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The climate was good, the soil was good, and the people who came to this fertile area on the Pacific Coast of America knew they had found a special place. Native American tribes came first, Europeans and their American descendants followed. With statehood and the Gold Rush, the population swelled.
The river led to Petaluma and brought pioneers who settled in the growing cities-Sebastopol, Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Healdsburg, Cloverdale, Windsor, and many smaller hamlets. Resilient pioneers rebuilt after the 1906 earthquake and took up the challenges of Prohibition, the Depression, and war. Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge opened the way for expansion.
Historic Photos of Sonoma County uses striking illustrations to follow life, government, education, and events in this special place. Rare scenes captured in historic, black-and-white photographs preserve the essence of Sonoma County life from the 1850s to the 1970s.
About the author
Lee Torliatt is a fifth-generation Petaluman, born on Groundhog Day, 1933. After attending San Francisco State and the University of California, Berkeley, he went on to a career in teaching and journalism.
Torliatt taught Social Science and English at Santa Rosa and Piner High Schools in Santa Rosa before retiring in 1993. He was an editor and writer at the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, Petaluma Argus-Courier, San Francisco Chronicle, and Pacific Stars and Stripes in Tokyo.
On the board of the Sonoma County History Society, he has served as archivist and editor of the Sonoma County Historian quarterly magazine. He has written two major local history books, Golden Memories of the Redwood Empire and Sports Memories of Sonoma County, published by Arcadia Press. He also worked with fifth graders at Roseland School in Santa Rosa on a history of their area.
His community volunteer projects include Catholic Worker, Friends Outside, and international exchange programs. He has a daughter and two grandsons who live in Santa Rosa.
Summary
The climate was good, the soil was good, and the people who came to this fertile area on the Pacific Coast of America knew they had found a special place. Native American tribes came first, Europeans and their American descendants followed. With statehood and the Gold Rush, the population swelled.
The river led to Petaluma and brought pioneers who settled in the growing cities—Sebastopol, Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Healdsburg, Cloverdale, Windsor, and many smaller hamlets. Resilient pioneers rebuilt after the 1906 earthquake and took up the challenges of Prohibition, the Depression, and war. Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge opened the way for expansion.
Historic Photos of Sonoma County uses striking illustrations to follow life, government, education, and events in this special place. Rare scenes captured in historic, black-and-white photographs preserve the essence of Sonoma County life from the 1850s to the 1970s.
