San Luis Obispo County CA Archives Photo Place.....The Wilson Adobe, San Luis Obispo 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com November 24, 2006, 12:02 am

Source:             Discovering San Luis Obispo County
Photo can be seen at:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/sanluisobispo/photos/thewilso68gph.jpg
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THE WILSON ADOBE
Los Osos Valley Road and Turri Road, San Luis Obispo

History and Description:

In the Los Osos Valley near the intersection of Turri Road stands the remains of
a fine ranch house.  This was the "Hacienda Grande" of Captain John Wilson.
Wilson was a former Scotch sea captain and successful Santa Barbara merchant. 
In the late 1830's, he married the widow Pacheco and moved to their pleasant
adobe.  Situated on the gentle slope of the northern side of the valley, the
structure commands a sweeping view of the valley and yet is not imposing.

The original house was an interesting combination of architectural heritages. 
Its form was a variation of the Spanish quadrangle, with a patio in the center
and a half patio in the front.  The central section was two stories with
dormer-type windows to which solid board shutters were attached much in the
Anglo tradition.  The original structure was quite large, having about 20 rooms
The beauty of the interior was greatly enhanced by a white marble fireplace
mantel and front which Captain Wilson imported from Italy and by the fine
hand-carved woodwork.  This handsome building was the scene of almost daily
entertainment, feasting, and dancing.

The central two-story section of the house still stands on what is now the Turri
ranch and the Turri's lived there until 1915.  As you wander through you notice
the uneven dimensions of the hand-split beams and the random spacing of the roof
rafters.  It is the massive adobe walls which impress you the most.  In the
areas where the original parts of the structure are gone, you can see the
techniques of adobe construction; large blocks of sundried brick, the sand coat
and layers of plaster.  Spears of wild oats were used as binding agents in the
one-hundred-and-thirty-year-old adobe bricks.

At one time Captain John Wilson was the wealthiest man in San Luis Obispo
County.  He and his wife, Dona Ramona, owned four Mexican land grants, including
the Suey (the largest in the county) and the Huerta de Romualdo, the smallest. 
He was made famous for his seamanship in Dana's "Two Years Before the Mast". 
John Wilson died in 1861 and is buried in the Catholic Cemetery in San Luis
Obispo across the aisle from his old friend, Captain William Goodwin Dana.

Sources:
Telegram-Tribune, article by Lester Jones
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Turri
Louisiana Dart, Curator, San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

Discovering San Luis Obispo County
by
Carleton M. Winslow

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/sanluisobispo/photos/thewilso68gph.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cafiles/

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