Rancho Buena Vista Adobe

Posted: 05.01.2025 | Updated: 05.01.2025

Rancho Buena Vista Adobe is one of the last great ranchos in San Diego County. Located in the town of Vista, CA, Rancho Buena Vista Adobe has stood for over 160 years. During that time, it has been owned by ranchers, war veterans, and celebrities.

Its storied past has resulted in it being one of the most haunted locations in the San Diego area. It’s a hotspot for paranormal investigators, and a place known to make people’s hair stand on end.

Want to make your next trip to the San Diego area a little spooky? Be sure to book a ghost tour with San Diego Ghosts today!

Is The Rancho Buena Vista Adobe Haunted?

Staff, guests, and paranormal investigators alike agree that the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe is extremely haunted. Some even believe that it is a portal where the dead can easily communicate with the living. 

Witnesses have encountered a lady in white along with other full-body apparitions. Unexplained sounds and noises have frightened staff members who already know that the ranch is haunted. 

The strange happenings and the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe are well-documented, making them all the more shocking. Spirit box sessions and Electronic Voice Phenomena are just some of the compelling ways that investigators make contact with the deceased residents of this historic ranch.

History of The Rancho Buena Vista Adobe

The original Rancho Buena Vista Adobe was constructed as the result of a land grant given to Felipe Subria by Governor Pio Pico in 1845. Subria was granted the land after converting to Christianity at the Mission San Luis Rey, which owned the land. Subria constructed an adobe barn and other outbuildings where he raised livestock until deeding the ranch to his daughter, Maria La Gracia.

Maria La Gracia eventually sold the ranch to Jesus Machado for $3,000.00. Unfortunately, none of the original structures built by Subria exist today, but the ranch looks much as it did when Machado constructed it in the 1850s. Machado built the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe in the Monterey style and made upgrades to the 30-acre estate. 

Machado was later killed by Native Americans, and his children sold the ranch in 1866 to Cave Johnson Couts, a veteran of the Mexican-American War. Couts and his family didn’t live at the ranch, but instead resided in a home three miles away. Following Couts’ death, the ranch stayed in his family for several generations. 

In the 1930s, the ranch was owned by MGM director Harry Pollard and his wife, acclaimed silent film actress Margarita Fischer Pollard. The Pollards hosted many parties at the ranch, which were attended by the stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Joan Crawford, a good friend of the Pollards, made her mark on the ranch by gifting a magnolia tree that still stands in the front courtyard. 

In 1989, the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe was sold to the city of Vista for $1 million. Today, the home is open for tours and features 7,000 historical artifacts in its expansive collection. While modern amenities have been added to the ranch, it is still a step back into time and California’s beginnings.

Hauntings At The Rancho Buena Vista Adobe

There have been dozens of ghostly encounters documented at the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe over the years. Many of these hauntings have been recorded over the past couple of decades thanks to the San Diego Paranormal Research Society (SDPR). 

According to co-founder Nicole Strickland, “You can’t separate history from the paranormal.” Indeed, past residents and events seem to have left their psychic mark on the ranch.

Staff and investigators alike have experienced all manner of supernatural activity at the ranch. Women in petticoats will appear and glide through solid walls. There are cold spots and strange smells that have no explanation.

People have felt unseen hands touch their hair, face, and shoulders. Children’s voices and women singing are among the disembodied sounds heard throughout the ranch. There are even reports of phantom horse hooves galloping.

A former employee stated that he was alone at the ranch and heard disembodied footsteps, followed by the television turning itself on not once but twice. As the grand finale, someone or something picked a painting up off the wall and hurled it across the room, where it crashed against a door. Another city worker saw a swirl of white mist behind the ranch on a perfectly clear day.

A Cast of Spirits

There seems to be an endless cast of ghosts who continue to call the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe home. The apparitions of the Couts family, as well as the Pollards, have been seen throughout the ranch. A lady in white known as “Dora” has been spotted floating through the courtyard at night. 

Investigators have communicated with the spirit of Luis Machado Sr., who prefers being addressed as “Luis, my friend,” to start off a spirit box session and record EVPs. 

The Ghost of Juan Gonzalez

One of the ghosts who has communicated with investigators has identified himself as Juan Gonzalez. Juan apparently worked for the Couts family in the 1800s. For reasons still unknown, Juan was held captive in the ranch’s root cellar and was later murdered on the property. 

In the 1920s, an electrician was working in the ranch’s “majordomo” room and made a horrifying discovery. Inside one of the walls, he found a skeleton with a noose around its neck.

Researchers believe that the remains belonged to Juan Gonzalez, but there is no record of what happened to the remains. While the tale could be an urban legend, Juan’s presence at the ranch is undeniable. 

Haunted San Diego

The ghosts of the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe seem to cohabitate with its human guests. As Nicole Strickland put it, “If there are earthbound energies here, this was a place they loved.” 

While the ranch was a site of death and tragedy, it was also a beloved home to the majority of its inhabitants. It’s no surprise that so many of them continue to call it home.

Want to learn more about the haunting history of the San Diego area? Don’t forget to book a ghost tour with San Diego Ghosts for your next visit! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and keep reading our blog for more real California hauntings.

Sources:

• https://hiddensandiego.com/things-to-do/places/rancho-buena-vista-adobe

• https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2018/10/30/ghostly-high-season-kicks-off-at-haunted-adobe-in-vista/

• https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2014/10/29/ghost-hunters-giving-tours-of-rbv-adobe/