By TR Robertson Photos by TR Robertson and some from the City of Vista website
The Rancho Buena Vista Adobe is a Spanish-style rancho with a lengthy history connected to the early settlement of what would become the City of Vista. Owned by the City of Vista since 1989, the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe has a history dating back to 1846, when 1184.9 acres were settled by Felipe Subria. Felipe built a small adobe residence and a three-sided barn for his horses. He raised cattle and sheep. None of the original residences remain today. Felipe had a daughter who married an American soldier named William Dunn. Dunn decided to stay in the area and farm the area after Felipe died. On April 10, 1852, Dunn deeded the property to Jesus Machedo for $3,000. The D brand seen today on the Rancho’s signage is from Dunn’s last name. Machedo would build several of the adobe rooms seen today when touring the Rancho.
Each adobe wall is 2-3 feet thick. The original roof was overlapping thatch, and the floors were pounded dirt that was covered with rugs. Jesus would later sell the rancho to Lorenzo Soto, who would erect additional rooms at a right angle to the existing ones but did not connect them. In the late 1800’s Soto sold the rancho to Cave Johnson Couts, who also owned Rancho Guajome. Couts would raise thousands of cattle at Rancho Buena Vista and with his son he also raised horses. In 1876, Couts wife, Ysidora Bandini de Couts, transferred the RBV property to her daughter, Maria Antonia, who had married Chambers Scott. Chambers Scott and Cave Johnson Couts Jr. helped bring the building of the Santa Fe train tracks to the area in 1887, connecting Oceanside to Escondido.
Changes were on the horizon, and the large rancheros were disappearing, and small farms and ranchos were cropping up with avocados and citrus trees beginning to appear on all of the properties. Small businesses were also popping up near the train tracks. The first postmaster, John A. Frazier, would give the city its name, first submitting Frazier but changing to Vista when he found out Frazier was already used in another location. The name Vista was submitted to the United States Post Office Department in Washington, D.C. and approved.
Living in the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe at this time was Ysidora Fuller and husband George Couts Jr. They would sell the property in 1918 to F. Jack Knight and his wife Helen Louise. Helen was an heiress of the Mary McKinney Gold Mine in Cripple Creek, Colorado. Jack and Helen would do most of the major remodeling of the adobe, strengthening the walls and roof, updating the kitchen, enclosing the breezeway and adding a bathroom as well as moving the main entrance to the location where it remains today. Radiators were also installed in each room for heat, to go along with the existing fireplaces. The Knights also built a guest house that had three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms and a kitchen. This building is still located across from the main entrance today. In 1923 the Knights held a party the day after Christmas for the newly formed Vista Chamber of Commerce. In 1925 they gave the property close to the adobe to the City of Vista for the establishment of Wildwood Park, still in existence today.
After Helen passed away Jack sold the property to Harry Pollard and wife Margarita Fischer Pollard in 1931. Harry was an MGM producer of silent films, and his wife was well known in the silent film industry. The Pollards also did some major renovations to the house upgrading the interior, adding clothes closets, bringing in heavy wooden doors, and cupboards in the kitchen. They also added expensive furnishings, Spanish tapestries, a badminton court and a three-car garage. Harry passed away in 1934, and Margarita continued to live in adobe until 1951. She sold various parts of the property before building a smaller adobe to live in. She remained active in Vista, including founding the Vista Rancheros Historical Society.
Several owners held the property after 1951, making minor changes, modernizing needed plumbing and electrical lighting and outlets. The finals owners, Rudd and Sally Schoeffel, offered to sell the adobe to the City of Vista with the City Council voting to approve escrow on July 10, 1989, buying the property for $1 million.
A small group of volunteers helped build a museum and collected furnishings for each room. The majority of the furnishings in the Adobe today are not originals that were in the Adobe. For a while, the Friends of Rancho Buena Vista Adobe, a volunteer group, helped with tours and running a gift shop. After COVID, the gift shop closed and the number of docents for the tours declined.
Today the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe is available for weddings, educational tours, Adobe Days Summer Tours and other events. The Adobe Days Summer Tours are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays until August 8th. The tours are roughly 2 hours in length and cost $15. If interested call 760-639-6164 or go to www.vista.gov/departments/recreation-comm-services/rancho-buena-vista-adobe/adobe-days .
Rancho Buena Vista Adobe Recreation Coordinator Kristen Collis said one of the most popular activities is the educational tours school children take part in throughout the school year. She said between 4-5,000 students will go through the Adobe and take part in dipping candles, branding leather and other projects that early settlers took part in as well as learning about early life on a rancho. Kristen said the students come from all over San Diego County and beyond to see the Adobe.
She also said another popular event at the RBV Adobe is the number of weddings held at the Adobe. She said that from October to June or July they will host 3-6 weddings a month. The reasonable cost for the facilities and the historic beauty of the Adobe grounds is a draw for couples. The adobe is listed in a variety of wedding registry sites. Specific information about requirements, cost, what is provided, items available and rules and regulations are available at 760-643-5268 or online at www.vista.gov/residents/ranch/buena/vista/adobe . Kristen said that the City Council is looking at approval of funds for some additional refurbishing and remodeling of various parts of the property toward the end of the year. These may include removal of the fountain in the open area, building a water feature in the corner area of the open area, building a decking area over the roots of the large tree in the open area and additional improvements. This may close parts of the Adobe from November to February for these improvements.
Kristen added that since she took over her position she and her staff have been cleaning up the various rooms at the adobe and decluttering the rooms, removing items that were not needed and basically making the Adobe rooms look more presentable. The tour guides provide information on different items in the rooms that have been donated throughout the years to give a more authentic look historically to the Adobe. If you are interested in becoming a docent or an Adobe Days Instructor contact Kristen at 760-643-5274 or email kcollis@vista.gov.
If you live in Vista and you want to see a true part of Vista’s history, you need to take a tour and if you get a chance to attend an event at the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe, make sure you go.
Rancho Buena Vista Adobe is located at 640 Alta Vista Drive, directly across the street from the Vista Civic Center.
For something a little different, there was a paperback published in 2018 called Spirits of Rancho Buena Vista Adobe, by Nicole Strickland, that goes over supposed apparitions that appear in the Adobe. One called “Lady in White” and some who said they have heard the Cave Johnson Couuts family talking, as well as others who have said they have heard other whispering voices. Strickland is the founder and director of the
