Lachryma Montis, the house and estate built by General Mariano G. Vallejo when he returned to Sonoma as a State Senator, is built on a natural spring the Indians called “Chiucuyem” or mountain tears. In respect, the General named the estate Lachryma Montis or “mountain tear” in Latin. When Vallejo’s fortune dwindled in the 1870s he sold water to the city of Sonoma, forming one of California’s first water companies. The city used this water up to the 1930s using a redwood pipe.
Picture taken 1:33pm 19 Feb 2012
Lachryma Montis is not without controversy. The General bought the land; some of which was likely stolen from the Indians who were supposed to own it. He also “liberated” the fruit trees and wine vines from the Mission property and replanted them all on his estate. His reason was to save them but moving the trees and vines certainly did not diminish the General’s net worth.
The house was actually constructed twice. It started as a prefabricated structure made in the northeast US and then shipped around the Horn. It was then shipped to Sonoma and, like a Lego structure, put back together again; a sort of build by numbers.
Chalet/Visitor Center/Museum
The building the museum is in is called the Swiss Chalet. The original timbers of the building were cut and numbered in Europe and shipped here during the Gold Rush. The bricks came around the Horn as ballast in sailing ships. The General erected the building in 1852 for use as a warehouse in which to store supplies. Some restoration work was done in 1935. Today, the Chalet is your starting point and a museum.
Picture taken 1:33pm 19 Feb 2012
Museum Displays
There are lots of pictures and paintings of the estate and the Vallejo family in the museum. A sampling is presented here. Click on any one of them for an expanded view where you can also start a slide show of all of them.
General Vallejo as a young man. 1:34pm 2/19/2012 |
Adobe brick and branding iron. 1:35pm 2/19/2012 |
Painting of the estate. 1:35pm 2/19/2012 |
Swiss Chalet in early days. 1:36pm 2/19/2012 |
The barn. Designed to complement the main house. 1:36pm 2/19/2012 |
Cherry Stoner. Patented in 1853 and able to pit 20-30 quarts/hour. 1:36pm 2/19/2012 |
Berry Spoon. Awarded as a prize by the Horticulture Society for the best California Red Wine in 1858. 1:36pm 2/19/2012 |
Wine Corker 1:37pm 2/19/2012 |
Sonoma Valley Band Photo 1:38pm 2/19/2012 |
Chairs were simple with leather thong seats. 1:38pm 2/19/2012 |
Unlabeled crushing machine. The grinding wheel in the background is not part of the machine. 1:38pm 2/19/2012 |
Painting of the Chalet. 1:39pm 2/19/2012 |
General Vallejo reviewing his troops at Sonoma in 1846. The Mission is in the far background, soldier’s barracks next, and Casa Grande, the General’s home at that time, is the building with the tower. 1:39pm 2/19/2012 |
General Vallejo’s Coach. This phaeton was the personal carriage of General Vallejo. It was ordered from France in the 1850s. On outings, the General held the reins and handled the team. The small rear seat was for a footman who tended the horses and carriage. 1:39pm 2/19/2012 |
| Saddle types used on the estate; some designed for side sitting. | |
 1:39pm 2/19/2012 |
 1:39pm 2/19/2012 |
 1:39pm 2/19/2012 |
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Some of the display area is dedicated to the Vallejo family. Those pictures are shown here…
General Vallejo with his daughters Maria (upper left) and Luisa (lower right) and three granddaughters.
1:41pm 2/19/2012
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo and Francisca Benicia Carrillo de Vallejo 1:41pm 2/19/2012 |
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Son Andronico (1834-1897) 1:41pm 2/19/2012 |
Daughter Maria (1857-1932) 1:41pm 2/19/2012 |
Daughter Luisa (1856-1943) 1:41pm 2/19/2012 |
Son Napoleon (1850-1923) 1:41pm 2/19/2012 |
Son Uladislao (1845-Unknown) 1:41pm 2/19/2012 |
Daughter Jovita (1844-1878) 1:41pm 2/19/2012 |
Son Platon (1841-1925) 1:41pm 2/19/2012 |
Daughter Natalia (1838-1913) 1:41pm 2/19/2012 |
Daughter Adelayda (1837-1895) 1:41pm 2/19/2012 |
Daughter Epifania (1835-1905) 1:41pm 2/19/2012 |
| Lily Wiley Vallejo (wife of Platon), Luisa Vallejo, and a friend, Emily Melvin, show off their long hair. (1872) | |
 1:42pm 2/19/2012 |
 1:42pm 2/19/2012 |
Carlos, Anita, and Raoul Emparan, Luisa’s children, were born and raised at Lachryma Montis. (1888) 1:42pm 2/19/2012 |
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Other things on display.
