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 link to plaque | MISSION SAN FRANCISCO SOLANO Photoset: Flickr Set | Map: Google Map On July 4, 1823, Padre José Altamira founded this northernmost of California's Franciscan missions, the only one established in California under independent Mexico. In 1834, secularization orders were carried out by Military Commandant M. G. Vallejo, and Mission San Francisco Solano became a parish church serving the Pueblo and Sonoma Valley until it was sold in 1881. Sonoma State Historic Park, NW corner of Spain at 1st St E, Sonoma Note: Part of Sonoma SHP in downtown Sonoma. There is a minor admission charge that also lets you into other buildings. It was $2 in March 2008. You may also want to check hours of operation. Additional info: Sonoma SHP | |
 link to plaque | FORT ROSS Photoset: Flickr Set | Map: Google Map Founded in 1812 by Russians from Alaska. When Russians withdrew to Alaska in 1841, Captain Sutter bought the improvements and supplies. The State acquired the fort in 1906 and the remaining buildings-Greek Orthodox Chapel, Commandant's Quarters, and Stockade-were restored. The chapel, destroyed by fire in 1970, was reconstructed in 1974. 19005 Coast Hwy, State Hwy 1 (P.M. 33.0), 12 mi N of Jenner Note: There is an admission fee to the park. You may also wish to check hours of operation. I didn't look for and didn't find the plaque. Additional info: Fort Ross SHP | |
 link to plaque | PETALUMA ADOBE Photoset: Flickr Set | Map: Google Map Vallejo's Petaluma Adobe, Petaluma Adobe served as the center for General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo's 66,000-acre working rancho from 1836-1846. It was once the largest privately owned adobe building in Northern California; Vallejo sold the building and surrounding acres in 1857. The Native Sons of the Golden West acquired the Adobe in 1910 and the State of California obtained it in 1951. Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park, 3325 Adobe Rd, Petaluma Note: Parking was free, but it cost a couple bucks to visit the actual adobe. You might check hours of operation beforehand. Additional info: Petaluma Adobe SHP | |
 link to plaque | LUTHER BURBANK HOME AND GARDEN Photoset: Flickr Set | Map: Google Map In this garden Luther Burbank wrought with living plants to bring to the world greater fertility, wealth, and beauty, developing new varieties that produced better fruits and more beautiful flowers. 200 block of Santa Rosa Ave, Santa Rosa Note: Couldn't find a traditional plaque; only the big sign. Admission is free, but check hours of operation beforehand. Additional info: Luther Burbank Home & Gardens | |
 link to plaque | PRESIDIO OF SONOMA (SONOMA BARRACKS) Photoset: Flickr Set | Map: Google Map 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 'California Republic' and raised the Bear Flag on Sonoma's Plaza. Twenty-three days later, on July 7, 1846, Commodore John Drake Sloat took possession of California for the United States government. Stevenson's Regiment, Company C, U.S.A., occupied the barracks in April 1847. Sonoma State Historic Park, NW corner of E Spain and 1st St E, Sonoma Note: Part of Sonoma SHP in downtown Sonoma. There is a minor admission charge that also lets you into other buildings. It was $2 in March 2008. You may also want to check hours of operation. I couldn't find a traditional CHL plaque, but there is a more generic one near the entrance. Additional info: Sonoma SHP | |
 link to plaque | HOOD HOUSE Photoset: Flickr Set | Map: Google Map 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, sister-in-law of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, in 1839. The house, constructed in 1858 by William Hood for his bride, Elsia Shaw of Sonoma, incorporates the original bricks fired on the property. The property was purchased in 1943 by the California Department of the Youth Authority for Los Guilucos School for Girls. Hood Mansion, Santa Rosa Jr College, 7501 Sonoma Hwy (Hwy 12), Santa Rosa Note: The directions are somewhat misleading. The address is correct, but it's only an off-site campus for SRJC, not the actual school. The house is hidden behind several buildings and not easily seen. Take Pythian Rd and as it curves to the west, take the first driveway north and go until you reach the end. The house will be to the west. The map makes it look like Los Guilicos Rd gets you straight there, but in reality it doesn't. Additional info: | |
 link to plaque | ST. TERESA'S CHURCH Photoset: Flickr Set | Map: Google Map 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 continuously for over a century. Father Louis Rossi was appointed pastor on March 8, 1860, and Archbishop Alemany dedicated the church on June 2, 1861. Bodega Hwy near Bodega Ln, Bodega Note: If you can get to Bodega, you can't miss the church. It was seen in The Birds. The plaque is under the sign at the driveway. Additional info: Bodega, California | |
 link to plaque | COOPER'S SAWMILL Photoset: Flickr Set | Map: Google Map In 1834, Mariano G. Vallejo's brother-in-law, John B. R. Cooper, constructed California's first known power-operated commercial sawmill. In addition to sawing redwood lumber, the mill and surrounding settlement served as a barrier to Russian encroachment from the west. Located on Mark West Creek, the waterpowered mill was destroyed by flood in the winter of 1840-41. SW corner, intersection of Mirabel and River Rds (P.M. 174) near Mirabel Park, 8 mi W of Santa Rosa Note: Nothing of note at the site of the plaque. It's an empty pseudo-parking lot. Additional info: | |
 link to plaque | COTATI DOWNTOWN PLAZA Photoset: Flickr Set | Map: Google Map 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 traditional grid. Each of the streets surrounding the six-sided town plaza, where early settler Dr. Thomas Page's barn once stood, is named after one of Page's sons, 'Cotati' derives from the name of a local Indian chief. Downtown plaza, SE corner of Old Redwood Hwy and E Cotati Ave, Cotati Note: Look for the flagpole and you'll find the plaque. Additional info: City Of Cotati | |
 link to plaque | WALTERS RANCH HOP KILN Photoset: Flickr Set | Map: Google Map 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 Russian River Valley and North Coast regions, once the major hop-growing areas in the West. In the latter part of the 19th century, Sol Walters purchased 380 acres, part of the Sotoyome Rancho patented in 1853, from Josefa Fitch. 6050 Westside Rd, Healdsburg Note: This is a working winery with a tasting room. Try some wine! Additional info: Hop Kiln Winery | |
 link to plaque | PETRIFIED FOREST Photoset: Flickr Set | Map: Google Map The petrified forest, historically and scientifically significant as the state's only petrified forest dating from the Eocene period, is unique in its size, scope, and variety of petrification. Discovered in 1870, the forest is about a mile long by half a mile wide. 4100 Petrified Forest Rd, 5 mi NW of Calistoga Note: The plaque is right out front, between the parking lot and the gift shop. There is an admission charge to see the actual trees. Check for hours of operation. Additional info: The Petrified Forest | |
 link to plaque | ICARIA-SPERANZA COMMUNE Photoset: Flickr Set | Map: Google Map Icaria-Speranza was a Utopian community based on the writings of French philosopher Etienne Cabet. In 1881, at Cloverdale, French immigrant families led by the Dehay and Leroux families began their social experiment in cooperative living based on solidarity and depending on an agrarian economy. It lasted until 1886. Icaria-Speranza was the only Icarian Colony in California and the last of seven established throughout the United States. On this site stood the Icarian schoolhouse, deeded to the county in 1886. Location W side of Asti Rd, 1.68 mi N of Asti Post Office Rd, S of Cloverdale Note: No site, just a plaque hidden in some trees on the side of the road. It's very easy to miss. Look to the west between Theresa Dr and Kelly Rd. You might have to park a little ways from the plaque where the shoulder is wider. Additional info: |