Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo began purchasing acreage for the Vallejo Estate during November 1849. He named it Lachryma Montis (mountain tear) a rough Latin translation of Chiucuyem (crying mountain) - the Native American name for the free-flowing spring on the property. The estate was located at the foot of the hills half-a-mile west and north of Sonoma's central plaza. In 1849, after returning from Monterey and California's 1849 Constitutional Convention, Vallejo determined to move his growing family from La Casa Grande and the center of Sonoma. He remembered the location of the spring from an early trip surveying areas around Mission San Francisco Solano. The design of the house and its furnishings illustrate Vallejo's ongoing Americanization and his openness to new ideas. When the family moved to the estate near the end of 1852 the accumulated cost of the estate exceeded $150,000.Developing the EstateVallejo's home was built beside the spring and its pool in 1851-1852. The two-story, wood frame house was prefabricated, designed and built on the east coast of United States. It was shipped around Cape Horn on a sailing ship and then assembled at its present site. The design was Victorian Carpenter Gothic highlighted by a large Gothic window in the master bedroom, twin porches, dormer windows, and elaborate carved wooden trim along the eaves. Bricks were placed inside the walls of the house in order to keep it warm in winter and cool in summer.<ref name="S/PSHPA - General Vallejo's Home">S/PSHPA - General Vallejo's Home Insulation with adobe was a material which Vallejo felt had proven practical in California’s climate. The furnishings were eclectic, representing Vallejo's Spanish and Mexican heritage, the China trade, and styles popular with Americans. Each room had its own white marble fireplace. Crystal chandeliers, lace curtains, and many other furnishings including the handsome, rosewood, concert-grand piano, were imported from Europe.
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