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Adapted from the Healdsburg Cultural Resource Survey, Final Report,
1983.
Native American
Prehistoric
Period
The Healdsburg area has been noted by early California ethnographers
Powers, Barrett, and Kroeber as the center of an unusually large concentration
of Southern Pomo village sites that were abandoned or in ruins due to
Euro-American contact. The Southern Pomo (meaning
people) occupied the
lands of the Russian River drainage south of what is now the Mendocino-Sonoma
County line. To the east of the Southern Pomo, in the northeastern area,
were the Wappo (from the Spanish Guapo meaning good looking or brave).
The Southern Pomo were divided into tribelets which encompassed
a number of villages. Ethnographic sources indicate at least 23 village
sites in the immediate vicinity of the present town of Healdsburg. Powers
recorded the tribelet in the Healdsburg area as the
Gal-li-no-me'-ro,
derived from the Spanish word for a rooster,
gallina, a name given to
one of the chiefs (Powers 1877). Barrett recorded the same tribelet with the
name Kainom'ro, a name given by the Spaniards at the San Rafael
Mission (Barrett 1908). Kroeber also reported an unusually dense concentration
of old village sites in the area just south of the present town site.
Later ethnographers noted the Kataitecmi (water people) tribelet
as having occupied both banks of the Russian River from Healdsburg to Guerneville.
The principal village of this tribelet was Kal'e (water place). Barrett
lists Kal'e as an old village once occupying the present site of the downtown
Healdsburg plaza. Other village sites of this tribelet that have been
identified include Amati-o
on Mill Creek and Kukakot-Kali
at the foot of Fitch Mountain (Barrett 1908). A mile northeast of
the present downtown plaza was the village
Wotoakka'ton
(lake), the home of a prominent chief, Soto. The entire region of
Fitch Mountain was called Sotoyomi (home of
Soto) from which derives the name of the original land grant that forms this
survey's boundaries. These and other identified sites are on record at the
Northwest Information Center at Sonoma State University.
As previously stated, in the eastern portion of the survey area,
roughly corresponding to the geographic boundaries of the Alexander Valley,
were the Wappo. In 1877 Powers called this group
Asho-chemmi. Some ethnographers
believe the Wappo to be descendants of the first California settlers, settling
first around Clear Lake but having been pushed southward by the ancestral
Pomo about 5,000 years ago. About 1,500 BC the Pomo also moved to the
Russian River area near Ukiah from Clear Lake, and later still, about 500
AD, moved southward into Sonoma County, pushing the Wappo east to their present
recorded location in Alexander Valley.
Prehistoric Pomo groups and their neighbors interacted by means
of ritual gatherings, marriage, trade, and conflict. Major trail systems
linked cultures of the inland valleys, Clear Lake, and the coast. Portions
of these trail systems are still intact and identifiable.
The indigenous pre-contact population is not known, but General Vallejo's
accounts in the 1830s would indicate between 5,000 and 10,000 in the area.
A local resident claimed that 2,000 Indians were living around the Sotoyome
Rancho in 1849.
Historic Period
Perhaps the first disruptions to the Native American
culture and settlement patterns in the Healdsburg area came with the
establishment of Mission San Rafael in 1817. Indians from as far away
as the Healdsburg area were recruited to work at the mission and
disease had already begun to reduce the population before the
establishment of the Mexican military attachment in Sonoma in 1823.
However, the greatest blows to the Indian population in the area came
in 1837-38 and in the early 1850s when two smallpox epidemics
decimated and virtually depopulated most of the village sites. To
further compound matters, General Mariano Vallejo and his troops led
continuous military campaigns against the
Satiyomes
between 1830 and 1850, and the early Euro-American settlers attacked the
remaining population, driving them into marginal areas surrounding the Healdsburg
area (Digger's Bend). In 1838, a dispute over acorns caused the Wappo to
invade Sotoyomi territory in the western portion of the Alexander Valley
and they established three villages at Lytton.
Before the inflowing tide of immigration, the native population
retreated to the surrounding hills. Those who remained became subject
to the avarice, violence, and contempt of the whites. In an attempt to
protect the native population, the federal government established two
reservations, one at the mouth of the Noyo River in Mendocino County in
1856, and the other, called the Nome Cult Indian Farm, in Round Valley
in 1867. The former was abandoned in a few years due to white encroachment.
Most of the remaining Russian River Valley Indians eventually returned to
their homelands, subsisting on the outskirts of the white communities.
