The Gavilan Peak Affair
John C. Fremont and his company of U.S.
"surveyors" had been allowed to winter in
California provided they stay away from the
coastal settlements, but in March 1846 they
suddenly appeared in the hills near
Monterey. Castro notified Fremont that he
would have to leave California, but Fremont
ignored the request and led his men to the
summit of Gavilan Peak, overlooking San
Juan. After three days, following an
exchange of diplomatic (and some
not-so-diplomatic) messages, Fremont decided
to comply and withdrew - "slowly and
growlingly" as he later described it.
On July 7, 1846, after the outbreak of war
between Mexico and the U.S., Commodore Sloat
landed his troops at Monterey and claimed
California for the United States. In
November of that year Fremont returned to
San Juan Bautista, this time as a lieutenant
colonel in the U.S. Army, and spent nearly
two weeks there gathering horses, mules, and
supplies for his 428-man army. Known as the
California Battalion, Fremont's little army
left San Juan on November 28, 1846 and
managed, despite considerable hardship, to
meet with Andres Pico and sign a treaty with
him - the Treaty of Cahuenga - thus ending
armed hostilities between the U.S. and the
Californians.
Castro House Today
Today, Castro House with its red tile roof
and full-length balcony looks much as it did
when the Castros first built it. Inside,
however, it has been furnished in the style
of the 1870's, when it belonged to the Breen
family.
As members of the ill-fated Donner Party,
Patrick and Margaret Breen along with their
seven children had been stranded in the
Sierra Nevada for 111 days without supplies
during the extraordinary snows of 1846. It
is said that they arrived penniless in San
Juan and were given free shelter in the
mission. Early in 1848, when word came that
gold had been discovered in the Sierra
foothills, one of the Breen children,
16-year-old John, set out for the goldfields
and returned with about $10,000 in gold
dust.
In December 1848 the Breens purchased the
Castro adobe and 400 acres of prime
agricultural land in the San Juan Valley.
Thereafter - until 1933 when it became part
of the State Historic Park - the old adobe
building was occupied by succeeding
generations of the Breen family.
Behind the Castro House you will find a 150
year old pepper tree, a delightful garden,
and several large cast-iron caldrons. An
interpretive panel shows how these caldrons
were used in the busy hide and tallow trade
during the Spanish-Mexican period of
California history. |
