San Juan Bautista State Historic Park

"Fun with the Family"

Full of carriages and wagons today, the Plaza Stable was headquarters for seven stage lines in the 1860s, when as many as eleven coaches a day arrived, loaded with silver and gold miners, traders, and other travelers. Dusty travelers headed first to the Plaza Hotel to get a beer or something stronger in the bar and to book a room for the night. The owner of the hotel, Angelo Zanetta, built himself a magnificent house on the plaza, and the structure—the Zanetta House—now contains an outstanding collection of early California furnishings and personal items. The red-tile-roofed Castro/ Breen House was owned by a family from the Donner Party who struck it rich in the Gold Rush. Behind the house is a glorious, 150-year-old pepper tree shading beautiful gardens.
Living History Day is held in the state park on the first Saturday of each month,from noon to 4:00 P.M. Here costumed residents demonstrate blacksmithing, mountain man encampments, food-making, and other activities, while regaling visitors with tales of the old days in San Juan.