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Sonoma County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, north of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of 2000 it had a population of 458,614. The county seat is Santa Rosa.
Sonoma County is a world-famous wine producing region. There are over 200 Sonoma County Wineries producing a wide variety of wines. Sonoma County is also home to 13 approved American Viticultural Areas.
Sonoma County is the home of several public and private higher education institutions, including Sonoma State University and Santa Rosa Junior College.
History
Sonoma County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood.
Regarding the etymology of the name “Sonoma,” Erwin Gustav Gudde writes in his book, California Place Names, “The name of the Indian tribe is mentioned in baptismal records of 1815 as ‘Chucuines o Sonomas,’ by Chamisso in 1816 as Sonomi, and repeatedly in Mission records of the following years. The name is doubtless derived from a Patwin word for "nose", which Padre Arroyo (Vocabularies, p. 22) gives as sonom (Suisun). Bowman(CFQ 5:300-302 plausibly theorizes that Spaniards found an Indian chief with a prominent protuberance and applied the nickname of “Chief Nose” to the village and the territory (cf. Alfred L. Kroeber, AAE 29:354 orographic feature (WF 13:268-72 [1954" target="_blank" >*) (Gudde, 370)."
The Encyclopedia of California (1999), Encyclopedia Britannica (2005) and the California Gazetteer (1985) all reinforce Gudde by attributing the name to a Wintu word for "nose". (The Wintun inhabit the western areas of the Sacramento River and the Patwin are considered a sub-group although some anthropologists classify the Patwin as separate from the Wintun.)
Sonoma County has a history of seven distinct, governmental claims from 1579 to the present. Sometimes referred to as "Seven Flags over Sonoma County", these periods are itemized as follows (NOTE: See Sonoma for more information):
St. George Cross of England, June 1579, voyage of the Golden Hind under Captain Francis Drake at Bodega Bay (exact location disputed);
Spanish Empire, 1602, by sea, voyage of the San Agustin under Vizcaino. October 1775, the Sonora at Bodega Bay, under Lt. Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra until 1821, when Mexico gained Independence from Spain;
Russian-American Company, 8 January 1804, Ivan Kuskov at Bodega Bay until Early 1842, when Russians left Fort Ross;
Mexican Empire, 24 August 1821, Mexico under Emperor Agustin Iturbide (October 1822, probable time new flag raised in California) until 1823;
Mexican Republic, 1823 until June 1846 at Sonoma;
Bear Flag of the California Republic, June 1846, at Sonoma until 9 July 1846;
United States of America, 9 July 1846.
Sonoma's best start in history was with the location of Mission San Francisco Solano, founded in 1823 as the last and northernmost of the 21 California missions or the end of El Camino Real. This El Presidio de Sonoma, or Sonoma Barracks (part of Spain's Fourth Military District), was established in 1836 by Comandante General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo who had the tasks of secularizing the Mission and keeping an eye on the Russians at Fort Ross.
Jack London, in his 1913 novel The Valley of the Moon, popularized this romanticized etymology (“valley of the moon”) for Sonoma, which, according to Phil Townsend Hanna, was first recorded in a 1850 report by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo to the California Legislature. This has generally been discounted by anthropologist who also theorize that in the native language “there is a constantly recurring ending tso-noma, from tso, (the earth), and noma, (village); hence tsonoma, meaning ‘earth village’ (Hanna, p. 311).
Geography and environment
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,580 km² (1,768 mi²). 4,082 km² (1,576 mi²) of it is land and 498 km² (192 mi²) of it (10.88%) is water. Principal rivers draining the southern portion of the county are Sonoma Creek and the Petaluma River.
Environment
Sonoma County has several watersheds, including those drained by the Petaluma River and Sonoma Creek. There are a number of distinct habitat areas within the county such as oak woodland, coastal scrub, grassland, marshland, oak savanna and riparian woodland. A number of endangered plants and animals are found in Sonoma County including the California clapper rail, Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse, Sacramento splittail and Hickman's potentilla.
