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Photograph of Moraga Adobe
Photograph by Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Moraga Adobe

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. 20 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1897.

From the record

“The Moraga Adobe is located at 60 Adobe Lane in Orinda, California. It was built by Don Joaquin Moraga who was the grandson of Jose Joaquin Moraga an early Spanish explorer in California who founded the city of San Jose, California.”

Wikipedia article Moraga Adobe, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 49 National Register listings published here for Contra Costa County · listed in 1972 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 24 Adobe Lane, Orinda, 94563
  • When was it listed? March 1972
  • Category. building
  • Census division. Central Contra Costa
  • National Register reference number. 72000223 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1897 to 1997

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 100 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Moraga Adobe, surveyed 1997
Topographic sheet covering Moraga Adobe, surveyed 1897

Fires near this property

220 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 220 fires within 5 miles of Moraga Adobe between 1992 and 2020, burning about 586 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 21 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined126
Equipment and vehicle use34
Arson/incendiarism21
Debris and open burning13
Smoking9
Power generation/transmission/distribution8
Misuse of fire by a minor6
Natural1
Fireworks1
Recreation and ceremony1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Clara Unitnot named
9 September 2008Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
8 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Clara UnitSAINT MARYS RD MORAGA
8 September 2004Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresSanta Clara UnitSMALL
7 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
6 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 September 2011Power generation/transmission/distribution9.0 acresSanta Clara UnitBOLLINGER
5 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named

Every fire recorded in Contra Costa County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 23 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 23 workings within 5 miles of Moraga Adobe: 11 past producers, 5 occurrences, 4 producers, 2 prospects. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Sulfur. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
AlumSulfur, Silver, CopperPast Producer
LeonaSulfur, Copper, SilverPast Producer
Leona HeightsCopper, Gold, ZincPast Producer1891
Unnamed LocationCalciumProspect
AlmaSulfur-Pyrite, Copper, SilverOccurrence1892
AlmaCopper, SulfurPast ProducerBornite, Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, Pyrite, Sphalerite
AlumSulfur-Pyrite, Copper, SilverPast Producer
John D. Hoff Asbestos CoAsbestosProducer
John D. Hoff Asbestos Co.AsbestosProspect
Kaiser Sand & GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Contra Costa County

Storms near this property

9 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Orinda, the town this property stands in, in 9 storm reports between 1996 and 2024: 7 flood, 1 flash flood, 1 hail. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
December 2012FloodOrinda$250,000During heavy rainfall, a 24 inch culvert failed and collapsed, opening up a 20 foot sinkhole on Tarabrook Drive. One lane of traffic could still get by the sinkhole. The Orinda City Council declared a state of emergency due to this large sinkhole.
February 2000Flash FloodOrinda$100,000A 6 foot wall of water and mud flowed through the yardsand residences along Glorietta court near Moraga way.
November 2024FloodOrinda$10Water was reported on all lanes of Westbound State Highway 24 at Camino Pablo.
December 2024FloodOrinda-Water was reported across all lanes of eastbound State Highway 24 at the junction with St Stephens Drive.
January 2019FloodOrinda-Roadway flooding at SR 24E at Acalanes Rd.
March 2019FloodOrinda-Roadway flooding at SR-24 E and Saint Stephens Dr off ramp.
April 2018HailOrinda-Small hail along with thunder and lightning reported in Orinda.
April 2017FloodOrinda-Flooding in off ramps of SR24 at Acalanes Rd.
December 1996FloodOrinda-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Contra Costa County

Maps showing this location

20 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Maynard and Katharine Buehler House1.6 miles2006
Charles W. Merrill House4.2 miles2005
Robert Stanley Sr. Dollar House4.9 miles2013
Tao House6.9 miles1971
Hershell-Spillman Merry-Go-Round6.9 miles1976
Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site7.0 miles1978

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 72000223 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Contra Costa CountyAll 49 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.