The forgotten and surprising history of Los Guilicos

Soon to be home to a temporary encampment of Sonoma County’s homeless, the historic area known as Los Guilicos was once home to one of California’s first wineries, a home for the aged and a school for “delinquent” girls.

The region encompassing present-day Oakmont, Kenwood and Trione-Annadel State Park was part of the vast 18,884-acre Mexican land grant given to Scottish-born sea captain John Wilson, brother-in-law of Gen. Mariano Vallejo. Called Rancho Los Guilicos, the name is a derived from a Coast Miwok name for the village of Wilikos nearby.

Wilson never lived at Los Guilicos, selling a portion of the original plot to adventurer William Hood in 1849. Hood employed his skills in construction and carpentry to design and build the iconic brick home bearing his name in 1858. Hood and his teenage bride, Eliza Ann Shaw, cultivated the land, planting grapes and raising sheep. In 1861, Hood built a large, three-story winery on the site, one of the earliest in the state.

A small community grew up around the Hood homestead called Los Guilicos. In 1887, the Santa Rosa-Carquinez Railroad, later known as the Southern Pacific, built a station across from the Hood farmhouse and the area prospered.

A number of economic setbacks hit the Hoods hard toward the end of the century. They never seemed to recover from the financial blow of phylloxera, a type of plant lice, which devastated vineyards across the state. By 1893, the Hoods were in foreclosure and the couple were forced to vacate their home.

In 1905, the land passed hands to Sen. Thomas Kearns, R-Utah, who used the Sonoma County property as a summer retreat. Kearns expanded the property to the Victorian mansion it is today. Following his death in 1918, the property was sold and subdivided a few times until it landed in the lap of the Knights of Pythias in 1924.

A fraternal organization, the Knights of Pythias purchased the property in hopes of creating a retirement home for elderly and disabled members. In addition to adding buildings for cooking, dining and sleeping, they established a farm with revenues that supported the residents. During this period, Hood Mansion was mainly used as an administrative office, although it also served as a dormitory from time to time.

In 1945, the Knights of Pythias sold the property to the state of California for use as a correctional facility for “delinquent” girls. The state operated the Los Guilicos School for Girls until the 1970s when it was sold to Sonoma County and used as a juvenile detention center.

In 2005, a $60 million Juvenile Justice Center was built and many of the aging Los Guilicos buildings were abandoned. Portions of the former school for girls are occupied by the Sonoma County Archives while Hood Mansion, now on the National Register of Historic Places, is maintained by Sonoma County Regional Parks.

Click through the gallery above to see Los Guilicos transition through the years.