Diego Sepulveda Adobe
One of the oldest standing buildings in Orange County, the Diego Sepulveda Adobe, encompasses nearly 200 years of Costa Mesa history in Estancia Park, overlooking the Santa Ana River bed. In the early 1800s, when the cattle belonging to Mission San Juan Capistrano grazed in what is now Costa Mesa, provision had to be made to shelter the herdsmen. Possibly as early as 1817, but more likely between 1820 and 1823, a small adobe was built to house the majordomo and his men. After secularization, the property continued as a cattle ranch through the 1860s when Diego Sepulveda occupied it. It passed through several hands before the Segerstrom family bought it in 1940. In 1963 the adobe and the surrounding 5-acre site were given to the City of Costa Mesa by the Segerstroms as a memorial to the early settlers of the area. It is a designated California Historical Landmark.
Costa Mesa, Orange County
Photographer: Andrew Schmidt