There were formerly two Coast Miwok villages in the area: one (called Kennekono) sited near the current town and another (called Suwutenne) further north.[3]
In 1843, Captain Stephen Smith established the first West Coast lumber mill near Bodega. Saint Teresa of Avila Church was built in 1859 and...
Coast Miwok native Americans lived on the shores of Bodega Bay. Documented village names include: Helapattai, Hime-takala, Ho-takala, and Tokau.[2] There is speculation that Bodega Bay may have been Sir Francis Drake's Nova Albion landing location on the California coast.[3]
The Upper Napa Valley was once the home of a significant population of Indigenous People, called the Wappo during the Spanish colonial era of the late 1700s. With abundant oak trees providing acorns as a food staple and the natural hot springs as a healing ground Calistoga was the site of several...
Camp Meeker, California is an unincorporated village located on the Bohemian Highway, between Occidental and Monte Rio. It has approximately 350 homes on properties ranging from a couple thousand square feet to many acres, some flat and sunny, some on steep narrow gauge railroad type one-way...
Cazadero is generally regarded as the area from the confluence of Austin Creek and the Russian River along California State Route 116 along the Cazadero Highway up to the town. Cazadero Highway roughly parallels Austin Creek which is a principal tributary of the lower Russian River. Austin Creek...
Cloverdale began as an early stage stop, known as Markleville, on the Rancho Rincon de Musalacon Mexican grant. In 1856 R. B. Markle and W. J. Miller bought 759 acres (3.1 km2), which included the present site of the town from Johnson Horrell. In 1859, James Abram Kleiser bought Markle's interest,...
The Coast Miwok civilization thrived in the Cotati area since at least 2000 BC, with principal villages built near major streams. Documented villages in the area included Lumen-takala (northeast of present-day Cotati), Payinecha (west of present-day Cotati), and Kotati.[15]
Duncans Mills (or Duncan's Mills) is an unincorporated town located in Sonoma County. The town was founded in the 1870s. In 1877, Alexander Duncan established a sawmill in what is today Duncans Mills. The mills sent lumber to the growing city of San Francisco. The town featured two hotels, a general...
El Verano's name is Spanish and means "The Summer." Resorts in El Verano, and the other nearby communities of Boyes Hot Springs, Fetters Hot Springs, and Agua Caliente were popular health retreats for tourists from San Francisco and points beyond until the middle of the 20th century because of the...
Forestville's unofficial motto is "Forestville, The Good Life," and is derived from license plate holders sold at the local hardware store. The major road through town, Highway 116, is also called Front Street for the length of the town, a distance of about three blocks, between Covey Road and...
Freestone is located on part of Rancho Caņada de Jonive. The town's name dates back to 1853 and refers to a public sandstone quarry. Starting in 1873, Freestone was a stop on the North Pacific Coast Railroad[2] which eventually connected Cazadero to the Sausalito ferry.
Located along Highway 101, about halfway between the cities of Santa Rosa and Healdsburg, Fulton is in the central region of Sonoma County. Because of its easy accessibility from a major highway, the town attracts visitors who are making their way through the county, enjoying the tasting rooms at...
Geyserville, located on the Rancho Tzabaco Mexican land grant, owes its foundation to the discovery in 1847 of a series of hot springs, fumaroles, and steam vents in a gorge in the mountains of Sonoma County, California between Calistoga and Cloverdale. This complex, which became known as The...
n 1859, Charles V. Stuart purchased a part of the Rancho Agua Caliente land grant and in 1868 began building a house there, eventually establishing a 1,000-acre (4.0 km2) vineyard he named Glen Ellen after his wife. The town that grew up around the vineyard also came to be called Glen Ellen, and...
Graton is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in west Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,815 at the 2000 census[3]. Graton's ZIP code is 95444.
Guerneville is built adjacent to the Russian River. Redwoods grew in the riverbed with such vigor that just a few centuries ago, the valley had the greatest biomass density on the planet, according to local lore. The local Pomo Indians used the area as a summer camp and called it "Ceola"...
Early inhabitants of the local area were the Pomo people, who constructed villages in open areas along the Russian River.[6] European settlement commenced in the mid 1800s, with the first Caucasian settlement nearby established downstream along the Russian River near Graton in 1836.[7]
Historically, Jenner was part of the Rancho Muniz. In 1867, John Rule bought 4,000 acres (16 km2) of the rancho. When a writer named Charles Jenner moved to the area, Rule encouraged Jenner to build a house in what became known as Jenner Gulch, the site of the town.[3]
Kenwood is located on the Rancho Los Guilicos Mexican land grant. In 1887, the Sonoma Land & Improvement Company, which owned the property on which the town now sits, laid out lots in anticipation of the railroad which would arrive the following year. The infant community tried on many names:...
Founded in 1876, Occidental was a stop on the North Pacific Coast Railroad connecting Cazadero to the Sausalito ferry. In return for donating right-of-way to the railroad, a local landowner named "Dutch Bill" Howards received a lifetime railway pass, and the station was named after him.[5]
Originally home of the Coast Miwok native people[4], the Mexican government granted Rancho Cotate to Captain Juan Castenada in July 1844 for his military services in the region. [5][6] The grant encompassed present-day Penngrove, Cotati and Rohnert Park. Cotate Rancho is a part of Vallejo Township...
Originally home of the Coast Miwok native people[9], the Mexican government granted Rancho Cotate to Captain Juan Castenada in July 1844 for his military services in the region. The grant encompassed present-day Penngrove, Cotati and Rohnert Park. "Cotate Rancho is a part of the Vallejo Township...
Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. As of January 1, 2008, the population of Santa Rosa was approximately 161,496 residents. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San...
The first people known to be at Sea Ranch were Pomos, who gathered kelp and shellfish from the beaches.
In 1846, Ernest Rufus received the Rancho German Mexican land grant which extended along the coastline from the Gualala River to Ocean Cove. The land was later divided. In the early 1900s,...
The area's first known inhabitants were the native Coast Miwok and Pomo peoples. The town of Sebastopol formed in the 1850s with a U.S. Post Office and as a small trade center for the farmers of the surrounding agricultural region. As California's population swelled after the westward migration and...
The region of Sonoma was originally the home of Native American Coast Miwok tribes as well as the Pomo people and Wintuns. Many of the Native Americans still remain, even after seven changes in government since the Spanish first explored and took over the region (see Sonoma County for...
Although not a town, Stillwater Cove is a 210 acre park that includes a campground, a half-mile trail to the historic one-room Fort Ross Schoolhouse, picnic facilities, a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean, open meadows mixed with coastal forest, ocean access and a small beach. A loading zone but...
Prior to its settlement by Europeans, the indigenous Coast Miwok and Pomo people people hunted, fished, and gathered in the area.[2] A Miwok village named Ewapalt has been documented in the Valley Ford area.[3]
Europeans explored the coastline in the early 1600s but did not settle until 1812,...