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129 Sheffield
Montecito, CA 93108
$2, 695,000

Staunchly standing guard as portal to Montecito and destinations north, this fine vintage structure is considered by many to be the oldest two story adobe house in California, and the prototype for classic Monterey style architecture. The Ortega Hill-Masini Adobe is a property that brings forth all the most passionate, vital history that early California, and in turn our young nation, has to protect and make accessible for generations to come.

The “Old Adobe” survived for over 182 years, through the most violent earthquakes on record. A triumph over the ages, it is the result of two pure elements…redwood and earth. By this act of conservation, we can teach future architects and the public at large about the heritage of our indigenous building style and materials.

Evidence proposes that the “Old Adobe” was constructed around the year 1820, by Ignacio Ortega as an outpost of the Presidio de Santa Barbara. It is possible that the actual design and construction was done by a well known ship captain from Boston named Hill, who married an Ortega, and his crew drawn from ports throughout the Caribbean. This would perhaps explain the eccentric combination of English and Spanish colonial with Caribbean/adobe architectural styling. It was apparently a simple two-story garrison for troops with a separate single story kitchen structure and large barn. Carefully concealed behind Ortega Hill from the Mexican army that threatened from the south, the adobe is poised on an ideal strategic military position for protection. The structure was also used as a look out for Fernald Bay, a landing beach for small crafts, clearly visible from the west-facing veranda.

No domestic amenities appear until after the ownership of Newton Coats and his family, noted in the census of 1850, which came from Tennessee. At that time, it is probable that the main structure and the kitchen structure were united. The next ownership documented is a deed in 1867 from N. Coates to Pedro Masini. This Italian emigrant became one of the most prominent winemakers for the Mission and even destinations beyond. Evidence shows the wine production was continued until Prohibition. The property remained in this family, passed through relatives, until the Stockwell family purchase in 2000.