This historic old adobe has lasted a long time

The house was expanded in later years. The adobe walls were covered, and a second story and rear rooms of wood were added. It was expanded by four more bedrooms and two baths. This structure was damaged in the earthquake of 1906. The wooden portions were removed, but the adobe itself was not injured. Trees were moved by the quake, and a diagonal panel had to be added to the fence to join two sections that had separated.

It was discovered that the massive log foundation was decayed, so it was replaced. Tiles were put on the roof. The adobe was then used as a living room, dining room and kitchen.

The original builder, Charles Brown, is something of a mystery. He was a great teller of tales and gave conflicting stories about his past.

He was one of the first Americans to come to San Mateo County, which was part of San Francisco in the early days.

Brown was from New York, and deserted an American whaling ship at San Francisco in 1833. He got some land in Napa Valley from Mariano Vallejo in 1835, but he didn't stay there. He was a restless, bombastic man, who was a hopeless speculator. In 1837 he married the daughter of Antonio Garcia of San Jose and brought his bride to the adobe he had built near Portola Valley.

He had bought land from John Coppinger, the original grantee from the Mexican government of Rancho Cañada Raymundo. He reportedly paid for the land with lumber. In 1849, Brown built the first mill on the Peninsula, a pit saw powered by water. It became evident when the creeks dried up in summer that water power was an unreliable method. A steam-powered mill replaced it the following year, but by then Brown had moved on.

Whiskey stills were often to be found among the sawmills. It was a lively drinking, brawling community of vagabonds in the redwoods in those days. Charles Brown was a willing participant. He spent time in the San Jose jail for his part in a near fatal altercation with another sawyer.

Brown left the woods in 1850. His wife had died by then and he had some financial problems. He wandered a little north. He married Rosalia de Haro and settled on her family's land near Lake Merced. From there he faded into obscurity. Let's hope his old adobe doesn't.

Rediscovering the Peninsula appears in the Monday edition of the Daily Journal. For more information on this or related topics, visit the San Mateo County History Museum, 777 Hamilton St., Redwood City.