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Photograph of Castro Adobe
Photograph by Mrwrite, Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Jose Joaquin Castro Adobe

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. 12 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1912.

From the record

“The Rancho San Andrés Castro Adobe is a historically and architecturally significant house located in the Pájaro Valley, California. The two-story Rancho San Andrés Castro Adobe is a historic rancho hacienda that was built between 1848 and 1849.”

Wikipedia article Castro Adobe, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 42 National Register listings published here for Santa Cruz County · listed in 1976 · 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.
  • Listed as. Castro, Jose Joaquin, Adobe - the National Register files a house under its owner's surname.
  • Address. NW of Watsonville at 184 Old Adobe Rd., Watsonville, 95076
  • When was it listed? December 1976
  • Category. building
  • Census division. Watsonville
  • National Register reference number. 76000531 - 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

1912 to 1974

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 62 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Jose Joaquin Castro Adobe, surveyed 1974
Topographic sheet covering Jose Joaquin Castro Adobe, surveyed 1912

Fires near this property

588 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 588 fires within 5 miles of Jose Joaquin Castro Adobe between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,073 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 55 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/undetermined285
Equipment and vehicle use121
Debris and open burning67
Arson/incendiarism55
Misuse of fire by a minor27
Recreation and ceremony10
Power generation/transmission/distribution10
Smoking9
Natural4

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 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionFREEDOM BL PAJARO_VALLEY
9 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionGREEN
9 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Mateo-Santa Cruz UnitVALLEY
9 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Mateo-Santa Cruz UnitSAN ANDREAS
9 September 2001Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSan Mateo-Santa Cruz UnitPALMER
9 September 1999Naturalunder an acreEllicott Slough National Wildlife RefugeCARSON
8 September 2013Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresSan Mateo-Santa Cruz UnitTHURWACHTER
8 September 2003Debris and open burningunder an acreSan Mateo-Santa Cruz UnitPAULSEN

Every fire recorded in Santa Cruz County

Mines and quarries near this property

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Jose Joaquin Castro Adobe: 4 occurrences, 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Iron, Chromium, Titanium. 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
Triumph Steel CoIron, Chromium, TitaniumOccurrence
Cabrillo Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Pleasant Valley ExcavationSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Pleasant Valley ExcavationSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Rubis Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence
Titus Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence
Unnamed LocationSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence

Every working recorded in Santa Cruz County

Storms near this property

3 since 2001

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Watsonville, the town this property stands in, in 3 storm reports between 2001 and 2019: 2 hail, 1 flood. 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
November 2019FloodWatsonville-Hwy 152 at Holohan Rd eastbound lane under 1 foot of water.
September 2017HailWatsonville-Pea sized hail reported by spotter near Watsonville.
December 2001HailWatsonville-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Santa Cruz County

Maps showing this location

12 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
Madison House3.9 miles1984
Mansion House Hotel3.9 miles1983
Redman House3.9 miles2004
Lettunich Building4.0 miles1992
Judge Lee House4.0 miles1980
Stoesser Block and Annex4.0 miles1983

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 76000531 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Santa Cruz CountyAll 42 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.