Adjacent Counties
- Marin County, California - south
- Solano County, California - southeast
- Napa County, California - east
- Lake County, California - northeast
- Mendocino County, California - north
Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 458,614 people, 172,403 households, and 112,406 families residing in the county. The population density was 112/km² (291/mi²). There were 183,153 housing units at an average density of 45/km² (116/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 81.60% White, 1.42% Black or African American, 1.18% Native American, 3.07% Asian, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 8.44% from other races, and 4.09% from two or more races. 17.34% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 172,403 households out of which 31.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.30% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.80% were non-families. 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.50% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 29.20% from 25 to 44, 24.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $53,076, and the median income for a family was $61,921. Males had a median income of $42,035 versus $32,022 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,724. About 4.70% of families and 8.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.40% of those under age 18 and 5.70% of those age 65 or over.
Politics
| Year | GOP | Dems |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 30.9% ''68,204 | 67.2% '148,261 |
| 2000 | 32.2% ''63,529 | 59.5% ''117,295 |
| 1996 | 29.5% ''53,555 | 55.6% ''100,738 |
| 1992 | 24.1% ''47,619 | 52.8% ''104,334 |
| 1988 | 41.9% ''67,725 | 56.5% ''91,262 |
| 1984 | 51.1% ''76,447 | 47.6% ''71,295 |
| 1980 | 48.2% ''60,722 | 36.2% ''45,596 |
| 1976 | 47.7% ''50,555 | 47.5% ''50,353 |
| 1972 | 54.7% ''57,697 | 41.5% ''43,746 |
| 1968 | 48.8% ''38,088 | 43.0% ''33,587 |
| 1964 | 38.4% ''27,677 | 61.5% ''44,354 |
| 1960 | 54.1% ''34,641 | 45.5% ''29,147 |
Cities and towns
Incorporated cities
Unincorporated towns
Education
Elementary and Secondary Education
Higher Education
- Sonoma State University
- Santa Rosa Junior College
- Empire College
- New College of California (Santa Rosa Campus)
- University of Northern California
- Chapman University (Petaluma Campus)
- Golden Gate University (Rohnert Park Campus)
- University of San Francisco (Santa Rosa Campus)
- Western Institute of Science and Health
Sonoma County winemaking and wineries
Winemaking -- both the growing of the grapes and their vinting -- is an important part of the economic and cultural life of Sonoma County. In 2004, growers harvested 165,783 short tons (150,396 tonnes) of wine grapes worth $310 million. About 80% of non-pasture agricultural land in the county is for growing wine grapes—59,973 acres (242.70 km²) of vineyards, with over 1100 growers. The most common varieties planted are Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir, though the area is also known for its Merlot and Zinfandel.
Sonoma County is home to 191 wineries and 11 distinct (and 2 shared) American Viticultural Areas, including the Sonoma Valley, Russian River Valley, and Dry Creek Valley (the last famed for its production of high-quality Zinfandel).
A partial list of Sonoma County wineries:
Film locations
Sonoma County has served as a location for many major films, including (courtesy of oldmovies.com):
Bodega Bay
See: Bodega Bay pageCloverdale
- Many Rivers to Cross (1955) Shot near Cloverdale.
- So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993) Scenes shot at Cloverdale Airport (others at Alcatraz and S.F.).
Cotati
- The Farmer's Daughter (1947) Shot in Penngrove and Cotati.
- The Flatliners (1990) Shot in Cotati, and also Los Angeles, Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.
Glen Ellen
- Shoot the Moon (1982) Shot in Glen Ellen and Jack London's Wolf House, both in Sonoma County (with additional shooting in Marin Co).
Occidental
- Nowhere to Run (1993) Shot on Taylor Lane, Sonoma County, Occidental, with farmhouse and pond scenes.
Penngrove
- The Farmer's Daughter (1947) Shot in Penngrove and Cotati.
Petaluma
See: Petaluma pageRohnert Park
- Basic Instinct (1992) 3 day shoot in Petaluma and Rohnert Park, with other scenes in Carmel and S.F.
