When you're driving at 70 miles an hour down the highway, there's a lot of hidden history that can pass you right by. Today on KVPR's Central Valley Roots, the story of one such landmark along a highway in Kings County.
On the west side of Highway 41 just north of Lemoore sits El Adobe de Los Robles Rancho. It’s a long rectangular ranch house, with a shake roof with white plaster covering most of its adobe brick walls.
This modest adobe structure might not look like much, but it is one of the most historic sites in the region. It was built in 1856 near the shoreline of Tulare Lake. It's the second oldest remaining building in the San Joaquin Valley. When it was built, the only European settlements in the area were Visalia and the former town of Kingston.
The house was built by early California settler Daniel Rhoads who came west in 1846, before the gold rush. Rhodes and his brother played another important part in California history. In 1847 they were part of the group that rescued the Donner Party.
Rhoads eventually became a cattle rancher, settling near the Kings River on what he called the ranch of the oaks. Today his original ranch house is a California state landmark. It’s been continually occupied since 1856.
