Description
The Vallejo Family Papers can be divided into 5 main categories of
documents: correspondence, manuscripts and other writings, financial and legal
documents, periodicals and publications, and a variety of miscellaneous
documents. The collection includes facsimiles of original documents in addition
to original documents, as well as research materials and specialized groupings,
such as the memorabilia from Luisa Vallejo Emparan’s 1932 voyage to Panama as
hostess on the S.S. Santa Rosa.
Background
A prominent early native Californian, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
(1807-1890) was born in Monterey in 1807. In 1834, with the title Military
Commander and Director of Colonization of the Northern Frontier, the Mexican
Army sent him to take charge of secularization of Mission San Francisco Solano
at what is now Sonoma. On June 24, 1835, he founded the Pueblo of Sonoma,
laying out the 8-acre plaza and structures facing the plaza such as the
soldiers’ barracks and his first home Casa Grande. A portion of the site of
Casa Grande, the barracks, and the Mission are now on the site of the Sonoma
State Historic Park. General Vallejo’s private rancho in Petaluma was a highly
productive agricultural empire. The Petaluma Adobe is one of the largest adobe
structures still standing in California, and is also a State Historic Park.
Restrictions
Property rights reside with the California State Parks. Literary rights
are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to
reproduce or to publish, please contact California State Parks.
Availability
The collection is open for research.