Built in 1845 by early Californio settler Cayetano Juárez, the structure was originally a family house and was later converted to a restaurant and bar.

It is at the beginning of the Silverado Trail, the first permanent road established in 1852 between Napa and Calistoga, California, which is near various mercury mines on the slopes of Mount Saint Helena.

The building displays many vernacular characteristics of traditional adobe construction common during the Spanish and Mexican periods of California history.

[7] The building was the home of the family of Cayetano Juarez, his wife Maria de Jesus Higuerra and their descendants.

[7] After both died, their daughter Domilita Juarez Metcalf lived in the house and operated portions of the rancho as a farm until the 1920s.

[8] The South Napa Earthquake of August, 2014 caused some cracking of plastered interior walls and the chimney that had been added in the 1950s.

[7] In 2014, Napa real estate investor George Altamura purchased the house, pledging to restore it to its 1848 appearance.

[9] Justin Altamura made a considerable effort to study the preservation and restoration of historic adobe buildings, and decided to use traditional materials, techniques and accessories wherever possible.

[6] He hired a team of expert Mexican masons to repair and replace the traditional mud mortar used between the original adobe bricks.

[10] Juliana Inman, a member of the Napa County Landmarks Board and an architect, praised the renovation, stating that the project gave the building "some cachet and some importance", observing that over decades "it’s been abused and converted to other uses and terrible additions made to it", concluding that "it’s just remarkable that it’s still here after all of that.