Census figures for 1903 indicate that there were a total of 75 Wappo
or Pomo Indians living in the Healdsburg area. (Analysis of 1900 census
data of the survey area for this survey would indicate that this number is
probably too low.) The Dry Creek Rancheria, established in 1915, the Lytton
Rancheria, established in 1927, and the Alexander Valley Rancheria, established
in the early 1920s, were results of federal land purchases and contained
remnants of both the Wappo and Pomo populations. The Alexander Valley Rancheria
is the sole remaining reservation currently occupied in or near the Healdsburg
area.
Photographic evidence at the Healdsburg Museum indicates that the
indigenous population abandoned traditional dwellings long before 1870,
and it is uncertain when traditional ceremonial structures, such as sweat
houses, ceased to be built in the area, as there are no existing photographs
of such structures. A circa 1900 photographic collection shows tent-like
dwellings of canvas and wood, or small dwellings identical to farm outbuildings
or very small cabins of that era. This similarity to ranch outbuildings
has made it impossible to identify post-contact native dwellings.
EARLY SETTLEMENT
Rancho Development
Secondary colonization of the survey area began in 1840 when Cyrus
Alexander, a Rocky Mountain fur trapper, was sent to scout the lands north
of San Francisco by San Diego sea captain Henry Delano Fitch. A native
of New Bedford, Massachusetts, Fitch had first come to California in 1826
as master of the Mexican brigantine, Maria Ester. Having married Josefa
Carrillo of San Diego in 1829, Fitch became baptized in the Catholic Church
and changed his name legally to Enrique Domingo Fitch. As early as 1832,
Fitch began to apply to the Mexican government for grants of land north
of San Francisco, applied for Mexican citizenship in 1833, and had his citizenship
confirmed in 1840.
Cyrus Alexander, a native of Illinois, had gone west in 1831, spending
time in the Rocky Mountains trapping for the Sublette Fur Company. He
arrived in San Diego in 1833, where he was befriended by Captain Fitch.
Alexander received Mexican naturalization papers in 1837 and three years
later embarked on the scouting expedition for Fitch that brought him to
the area that would become Healdsburg.
Alexander picked out a suitable tract of land for a cattle ranch,
naming it Rancho Sotoyome for the local Indian tribe. The land was granted
to Fitch in an 8 league (approximately 35,000 acre) and a 3 league (approximately
13,300 acre) tract in 1841 and 1844 respectively. The nearly 49,000 acre
Rancho Sotoyome was but one of Capt. Fitch's many business enterprises directed
from his San Diego base. Cyrus Alexander served as a ranch manager under
a four year agreement from 1840 to 1844, when he was to receive two leagues
of land and part of the ranch stock.
During his term as foreman, Alexander built a large one-story adobe
dwelling, several outbuildings, a tannery, grist mill, and cigarette
factory for Fitch at the southern slope of Fitch Mountain. He utilized
the local Pomo Indians for most labor needs on the Rancho. Franklin Bedwell,
also a trapper, joined Alexander on the Rancho under a land payment schedule
in 1841 or 1842, and was granted 500 acres by Alexander in 1845. In 1845,
Alexander turned the management of the Sotoyome Rancho over to Mose Carson,
brother of Kit Carson, and settled on his own 2 league tract in Alexander
Valley. He then began construction of an adobe dwelling and outbuildings,
on the east side of the Russian River.
Rancho activity from 1840 to 1850 at this time centered around cattle
raising, (cattle purchased from Capt. John Sutter), and grain crops (Chilean
wheat supplied by Capt. Fitch). Alexander introduced fruit crops and
grape vines to the survey area, procured from the recently vacated Russian
Fort Ross in 1843. These cuttings and seeds became the nucleus for nearly
all of the early fruit orchards in Sonoma County. The Sotoyome Grist Mill
was one of three milling centers in the Napa/Sonoma County area in the
1840s, the other two being those at Petaluma and Bale's Mill near Calistoga.
Rancho owners still utilized the local Indian population to accomplish
most of the hard labor on their farms and in their industries until 1850.
Land Disputes and Subdivision
In 1846, the Euro-American population of the Russian River Valley
area still consisted of the Alexander, Bedwell, and Mose Carson families.
