernal, received a 13,316-acre land grant from the Mexican government in 1835 that included what is now Moraga and portions of Lafayette and Orinda.
They called their property Rancho Laguna De Los Palos Colorados.
Moraga built the fiveroom adobe house in 1841.
Oakland resident Katharine Brown White Irvine
acquired the home a century later and renovated it before she bequeathed it to her grandson.
The changes, which included work done in the 1940s, featured the addition of wood-framed bedrooms at the rear of the property and covering the adobe walls with stucco.
A family was living in the house until about 15 years ago, but after it moved out and the home was sold, the place gradually fell into disrepair and became a magnet as a place for kids to party, Long said.
The state recognized the Moraga Adobe as a historical landmark in 1954 and Orinda designated it a landmark in 1995. It’s also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
If the Friends of the Joaquin Moraga Adobe cannot acquire the house, Long said, future residents of the new houses now being developed nearby likely will use it as a clubhouse or meeting space.
But if the organization can raise the money, it will construct a building with restrooms outside the adobe and possibly a small storage area for the museum.
Recently, the house’s windows were boarded to prevent vandalism.
Spraypainted graffiti remains inside the building, where crews have removed some portions of a wall to reveal the adobe behind it.
A GoFundMe page to create the museum that kicked off in October had
brought in $2,115 as of Friday, money that was in addition to what already has been raised. An anonymous donor has pledged to match all donations, up to $20,000, made in December, according to the website.
Meanwhile, work to preserve the house and its history goes on.
“They are actually doing the renovation work now,” Boero said about the developer, which has been tearing out the bedrooms added at the rear of the property.
The effort is being done in accordance with the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, according to the city.
Plans are also underway to have archaeology students from St. Mary’s College of California in Moraga
study the grounds around the old house, Boero said.
“Who knows?” he said. “Maybe we will find some artifacts.”
For information about the Friends of the Joaquin Moraga Adobe, go to moragaadobe.org.