Vicente Martinez Adobe
The Vicente Martinez Adobe is an historic adobe house near Martinez, California. The house was built in 1849 by Vicente J. Martinez on the Rancho El Pinole, a land grant that had been given to his father, Ignacio Martinez, in 1836. It was the first of its kind built in Contra Costa County. In 1853 the adobe was sold Edward Franklin, after whom the canyon where the adobe sits was named. The adobe became known as the Franklin Canyon Adobe.
The building is a two-story ranch house typical of Californian design in the mid-19th century. The walls of the house are of thick adobe brick, the foundation consists of rough-cut stone. An internal adobe wall divides each floor into two rooms. The front and southern sides of the house have wooden wrap-around porches at each level. Wood shingles of either cedar or redwood originally covered the roof.
The Martinez Adobe is now part of the John Muir National Historic Site and is open to the public.
