Our tour of Monterey’s Historic District took us to the Stevenson House, where Robert Louis Stevenson once spent time writing, exploring, and wooing the love of his life.
By the time we arrived at the Stevenson House, we were hot and tired. The heat wave of October 2022 was just beginning, and we’d done a lot of walking looking for historic buildings. We weren’t sure what to expect when we got to the Stevenson House—an old house with antiques? Lots of Robert Louis Stevenson memorabilia? It certainly wasn’t the French Hotel or an oasis in the middle of town.
There were no tours on the day that we visited (click here for info on tours), so we were left to exploring the grounds on our own, which is actually one of my favorite ways to explore. Wouldn’t you know it? I quickly found an interesting corridor. I followed. And voila! We were suddenly in a lush backyard that looked like an oasis of lush, tropical green. We made a beeline for the bench to enjoy the shade.
Rafael Gonzales, an administrator of the Custom House, began construction on the adobe building known as the Stevenson House in 1840. Later, a Swiss immigrant and his wife expanded the building and rented rooms to sailors, tradesmen, and artists. In the fall of 1879, Robert Louis Stevenson rented a room when he came to Monterey to win the hand of Mrs. Fanny Osbourne. Though he had no money or resources, Fanny divorced her husband and married Stevenson in December 1879. During his time in Monterey, Stevenson gathered ideas for what would later become Treasure Island.
In 1941, two women donated the house to the State as a memorial to Robert Louis Stevenson.
Did you see last week’s entry? You can find it at Visiting Old Monterey — the walking tour. Click here to view more Friday Morning Post entries, or you can follow me on Twitter.
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