text: casa de estudillo the casa de estudillo , also known as the estudillo house , is a historic adobe house in san diego , california , united states . it was constructed in 1827 by josé maría estudillo and his son josé antonio estudillo , early settlers of san diego , and was considered one of the finest houses in mexican california . it is located in old town san diego state historic park , and is designated as both a national and a california historical landmark in its own right . besides being one of the oldest surviving examples of spanish architecture in california , the house gained much prominence by association with helen hunt jackson 's wildly popular 1884 novel ramona . the casa de estudillo is one of three national historic landmarks in southern california that were closely tied to ramona , a novel of californio life shortly after the american acquisition of california ; the other two are rancho camulos and rancho guajome . description the large building is a u - shaped structure , measuring 113 feet ( 34 . 4 m ) on the front side , and 98 feet ( 29 . 9 m ) on each of the wings . it is constructed in the spanish colonial style , meaning that the house 's 13 rooms are set consecutively in the building and connected only by an external covered ( as opposed to an interior hallway ) . the main portion ( the center ) contains the entrance , facing west . to its left is the chapel and to its right is the schoolroom . both rooms originally were smaller , with bedrooms located at the ends of building , but a 1910 restoration eliminated those walls to enlarge the rooms . two bedrooms , a living room , a kitchen ( which was added at a later date ) , and the servants ' dining room are in the north wing , while the south wing has three bedrooms and the family dining room . the house is topped by a cupola from which bullfights and festivals in the adjacent plaza could be seen . ramona association with the novel josé antonio estudillo died in 1852 , and his family stayed until 1887 , when they moved to los angeles , leaving the house in the hands of a caretaker . meanwhile , the 1884 publication of ramona , a novel set in southern california which painted a romanticized portrait of californio life , generated a nationwide interest in the region . this , combined with the opening of the southern pacific and santa fe railway lines ( and the ensuing rate war , which drove prices down to as low as $ 1 from st. louis , missouri to los angeles ) , meant that hordes of tourists made their way to southern california to see the locations in the novel . unfortunately , jackson died in 1885 without ever having disclosed what the actual locations in the novel were , which caused a great deal of speculation . in 1887 , a front page article of the san diego union declared the estudillo home to be " ramona 's marriage place " , saying , " to sleepy old town ( the house ) is known as the , but the outside world knows it as the marriage place of ' ramona . ' " this was despite jackson never having visited the house , but in the novel , ramona was married in a " long , low adobe building which had served no mean purpose in the old presidio days , but was now fallen in decay ; and all its rooms , except those occupied by the father , had been long uninhabited " . despite the novel being a work of fiction , visitors flocked to the building thinking it was the actual location of ramona 's marriage . to be clear , the union did not simply invent this story ; a tourist had already scratched the name " alessandro " ( ramona 's husband in the novel ) in one of the walls . the caretaker decided to capitalize on the attendant publicity and began selling off pieces of the house as souvenirs . naturally , the building 's condition began to deteriorate rapidly . 1910 restoration in 1906 , the dilapidated building was purchased by the san diego electric railway company , owned by prominent san diego citizen john d. spreckels ( who also owned the union ) . in his vision , the house would anchor a number of tourist attractions connected via his railway which would realize his twin goals of developing san diego into a popular locale and generate revenue for his company . to this end , he hired architect hazel wood waterman to renovate the house to a condition more closely matching descriptions in the novel . the original cupola and balcony was removed because there was none mentioned in the novel , and several doors and windows were moved . waterman was exacting in her specifications : she wanted the building to look aged as well as have the " charm of the work of half - skilled indian hands " , although modern conveniences such as electricity and indoor plumbing were included . upon its completion in 1910 , it was marketed as a ramona - related tourist attraction , and remained popular as such for years to come , drawing 1 , 632 visitors on one day in 1940 . spreckels hired tommy getz , a theater showman , to manage the property , and it was under getz 's guidance that the property truly gained its ramona association . he began strongly marketing the property : of all sorts were labeled with " ramona 's marriage place " , and more postcards were printed for the adobe than any other ramona attraction . due to its association with ramona 's marriage , the house was used to host weddings as well . getz eventually purchased the adobe from spreckels in 1924 . the association with the novel was so keen that the application for national historic landmark status was entitled , " casa estudillo / ramona 's marriage place . " the journal of san diego history goes so far as to say that without the novel 's influence and the popularity of the house , the historic buildings that make up old town san diego would have been razed . in fact , for a time , the ' relationship to the house was nearly forgotten . after getz 's death in 1934 , his daughter weiss continued to operate the business for another thirty years , finally selling it 1964 to the title insurance and trust company , which then sold it to local businessman legler , who donated it to the state of california in 1968 . 1968 restoration the state park service then set about restoring it to its pre - ramona state , including the missing cupola . the house now stands as a museum and is furnished as it would likely have been during estudillo 's ownership , but with an added kitchen . the state seemed embarrassed at the property 's association with the novel : the long - standing " ramona 's marriage place " sign was removed , and brochures printed in the 1970s make no mention of the novel at all . by the 1990s , the state began to acknowledge the long - standing relationship to the book . ramona no longer has the same hold on the country 's imagination as it once did . it is estimated that only 1 % of visitors to the casa de estudillo now are aware of the house 's ties to the novel . photo gallery