Built in 1825, it is one of a small number of surviving adobe houses from the Mexican period of California history.

Its walls are up to 2 feet (0.61 m) thick, covered with lime plaster, and its long sides are sheltered by wooden verandas.

The roof, now shingled, was historically covered in terra cotta tile.

[3] The building was constructed in 1825 by Rafael Gonzalez, a landowner who in 1829 became an alcalde of Santa Barbara.

After his death, in 1866, the house was inherited by one of his daughters, Francisca Ventura Gonzalez de Ramires.