Epaulet and Rank Insignia 1:42pm 2/19/2012 |
Spyglass 1:42pm 2/19/2012 |
Flint 1:42pm 2/19/2012 |
Cannonballs 1:42pm 2/19/2012 |
General Vallejo at different life stages.
Picture taken 1:43pm 19 Feb 2012
Lachryma Montis Main House
After visiting the museum, exit the Chalet and move across the front yard to the main house for the estate. Remember, this house was built as a prefab with parts numbered and put together on-site.
Picture taken 1:44pm 19 Feb 2012
 1:45pm 2/19/2012 |
The plaque in front of the house reads…
LACHRYMA MONTIS |
Now let’s tour the downstairs part of the house…
Living Room
Picture taken 1:46pm 19 Feb 2012
| Some items in and around the living room. | |
Harp 1:46pm 2/19/2012 |
Needlework 1:47pm 2/19/2012 |
General Vallejo 1:47pm 2/19/2012 |
Unlabeled Boy 1:47pm 2/19/2012 |
Now move on to the…
Dining room
Picture taken 1:48pm 19 Feb 2012
| Some items in and around the dining room. | |
Serving Station 1:48pm 2/19/2012 |
Carved Stag’s Head 1:48pm 2/19/2012 |
Place Setting 1:48pm 2/19/2012 |
Serving Tray 1:48pm 2/19/2012 |
Wall Clock 1:48pm 2/19/2012 |
Hanging Lamp 1:48pm 2/19/2012 |
Finally, move to the…
Library
Picture taken 1:54pm 19 Feb 2012
Now, let’s go back to the front door hallway and to upstairs…
Hallway Mirror 1:46pm 2/19/2012 |
Stairway 1:46pm 2/19/2012 |
Picture Half Way Up 1:49pm 2/19/2012 |
As with most homes of this era, the bedrooms are upstairs. I was able to get panorama-style pictures of two of the four bedrooms. The other two are shown as individual pictures of items in the rooms.
| Master Bedroom | |
Master Bed 1:50pm 2/19/2012 |
Dressing Table 1:50pm 2/19/2012 |
Child’s Bed 1:50pm 2/19/2012 |
Wash Stand 1:50pm 2/19/2012 |
Two other bedrooms…
Picture taken 1:53pm 19 Feb 2012
Picture taken 1:53pm 19 Feb 2012
| Child’s Room | |
Toy Set 1:51pm 2/19/2012 |
Child’s Bed 1:51pm 2/19/2012 |
Finally, I don’t recall where this was hanging in the house but I found the drawing of San Francisco in the 1846-7 timeframe interesting so I’ll use it to close out the house.
Picture taken 1:53pm 19 Feb 2012
El Delirio
El Delirio is the small garden pavilion west of the main home. It was here that General Vallejo rewrote his La Historia de California. A swan fountain sits in front of the residence. Once used as a guest house, it now just invites people to relax in this pretty spot. From here you can also look back at the main house and the building next to it. (Note: That building is not on the tourist maps so I have to assume that it’s some form of servants’ quarters and/or storage.)
Guest House 1:58pm 2/19/2012 |
Inside Guest House 1:58pm 2/19/2012 |
Back of Main House 1:59pm 2/19/2012 |
Adjacent Structure 1:59pm 2/19/2012 |
Reservoir
General Vallejo built a stone and masonry reservoir for fresh water delivery behind the main house. It collected water from natural artesian springs in the hills above; the same springs the estate is named for. Today it’s a nice place to sit and relax and watch the carp and turtles swimming. If the carp were introduced during the late 1870s then they are relatives of the original carp introduced to the U.S. in the Sonoma area by Julius Poppe in 1876.
Picture taken 2:00pm 19 Feb 2012
Carp 2:07pm 2/19/2012 |
Red-earred Slider Turtle 2:07pm 2/19/2012 |
At the back and above the reservoir is the Hermitage or Napoleon’s Cottage. General Vallejo’s youngest son, Napoleon, used it as his private hideaway. He kept a menagerie of pets there; numbering at one time 14 dogs, several cats, and a parrot.
Picture taken 2:03pm 19 Feb 2012
Finally, we come full circle back to the Chalet and leave Lachryma Montis.
Picture taken 2:01pm 19 Feb 2012
Some of the other historic areas around the Mission:
- Sonoma Plaza
- The Sonoma Barracks
- The Blue Wing Inn
- The Toscano Hotel
- La Casa Grande – General Vallejo’s home before 1846
- Lachryma Montis – General Vallejo’s home after 1850