[3] Petronilo Ríos, corporal commanding the Mission San Miguel guard and later owner of Rancho Paso de Robles, supervised the building of the two-story adobe home using indigenous Salinan labor on property belonging to Mission San Miguel (which is now across the street).

[4][5] The original building was made of adobe, had a roof of hand-made tiles, and used strips of rawhide to tie the pine rafters in place.

The Ríos family used the home as a residence until Warran C. Rickard purchased it from the state on a possessory claim.

[3] From 1868 until 1886, George Butchart operated the building as the Caledonia Inn, a stagecoach stop, hotel, and tavern on El Camino Real.

The arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad in San Miguel put an end to the Inn.