{"nrhp_refnum":"91000548","name":"Verlaque, Theophile, House","other_names":["Verlaque House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"645 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ramona","county":"San Diego County","state":"CA","lat":33.04524427100006,"lon":-116.86291420499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1991-08-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-story adobe dwelling at 645 Main Street in Ramona, San Diego County, California, built in 1886 by Theophile Verlaque, a French immigrant, businessman and winemaker, in the French Colonial style.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is the first permanent residence built in Nuevo, later renamed Ramona, and one of the earliest surviving homes in eastern San Diego County. It is also presented as a rare, well-preserved example of French Colonial architecture in the western United States, adapted with adobe block construction.","narrative":"Built in 1886 at what is now 645 Main Street in Ramona, this single-story adobe house was the home of Theophile Verlaque, a French immigrant who worked as a merchant, winemaker and real estate investor. It follows the French Colonial tradition, a style mostly found in Louisiana and Mississippi, and is adapted here with stuccoed adobe block walls, a fieldstone foundation, a cellar once used for aging wine, and a veranda on all four sides. A truncated hip roof with gently curved rafters gives it a flared overhang. Five rooms open off a central corridor, and the original doors, windows and fixtures remain. The house stands on land first known as Verlaque's Two Acres, where Verlaque's son Amos opened a store and post office in the settlement of Nuevo, later renamed Ramona. It is considered the first permanent residence in that community and a rare surviving example of its style in the West. Today it forms part of a pioneer museum.","period_of_significance":"1886-1887","architect_builder":"Verlaque, Theophile","architectural_style":"French Colonial","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Operated as a museum (Ramona Pioneer Living History Museum); preserved essentially in original condition with only minor modifications.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.921968-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/91000548.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91000548/243d7f83e9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91000548/243d7f83e9-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"JERRY &amp; ROY KLOTZ. M.D.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:THEOPHILE_VERLAQUE_HOUSE_SAN_DIEGO_COUNTY_CA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JERRY &amp;amp; ROY KLOTZ. M.D.</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:THEOPHILE_VERLAQUE_HOUSE_SAN_DIEGO_COUNTY_CA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861017","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5754548"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-diego-county/verlaque-theophile-house-91000548/"}