Sikes Adobe Historic Happenings

Sikes Adobe Post-Fire Rebuilding

Update - December 22, 2009 (pdf)
Update - July 29, 2009 (pdf)
Update - January 31, 2009 (pdf)
Update - December 30, 2008 (pdf)
Update - August 21, 2008(pdf)

Photos from Archaeological Surveys (below)

Dr. Philip de Barros and students from Palomar College are assisting Museum Manager Anne Cooper in searching for additional clues about the Sikes Adobe history before reconstruction begins.  Palomar College has a solid certification program in archaeology. Crews, along with Dr. de Barros and Anne there to supervise, began working at the site most Saturdays, beginning on the 27th of September. See photos below taken 10/4/08.

Update - June 17, 2008 (below)

The first steps toward the rebuilding of the Sikes Adobe have been taken!   Archaeologists have completed testing those areas of the building’s historic footprint which were previously covered by floors.   The results of these tests are being analyzed, but initial findings point to the presence of a packed earthen floor in the area formerly known as the Sitting Room.

  Two units were also placed inside the adobe, in that area which formerly served as the kitchen.   Rodent activity below the floor boards revealed the use of historic newspapers for nesting material.   The source of the newspapers may have been the lining of the walls, as a first layer below wallpaper.   One of the scraps of historic newsprint included the date: 1908!   This paper was printed in San Francisco, as shown by a preserved portion of an inside page masthead.   Thank you to the mice and gophers of the Sikes Adobe.

Stay tuned…

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Update – January 23, 2008

The San Dieguito River Park plans to rebuild the Sikes Adobe and has entered into discussions with both the City of San Diego and representatives from the Office of Emergency Services and FEMA to secure funding for this effort. An emergency stabilization plan is underway to stabilize the surviving adobe walls, which represent the oldest portion of the structure. The San Dieguito River Park has retained the services of the Mark Sauer Construction Company to stabilize the adobe. Mr. Sauer’s construction firm completed the restoration of the Sikes Adobe in 2004, and is well versed in the treatment of historic adobe structures in southern California.

Upon completion of stabilization efforts, archaeological testing will be conducted on a limited basis within those parts of the structure’s footprint which were not previously exposed, due to the presence of existing historic floors. Debris from the burn will be removed, after a salvage of items which could either be used in the replication or in future interpretation of the Sikes Adobe are removed.

All work will be conducted in compliance with the “Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, 1995.”