Week 2: Project 2B

General Vallejo’s Home:

A Historical Museum

General Vallejo’s Home in Sonoma, California was one of the most prestigious estates in Northern, California. “He named it Lachryma Montis. This Latin form comes from an early Indian name for a nearby spring - Chiucuyem (Tears of the Mountain) (www.inn-california). The home sits near the square in Sonoma, Califora and has been restored to its original grandeur. At one time, this was quite a large estate exemplifying wealth and class. Today, the home is a museum that houses many of the original furnishings. It is surrounded by beautiful grounds of rose bushes and trees; General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo’s home holds photographs of many of my family members, including Henry Delano Fitch and Josepha Carrillo. The day my sister and I visited with my parents, the attendants of the museum asked if they could take a picture of us to put in the glass case, for they said we had the same ringlet curly hair as our ancestors. I was very little at the time, but I felt such a great sense of pride, for I saw people from all cultures and ethnicities who were visiting my uncle and aunt's home on that day, and I thought what an honor to be seen by all these people who visit here on a daily basis to view the history of Sonoma County. Through our tour, I could see how my uncle and aunt lived, and I wish I could have known them. They looked like a loving couple that enjoyed friends and family visits. I felt in some respects like more than just a visitor. I am their nephew, and that gave me such a feeling of welcome and belonging. I wondered what advice General Vallejo and my aunt, Francisco Benicia Carrillo, would have given me if my family and I were seated at their dinner table, which was decorated with blue and white dishes from England. I wondered what guest room I might have slept in if I were to have spent the night with my family. Mostly, I wondered what this great man and beautiful aunt would have been like to meet.

http://www.inn-california.com/sanfrancisco/sonoma/sonoma/vallejohome.html