Costa Mesa historians celebrate Diego Sepulveda Adobe’s 200 years with birthday open house

Costa Mesa’s Diego Sepulveda Adobe has long been a sought-out destination for visitors, from traveling Spanish missionaries to vaqueros seeking rest on long cattle drives to residents looking to connect with the area’s storied past.

Originally built in 1823, the modest clay-brick structure sits in the city’s Estancia Park on Adams Avenue overlooking the Santa Ana River bed and today serves as a historical museum open to the public the first and third Saturdays of each month.

This Saturday, members of the Costa Mesa Historical Society will honor the provenance of the adobe in a 200th birthday “popsicle social” that will include on-site tours with volunteer docents, live bluegrass music from the Sweetwater Creek Band, activities for children and ice pops provided by La Michoacana Costa Mesa.

A kitchen is one of three rooms at the Diego Sepulveda Adobe at Estancia Park in Costa Mesa, which will open to the public Saturday, from noon to 4 p.m., for a 200th birthday celebration.

(File Photo)

Marilyn Iturri, who’s lived in Costa Mesa for more than 30 years but only joined the historical society a few months ago, said the event is a good opportunity for residents who may not have been to the site to get an up-close look at one of Orange County’s longest standing buildings.

“It gives a view into history that many of us don’t know about,” Iturri said of California’s rancho period, where vast portions of missionary land were granted to landholders by the Mexican government. “To get a look at that background is really interesting.”

Visitors to the Diego Sepulveda Adobe can trace the ownership of the land, from Mission San Juan Capistrano to retired Catalonian soldier Jose Antonio Yorba and his family to Mexican rancher Eduardo Pollereno and, in 1940, Henry Segerstrom, whose family donated it to the city in 1963.

They can look at one of the adobe bricks, a composite of mud, sand and straw, that originally formed the structure and see scenes of early California life.

An original adobe brick from a wall at the Diego Sepulveda Adobe is on display inside the Costa Mesa historical museum.

(File Photo)

Second-generation Costa Mesa Historical Society member Cindy Humphreys said the site was ideally positioned between the San Juan Capistrano and San Gabriel missions and high above the Santa Ana River, which years ago was ever flooding and changing course.

“Before all the vegetation, it was clear, and you could look down at the river and know what you were up against before traveling across it,” she said.

Prior to that, it was home to native people from the Tongva tribe, whose relics have been discovered on the grounds and at nearby Fairview Park. The adobe’s displays maintain a through line from that early history to the modern era.

Iturri said Saturday’s 200th birthday celebration will be a chance for adults and children to really explore the adobe and surrounding grounds and to learn more about early Orange County.

“It’s just a little something, entertainment and treats — and 200 years of history,” she added.

The Diego Sepulveda Adobe’s 200th birthday celebration and popsicle social takes place Saturday, from noon to 4 p.m., at Estancia Park, 1900 Adams Ave., in Costa Mesa. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. For more, visit costamesahistory.org.