About Sikes Adobe

The Sikes Adobe Farmhouse, located at 12655 Sunset Dr. Escondido, CA, is a State Point of Historic Interest and a City of San Diego historic site that is being restored by the San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority to its period of significance.

The Zenas Sikes began to establish this farm site around 1870 before the arrival of his family from Santa Clara, California. The Sikes Adobe Historic Farmstead is a remarkable survivor of San Diego’s rural history and, as such, has a special role to play in preserving the legacy of dry farming in the latter part of the 19th century.

As a result of the restoration, the house museum and exhibits offer a glimpse of what was daily life for American settlers in San Diego County who farmed on land that once belonged to the native Kumeyaay, and later the grazing lands of ranchos during the era of Mexican California.

The Farmhouse was owned by the City of San Diego Water Department from 1925 to 2008. It was purchased by the San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority for $170,000 from the County of San Diego at the recommendation of Supervisor Pam Slater-Price. Before purchasing the property, the JPA had acted as caretaker of the historic site since the early 1990s.