Lindsay Carson, another brother of Kit Carson, settled in the southern
portion of the survey area in 1848, building the area's third adobe in
1849. When dissatisfaction with the Mexican government reached a crisis in
1846, Sotoyome Rancho activities became disrupted. Franklin Bedwell, one
of the party to hoist the Bear Flag in Sonoma in 1846, and the others, experienced
severe Indian depredation, the native population having been emboldened
by dissension among the whites. Rancho families were removed to Sutter's
Fort or to the garrison at Sonoma, and, while untended, most Rancho horses
and stock that were not commandeered by the United States government were
dispersed.
When the Rancho families returned in 1849, they were greeted by
the first wave of unlanded immigrants, including W. J. March, who had
established one of the first saw mills in the county on Mill Creek in
1849. During the early settlement years, roughly 1848 to 1855, squatters
on the Sotoyome Rancho were, for the most part, ignored by Mexican government
grantees. In 1849, Josefa Carrillo Fitch and her children, (her husband,
grant owner Capt. Henry Fitch having died in San Diego earlier that year),
came to live on the Sotoyome Rancho and actively began to seek legal title
to their land. Their claim was not made official by the United States government
until 1857.
Squatters who managed a crop of grains, beans, or other produce
and livestock, made large profits by selling to the gold miners in the
north. Rancho owners stopped tanning activities and delivered their herds
directly to the mines, selling them for highly inflated prices.
Although many settlers merely squatted on the land, others were
quickly buying up low-priced subdivided parcels from Rancho owners, who
were selling their lands despite the fact that title was not yet legally
cleared by the United States Government. Although Josefa Fitch offered
Sotoyome Rancho lands at public sale for $1.50 an acre in 1852, few squatters
chose to legalize their occupancy. Other public land sales were held throughout
the early 1850s, at least one of these held by the County to pay off the
back taxes of the widow Fitch.
Unofficial notice of the court decision to affirm the Sotoyome grant
in 1855 generated a flurry of legal land purchases. However, a growing
crisis regarding the squatters who refused to buy or vacate their land,
led to a long and violent series of battles, especially in the Westside Road
area between 1855 and 1860. These battles were known as the
Healdsburg Wars,
or the Westside Wars. Unlike similar disputes in other parts of Sonoma
County, these battles became severe enough to require the intervention of
the State Militia. Also unlike squatter disputes in the rest of the county,
all disputes were eventually resolved in favor of the legal grantee due
to the eccentric but effective tactics of a pioneer lawyer retained by the
Fitch heirs, Colonel L. A. Norton.
DEVELOPMENT OF COMMERCE
The Towns and Communities
During the 1850s, most of the land was subdivided and settled,
whether legally or illegally. The fertile lands and abundant water attracted
both homeseekers and weary ex-goldminers. The first commercial store in
the survey area was opened in the old Lindsay Carson adobe south of the
present town site by E. Harrison Barnes and William Potter. One of the
many settlers during this period was Harmon Heald, a native of Ohio, who
had come to the northern gold mines with his brothers in 1849. In 1850,
the Heald brothers joined yet another brother, Samuel, who had come to the
Russian River to help William J. March build his sawmill on Mill Creek in
1849.
Harmon Heald noted the advantageous location of parts of the Sotoyome
Rancho bordering the well-beaten trail between San Francisco and the
northern gold mines. Heald built a cabin along this route in 1851 (on
Healdsburg Avenue across from the downtown plaza) and opened a small
store in 1852. Heald's Store, as the area became known, catered to the surrounding
ranchers, Indians, and travelers north, and was a great success, regularly
selling out its entire stock in busy months. Heald established a post
office in 1854, and built a larger store in 1857. Meanwhile, he was buying
up cheap Sotoyome Rancho land at public land sales and making unofficial
sales of subdivided parcels to other tradesmen and businessmen who joined
him during the 1850s. As soon as the widow Fitch received official title
to her original grant, Heald officially subdivided and laid out an 8+ acre
area of his land, named it Healdsburg, and filed it at the County Courthouse
in March, 1857. He laid out the town on a north/south axis around a central
park and donated that park, as well as lots for a school, cemetery, and
churches, to the community. The remaining lots were sold for $15.00 apiece. Heald built a larger store and post office that same year, but died two
years later at the age of 34.
The old Spanish and Indian trails were becoming roads. The County
took over the road from Russian River Valley to Upper Dry Creek in 1854,
and two years later extended the Healdsburg road to Cloverdale and built
a road from Healdsburg to March's Mill on Mill Creek (Westside Road).
