Page 6 - scvhs_mitchelladobereconstructionplans

The adobe about 1960
The Mitchell Adobe so Mitchell erected a large adobe hacienda from clay dug from a
Obviously, he couldn't expect his bride to live in a shack,
well on the ranch. It was some 60 feet long, 45 feet wide and
By Jerry Reynolds roofed with long slender redwood shingles. Visitors included
stage coach drivers on the Telegraph Line, Remi Nadeau and his
As it stands today, The Mitchell Schoolhouse Adobe is freighters on their way to and from the Soledad mines, and
actually a combination of several different buildings that have marauding bands of Paiute Indians. Mitchell would slaughter a
been moved, tom down, built and rebuilt over the years, and cow and hang a side of beef in a tree for the Native Americans,
bearing little resemblance to any of the original structures. who showed their appreciation by not bothering his horses or
The story of the Adobe begins on December 24, 1827, with cattle.
the birth of Thomas Finley Mitchell in Tennessee. His parents,
John and Martha Carter Mitchell, came from Virginia along
with an older brother, James. Shortly thereafter, the family
moved to Texas, where Thomas grew up, joining Company C,
Texas Mounted Volunteers. During the Mexican-American War
he earned a battlefield commission of Colonel from General
Sam Houston, himself.
Initially arriving in California during the gold rush of
1849, Colonel Mitchell finally settled near San Bemadino four
years later. There he met the Taylor's, newly arrived from
Arkansas, and took an interest in young Martha Catherine, then
only 6 years old (born December 24, 1847), paying for her
education.
While prospecting for gold near the Acton area, Colonel
Mitchell took over an abandoned miner's shack up Paper Mill
Canyon about 1858. Finding some "color" in the stream, he
purchased 160 acres from the railroad at present day Sand and
Lost Canyon Roads in 1860. The Colonel then moved the cabin
down from Paper Mill Canyon and used it as his ranch
headquarters until he married 17 year old Martha Catherine on
January 19, 1865. The original adobe about 1904