At Estancia Park, a small adobe carries a particularly good survival story: for years, much of it was concealed inside a larger ranch house.
The Costa Mesa Historical Society says a wooden addition and high-peaked roof eventually surrounded the older building. From outside, its adobe construction was difficult to spot. That covering also helped preserve the original walls until the later structure was removed and the adobe restored.
The building’s beginnings are less exact than a birthday plaque might suggest. The society places its likely construction between 1820 and 1823, possibly earlier, as shelter for herdsmen tending Mission San Juan Capistrano’s cattle. It also identifies the surrounding mesa as an Indigenous settlement long before the mission period, with finds suggesting a connection to the Genga village complex.
The Segerstrom family donated the adobe and its surrounding five-acre site to Costa Mesa in 1963. Today, visitors can find it at 1900 Adams Avenue, overlooking the Santa Ana River bed. The historical society lists opening hours on the first and third Saturdays of each month, noon to 4 p.m. Confirm the schedule before making a special trip.
