Sonoma County, California Points of Interest

On July 4, 1823, Padre José Altamira founded this northernmost of California's Franciscan missions, the only one established in California unde... [click for more]

Constructed of redwood in 1859 by New England ship's carpenters on land donated by Jasper O'Farrell, the church has served this coastal community cont... [click for more]

Here the Franciscan Fathers of San Francisco Solano de Sonoma Mission produced sacramental wine from the first vineyard in Sonoma Valley, planted in 1... [click for more]

The home of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, known as 'Lachryma Montis' (Tears of the Mountain), was built in 1850. Its name was derived from the sp... [click for more]

This was the site of Rancho los Guilucos (18,833 acres), which Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado granted to John Wilson and his wife, Ramona Carrillo, s... [click for more]

In this garden Luther Burbank wrought with living plants to bring to the world greater fertility, wealth, and beauty, developing new varieties that pr... [click for more]

This house was built by H. A. Green in 1847. Here John H. Nash was taken prisoner by Lieutenant William T. Sherman in July 1847 for refusing to relinq... [click for more]

This was the home of Captain Salvador Vallejo, brother of General Mariano G. Vallejo, who founded Sonoma. The adobe was built by Indian labor between ... [click for more]

On June 14, 1846, the Bear Flag Party raised the Bear Flag on this spot and declared California free from Mexican rule. Following the raising of the A... [click for more]

Erected by General M. G. Vallejo about 1840 to accommodate emigrants and other travelers, the Inn was purchased in gold rush days by Cooper and Sprigg... [click for more]

Discovered in 1602-03 by Vizcaino's expedition, the bay was named by Bodega in his survey of 1775. The harbor was used in 1790 by Colnett and in 1809 ... [click for more]

Founded in 1857, this is the birthplace of California wine. Its founder, Colonel Agoston Haraszthy, called the father of the state's wine industry, to... [click for more]

In 1834, Mariano G. Vallejo's brother-in-law, John B. R. Cooper, constructed California's first known power-operated commercial sawmill. In addition t... [click for more]

Cotati's hexagonal town plan, one of only two such in the United States, was designed during the 1890s by Newton Smyth as an alternative to the tradit... [click for more]

Founded in 1812 by Russians from Alaska. When Russians withdrew to Alaska in 1841, Captain Sutter bought the improvements and supplies. The State acqu... [click for more]

Icaria-Speranza was a Utopian community based on the writings of French philosopher Etienne Cabet. In 1881, at Cloverdale, French immigrant families l... [click for more]

Here in 1881 Italian immigrants established an agricultural colony. Choice wines produced from grape plantings from the Old World soon brought wide ac... [click for more]

This is the 'House of Happy Walls,' built in 1919 by Charmian K. London in memory of her husband, renowned author Jack London. Here are housed many of... [click for more]

Twentieth Century Folk Art Environments (thematic historical marker). Charles Kasling began sculpturing near Andrade in 1967, and his creations now fi... [click for more]

Vallejo’s Petaluma Adobe, Petaluma Adobe served as the center for General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo’s 66,000-acre working rancho from 1836-1846. ... [click for more]

The petrified forest, historically and scientifically significant as the state's only petrified forest dating from the Eocene period, is unique in its... [click for more]

Sonoma Barracks was erected in 1836 by General M. G. Vallejo. It became the headquarters of the Bear Flag Party, which in June 1846 proclaimed a 'Cali... [click for more]

Here Count Agoston Haraszthy, 'Father of California Viticulture,' built an imposing villa in 1857-58, as his home. California's first formal Vintage C... [click for more]

The Swiss Hotel was constructed about 1850 by Don Salvador Vallejo. This adobe adjoined his first Sonoma dwelling, built in 1836. Occupied by various ... [click for more]

This structure was erected in 1858 by Captain Granville P. Swift, a member of the Bear Flag Party, using stone quarried here by native Indian labor. G... [click for more]

The original hotel was a one-story adobe, the adjoining hall was a one-story frame structure. After the fire of 1866, a two-story stone hotel and a tw... [click for more]

This is the most significant surviving example of a stone hop kiln in the North Coast region. Built by Angelo 'Skinny' Sodini in 1905, it served the R... [click for more]