In recent stories, we’ve taken readers to Napa and Calistoga, and those trips were so inspiring that my intrepid traveling partner (my wife Edie) and I decided to continue these North Bay adventures with another historic destination, Sonoma. On this trip, we stayed in our campervan on a farm in rural Sonoma, where the sounds of farm animals replaced the noise of traffic that we usually hear at home. And there was even a barn cat there, one with more body parts than the average cat.
Last of the California missions
Sonoma’s modern history dates back to 1823, when Mission San Francisco Solano (commonly known as the Sonoma Mission) was established in a location that would later become the northeast corner of the Sonoma Plaza. Spain built a series of 21 missions, or religious outposts, in Alta California between 1769 and 1823, with the mission in Sonoma being the final and most northern one, and the only one built under independent Mexican rule (Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821). The purpose of the mission system was to spread Christianity in Spain’s colonies, and expand its empire.
Valley of the Moon
The name Sonoma is said to have originated from the language of the Coast Miwok tribe, and translates to “Valley of the Moon.” The name suggests a peaceful and tranquil landscape, one inhabited by native tribes for many centuries before European settlers arrived in the early 1800s. Because the Spanish started their California mission system in Baja California, it took them about 140 years to reach the “end of the mission trail” at Sonoma, so the native people here had more time to enjoy their traditional ways before change arrived. But change ultimately did arrive, and the lives of the Miwok people would never be the same.
Secularizing the missions
The Decree for the Secularization of the Missions of California, which nationalized the missions, was passed by the congress of the Mexican Republic in 1833. The act transferred the missions and their properties from the Franciscan Order of the Catholic Church to the Mexican government. Part of the reason for this was that Mexico feared that Spain would continue to have influence and power over its former colony, since most of the Spanish missions in California remained loyal to the Catholic Church in Spain.
It took until 1836 for all of the missions to be secularized, and one of the requirements of the decree, in addition to emancipating indigenous peoples from the missions, was that these people also receive a portion of the land and assets. In reality, this never happened in any meaningful way, and the land ended up granted mostly to well-connected Mexican citizens, ranchers, military officers, and settlers.
General Vallejo arrives
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (1807-1890) was born in Monterey, California, which at that time was part of the Spanish empire. He joined the Mexican military as a young man in 1824, after his country had achieved independence from Spain. In 1834, he was sent to Sonoma to secularize the mission and establish a garrison and pueblo there, to secure the region against Russian expansion from the north.
It was General Vallejo who laid out the town of Sonoma as we know it today, with its large central plaza, reminiscent of the zocalos, or public squares, found in Mexico. With the Mission anchoring the northeast corner of the plaza, Vallejo built his own home (La Casa Grande) on the north side, along with a barracks for his troops. La Casa Grande burned down in 1867, leaving only the two-story servants’ quarters. The servants’ quarters and the Sonoma Barracks remain to this day, part of the Sonoma State Historic Park.
Sonoma State Historic Park
This historic park is a great place to start a visit to old Sonoma. It actually spans four separate locations, all close together, including the Vallejo home (1851), the Sonoma Barracks (1841), the Mission San Francisco Solano (1823), and the Blue Wing Inn (1836). All of these structures, plus the historic Toscano Hotel and Casa Grande Servants’ quarters are part of the Sonoma State Historic Park, and feature rich interpretative exhibits and knowledgeable docents…