The Centinela Adobe will hold its annual...

The Centinela Adobe will hold its annual open house today with more than 200 candles lighting the historic grounds.

La Casa del Rancho Ajuaje de la Centinela, as it was once known, is a good place for a history lesson. Built in 1834 by Ygnacio Machado, a former Mexican soldier, the house was the center of a 25,000-acre working ranch.

Using sun-dried clay bricks, Machado built a typical adobe structure with 16-inch-thick walls, three rooms in a row and an open-air kitchen.

Embroiled in a series of claim disputes, the ranch changed hands several times and was whittled down to a little more than 2,200 acres.

In 1873, Daniel Freeman, a Canadian immigrant in search of a warm climate for his ill wife, bought the ranch. He amassed a fortune from farming, shipping and land deals. Later, he turned to philanthropy and became a founder of Inglewood.

Freeman willed the house to his daughters, who lived there for a while early in this century. Over the years, portions of the ranch were converted to housing tracts, and another section became part of Los Angeles International Airport.

In 1965, the Historical Society of the Centinela Valley acquired the house to save it from demolition.

Visitors to the open house at 7634 Midfield Ave., Westchester, can tour the adobe, Freeman’s old land office and the Heritage Center, which features thousands of old photographs, vintage clothing and other memorabilia.

Two hundred luminarias-- candles in open, sand-filled paper bags--will light the circular driveway leading to the adobe. Hot cider, homemade cookies and the singing of New Sounds of Hawthorne await visitors to the event from 6 to 8 p.m. There is no charge for admission.

The adobe’s regular hours are Wednesday and Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m.

Information: (310) 649-6272.