Golden Memories Of The Redwood Empire

The high-tech paradise just north of San Francisco, known as the Redwood Empire, was once a land of vineyards, chicken ranches, orchards, and dairies. Using their own words and vintage photographs, here are the stories of the area's residents and their 100 years of history, from the lost glitter of the Gold Rush to end of World War II. The stories recalled here come from the reflections of the people who kept their towns and farms running on a daily basis. Among the voices heard in these chapters are Healdsburg's Ferguson family, pioneer survivors of the westward trail, and David Wharff, who brought the first chickens to Sonoma County, helping create the World's Egg Basket. Through the great Santa Rosa earthquake of 1906, to the devastating flu epidemic of World War I, to the Santa Rosa-Petaluma "Big Game" riot of 1943, these diary, interview, and newspaper accounts cover a century of rich history in the Redwood Empire.

Occidental is a picturesque village in West Sonoma County nestled between the Salmon Creek and Dutch Bill Creek watersheds. William "Dutch Bill" Howard is considered the first permanent European settler in 1849, but he was not Dutch, and his name was not Bill--he was actually Danish and had assumed a new identity after deserting a ship to look for gold. Howard and another early settler, logging baron "Boss" Meeker, were instrumental in shaping early Occidental. The North Pacific Coast Railroad arrived in 1876, requiring construction of the country's tallest timber bridge. The railroad allowed much faster communication and transportation of people and goods, including redwood, charcoal, tanbark, and produce. Italians also started arriving in the 1870s, opening authentic Italian restaurants that have now served generations of families. In the 1970s, a culture clash occurred between ranchers and farmers with hippies and artists, but together they fought to maintain the beauty and character of Occidental.

Portraits of Early Sonoma County Settlers is the narrative history of sixteen early settlers in the area which is now Sonoma County, California. A number of these persons arrived before California became a state in 1850. A number of them were lured here by the Gold Rush of 1849. They engaged in wide and diverse activities. Several were directly or indirectly involved in the settlement and development of new towns in the area. Others contributed to the development of agriculture, schools, and religion. Some of them had to deal with the Mexican Government and the ranchos in early Alta California. Overall it gives a good picture of what the area was like as it moved towards and became a part of the United States of America.

The encyclopedia takes a broad, multidisciplinary approach to the history of the period. It includes general and specific entries on politics and business, labor, industry, agriculture, education and youth, law and legislative affairs, literature, music, the performing and visual arts, health and medicine, science and technology, exploration, life on the Western frontier, family life, slave life, Native American life, women, and more than a hundred influential individuals.

New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini returns with a Prohibition-era novel about one woman’s journey to save her family—and herself With the nation in the throes of Prohibition, Rosa Diaz Barclay unwittingly discovers that her husband, John, has given over the duties of their Southern California rye farm in favor of armed bootlegging. Fearing the safety of her four beloved children, Rosa flees, with little more than a suitcase filled with John’s ill-gotten gains and her heirloom quilts. Accompanying her is Lars, a good but flawed man who is the mother of two of her children. Under assumed names, Lars and Rosa hire on at a Sonoma County vineyard, seeking not only refuge from danger, but convalescence for two of the children, who suffer from a mysterious wasting disease. The devotion of the Italian-American community to the craft of viticulture inspires Rosa to acquire a vineyard of her own, even as she discovers firsthand its inherent hardships and dangers winemakers face in such turbulent times.

In late 1920, a major crime wave sweeps the nation as Prohibition takes effect. The ban on the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages causes the criminal underworld to resort to illegal smuggling, better known as bootlegging. Law enforcement wages an immense war against these so-called bootleg gangsters and their criminal activities. In the San Francisco Bay Area, the shocking crimes of Edmund “Spud” Murphy and his notorious Howard Street Gang create havoc for area law enforcement and its local citizens, resulting in an epic battle between good and evil. Tragic events unfold as area law enforcement officers attempt to arrest the members of the gang.

A seventeen-year-old has found a huge heart of gold hidden beneath a lake high in the Sierra Nevada. It is the mother lode. But can he keep it? Dain King is a ruthless killer who captures Petr and sends him down the river in an old Indian canoe to scare him into revealing the location of his gold. The canoe goes over a waterfall where Petr is rescued by Paiutes. He falls in love with the Indian medicine woman, Minoah. A bad Indian kidnaps Petrs little sister and uses her to lure Dain King and his men into a trap. The Indians are killed, including Minoahs father. Now love turns to hatred, and Petr ventures to San Francisco to make a beautiful gift, the Falcon Heart, for Minoah. There, he will remember the secrets of gold shaping. There, he will discover the terrible price of finding gold.

Petalumas past is uniquely reflected in its historic architecture. The towns earliest commercial buildings tightly lined the waterfront of the Petaluma River, at one time the busiest transportation corridor in the North Bay. After the railroad arrived, an already thriving dairy and manufacturing city became the nations largest poultry and egg producer. A vital economy brought factories like the impressive Sunset Line & Twine plant, hatcheries, vast warehouses, and grain elevators that have become defining Petaluma landmarks. Its handsome downtown, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is noted for its Italianate cast ironfront commercial buildings, and a variety of preWorld War II residential styles surround it in charming neighborhoods. A favorite of moviemakers, its classic main streets played a
central role in the film American Graffiti.