Russian River
- Salomy Jane (1914) While there are one or two shots taken along the Russian River near Monte Rio in Sonoma, it was mostly filmed in Marin, with the background to almost every scene the unmistakable Mount Tamalpais.
- Braveheart (1925) Story about Indians, with many shots taken along the Russian River.
- Holiday Inn (1942) Exterior shots of the Village Inn Lodge in Monte Rio on the Russian River, dressed with tons of fake snow, was the "Holiday Inn" lodge setting.
Sebastopol
- Thieves' Highway (1949) Shot on Gold Ridge Road, Sebastopol.
- Smooth Talk (1985) Locations include Sebastopol, the Gravenstein Highway and Santa Rosa.
- Mumford (1999) Locations throughout Sebastopol, including scenes shot at Analy High School.
Santa Rosa
See: Santa Rosa pageSonoma
- Magic of Lassie (1978) Shot at Hop Kiln Winery, Sonoma.
- American Graffiti (1973) Several scenes shot in Schellville area along Highway 121 between Napa and Petaluma.
- The Animal (2001) The police department in the movie is actually the Sonoma City Hall building. Several scenes were also shot on Sonoma's historic Plaza. There was quite a bit of political controversy after the movie was released as many residents felt it portrayed the town poorly.
- Scream (1996) Several scenes were filmed at the Sonoma Community Center on East Napa Street. As was the case with Rob Schnieder's The Animal, a huge amount of political controversy stemmed from the filming of this movie in Sonoma.
Sonoma County (general)
- Bronco Billy Anderson (1915) The only one of Anderson's 400 short westerns that has been identified as have been made in Sonoma County.
- The Third Day (1965)
- Images (1972-U.S-British) Filmed mostly in Ireland.
- Heroes (1977)
- Mr. Billion (1977)
- Impulse (1984) Farm sequences filmed in Petaluma.
- The Man and His Dream (1988) Locations: Sonoma, Mount Tamalpais (Marin) and other Bay Area sites: Paramount Theatre, Oakland, San Bruno Malt Shop, S.F., and San Rafael.
- Nowhere to Run (1993) Shot on Coleman Valley Road, Sonoma County, Occidental, with farmhouse and pond scenes.
- The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
- Bandits (2001) Shot at the Flamingo Hotel and country roads around Sonoma County. One scene features a Clover milk truck featuring Clo the cow, a local icon.
- The Birds (1963) Shot in the town of Bodega including the Bodega church and schoolhouse.
- See Santa Rosa, California for more possible listings.
Places of interest
Sonoma county has a very beautiful coastline, alternating with cliffs and beaches.
- Sonoma County Beaches
- Goat Rock Beach The Russian River joins the Pacific Ocean at this beach.
- Sonoma County Regional Parks
- Sonoma Lake recreational area
- Bodega Bay
- Luther Burbank Home and Gardens in Santa Rosa *
- Luther Burbank Gold Ridge Experiment Farm in Sebastopol **
- Fort Ross, former Russian fur trade outpost *
- Jack London Home, Beauty Ranch, in Glen Ellen *
- Petaluma Adobe, Petaluma *
- Sonoma Plaza, Sonoma *
Sources
- California gazetteer. Wilmington: American Historical Publications, 1985.
- Gille, Frank H. ed. The encyclopedia of California, 1999. St. Clair Shores: Somerset Publishers, Inc., 1999
- Gudde, Erwin Gustav. California place names: the origin and etymology of current geographical names. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.
- Hanna, Phil Townsend. The dictionary of California land names. Los Angeles: The Automobile Club of Southern California, 1951.
- Taber, George M. Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine. NY: Scribner, 2005.
External links
- Sonoma County official website
- Luther Burbank Home and Gardens
- Sonoma Coast State Beach official website
- Parks and Recreation in Sonoma County
- Sonoma County Local History and Genealogy Library
- Western Sonoma County Historical Society
California counties | San Francisco Bay Area | Sonoma County, California | Wine regions of the United States
Сонома | Sonoma County | Comté de Sonoma | Sonoma County | ソノマ郡 (カリフォルニア州) | Condado de Sonoma
"Sonoma County, California"