In 1861, in the heart of what was then his 6,000-acre Rancho Buena Vista, Count Agoston Haraszthy built his majestic Palladian villa, which was both his residence and where he conducted much of his wine business. The count’s original villa was destroyed; both the date and the cause of that destruction is still something of a mystery.
The site of the residence remained vacant until, near the end of her life and in ill health, Antonia Bartholomew rebuilt the villa in 1989 on the site of the original residence. She built it as a memorial to her husband Bart, with whom she had spent decades lovingly caring for this historic site, and as a tribute to Agoston Haraszthy. She thought of the two men as the “founders of Buena Vista.”
Concerts &
Gatherings
As part of our mission to tell the story of the historic structures within the park, we collaborate with two other nonprofits, the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art and Music in Place. In Q1 of 2025, we hosted a mid-winter, 8-concert series, alternating between the museum and the Haraszthy villa. Due to the ongoing refurbishment of the museum and villa, most of our programs are on pause. We hope to resume them soon.