MEXICAN RULE
The Spanish people in Mexico decided to make a government of their own. In 1822, after a war in independence, they raised the new flag of Mexico. Now all the areas settled by the Spanish were now ruled by Mexico.
The Mexicans did not want to keep the missions. In 1833, the lands and animals were taken away from the padres and the mission Indians were left to survive on their own. The new Mexican governors and soldiers now lived at forts or presidios.
The government sent Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo to Sonoma County in 1833. He was a 27-year-old commandant from the San Francisco Presidio. He came to explore the land and protect it from the Russians. He brought soldiers with him from the presidio.
General Mariano Vallejo
General Vallejo was given a large rancho, about 70,000 acres, near Petaluma. Almost everyone living in Petaluma today is living on what was once Vallejo's land. Lumber used in the building was redwood, hand-sawed but some may have been processed at a sawmill at Bodega Bay, the 1st steam-powered sawmill on the West Coast. His fortress would be prepared for any war. Water from a well inside the courtyard, food, armaments and other supplies were stored in the adobe structure. Inside the courtyard would be a stable for horses, cattle and pigs. By 1844, Vallejo will have gained title or partial interest of other land grants, such as Suisun, Suscol, Napa, Caliente and more.
The adobe structure was built in an area that has a varied climate. Hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Adobe Creek was the main water source for the rancho. Upon completion, the Adobe was to have been about 200 feet by 145 feet. Around 1846, Vallejo discontinued work on the Adobe. The east wing was not completed. Although there were standing walls for a 2-story structure with a roof of tule thatch, the floor for the 2nd story was never constructed.
General Vallejo built a home on his rancho. It was a very large building that included living quarters and many workshops and warehouses. It was located in the foothills of Sonoma Mountain and is still there today.
Petaluma Adobe - Vallejo Rancho
Indian laborers and livestock from from the missions in Sonoma and San Rafael became part of the Vallejo Rancho. Hundreds of Indians were under his control and had to adjust to the Mexican way of life. The local Pomo Indians of Healdsburg fought against him but were defeated by Salvador Vallejo, General Vallejo's brother.
Besides the Indians, another group of workers on the rancho were the vaqueros or cowboys. Most were Mexicans, although some Indians were trained to ride, also. It was there job to round up and tend to the cattle and sheep. Once a year they rounded all the cattle up for branding.
Vallejo's rancho was just one of many ranchos in Sonoma County. The ranchos not only drove the Indians farther away from their land but they were also gathered up against their will to be used as workers in the ranchos. They were not only killed or enslaved by the Spanish but the soldiers also brought disease which killed thousands of local Indians.
When missions came into California, they brought with them different variety tolls needed to work the land, build things tear down things and grow many different kinds of foods then the California Indian was use to.
The Indian had to be taught how these tools were used, fixed if they got broken plus the different kinds of one tool (example: the hammer). At the Adobe these tools were used on a daily basis so to keep these tools in good shape and working was very important to the laborer.
The plow was usually made out of a limb of a tree and smaller limbs for the base and handle. Many plows were used during the different growing seasons. When iron was available then the point of the plow could be made of iron. This plow could be used by one individual and later an oxen would be used to drag the plow but be guided by the Indian working that field. Reaping the wheat was done with scythes and a hay crook or fork; these were made out of willow and were very large, up to 6 feet in length.
Carreta cars drawn by oxen's were used to transport the hides from the field and as well the various crops during harvest. Drawknives were used to scrape the flesh from the cattle hides and sheepskins; this is the first process in curing the hides. This project was usually done out in the field first before they were brought in for drying.
The blacksmith shop was important to the ranch. The forge and anvil where here and tools were made and repaired along with keeping the horses well shod and their hooves in good condition. Most likely the forge would have been made adobe bricks and the bellow from wood and leather. The iron needed was bought or traded for. It was not uncommon for the blacksmith or his helper to also be the ranch's veterinarian.
Rope making was similar to spinning. Two people spun it as wool on a spindle. Horsehair (the tail) rope was common; it had strength as well as it looked good. During the winter months when planting season was over the field workers would help out the blacksmith by making hundreds of nails, spurs, branding irons and other metal items. Also, they would help the carpenter by repairing tools like the bucksaw, sharpening blades, and making handles for tools like chisel's and axes. Splitting shingles for the roofs was a job done in the woodshed along with splitting kindling; willow poles were split for making hurdles. Various size boxes or trunks had to be made for storage and trade.
In the tannery area finished leather was made into saddles, bridles, shoes, packs, leather coverings that resembled wallets, luggage's of different sizes and other leather items that could be either traded, sold or use. Therefore all knives, awls and other tools used in leatherwork had to stay sharpened and cleaned.
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