Meanwhile, several small communities were springing up nearby:
Geyserville and Cloverdale to the north, and Poor Man's Flat (later
known as Windsor) to the south. The densest concentration of early settlers
and their families were along the southern half of Dry Creek Valley,
as evidenced by the founding of the first schoolhouse (Washington School,
later named the Manzanita School) in the lower portion of Dry Creek Valley
in 1854. But farm houses and one-room schoolhouses increased steadily in
the areas surrounding Healdsburg. As might be expected, these farm houses
and schools generally were built close to waterways - the Russian River,
Mill Creek, Felta Creek, Dry Creek, and Sausal Creek. The roads also tended
to follow the waterways, with the exception of the Alexander Valley area,
which, due to the flat terrain, contains one of the only straight rural roads
(Highway 128 and Alexander Valley Road) in the area.
The town which serviced these farmers also grew from a reported
population of 300 when the town was laid out in 1857, to 1600 in 1869.
During this same period, there were four large additions to the City limits
and a fifth addition before 1877. The usual increasing number of business
houses, hotels, churches, and lodges accompanied this growth. In 1867 the
town was incorporated under State law and the first City Council meeting
was held.
The core of the earliest commercial section developed, as planned
by Heald, around the downtown plaza, which until the early 1870s, served
as a central parking lot for horses and wagons. The earliest industrial
complexes, such as a tannery, brewery, and cream of tartar factory, tended
to be scattered on the outskirts of the original town. For many years
the area north of Piper Street along Healdsburg Avenue (West Street) was
known as North Healdsburg. For at least a decade following Heald's 1857
subdivision, this area competed with the plaza area as a commercial center.
W. G. McManus, who purchased the first store started in the Carson adobe
mentioned previously, moved his general store here from the Eastside Road
area in 1856. The two earliest, albeit short lived, hotels (one of these
hotel structures The Ohio House was discovered intact in 1983) were built
in this area as well as the first brewery, church, livery stable, and the
main attraction, three saloons. However, saloons of various sorts sprang
up in all outlying areas of the Rancho. But, by 1867, the commercial preeminence
of the plaza area was undisputed. It is interesting to note that the major
commercial competition to the present downtown area exists on that same northern
part of Healdsburg Avenue at the intersection of Dry Creek Road.
The earliest residential section (1850 to 1870) developed close
to the commercial core area along North Street (200 and 300 block); Matheson
(South) Street (200 to 400 block); Tucker Street (200 and 300 block);
Haydon Street (100 to 300 block); the south side of Mason Street, University
Street (100 to 300 block); Fitch Street (300 block); East Street (200 and
300 block); and Center Street (200 and 300 block). A string of residences
also developed very early along the west side of Healdsburg Avenue (West
Street) north of Piper Street. Of these early residential sections, the southern
end of Center Street appears to be the oldest (1850 to 1860).
Other early residences were scattered on larger lots in the area known
as Knaack's Addition or, as mentioned,
North Healdsburg, between
Piper Street and Powell Avenue, and Healdsburg Avenue to Brown Street.
In Alexander Valley, the population increased steadily enough to warrant
the operation of a general store and saloon, the former operated by Fred
G. Wentworth at the junction of East Soda Rock Lane and Highway 128, by
1869. A post office was established here in 1869. With the exception of
this store in Alexander Valley, however, and the Dry Creek Store established
in the 1890s, Healdsburg offered the closest source of supplies and entertainment.
In an area along the main wagon road between Geyserville and Healdsburg,
known on old maps as The Plaines,
there developed a small community centered around a hot springs resort
established by Capt. W. H. Litton. The Litton Hot Spring Resort was
developed in 1875 and remained a health resort under various
ownerships until it was donated to the Salvation Army in 1904. The
Army ran a boarding school there for orphans until the 1950s when it
became a recycled goods and alcohol rehabilitation center. A
Northwestern Pacific Railroad station and a one-room school were
established at Litton (later spelled Lytton) in about 1895.
MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT
Municipal growth, both in geographic area and population, stabilized
at the end of the settlement era circa 1880. Although the extension of
the Northwestern Pacific Railroad from Santa Rosa to Healdsburg in 1871,
and from Healdsburg to Cloverdale in 1872, greatly effected the agriculture
and industries of the area (See Agriculture and Industries), it did
not greatly effect the size and shape of the town itself.
Healdsburg's population remained at approximately 2,000 from 1880
to 1940. (A modest trend toward population increase in the pre-prohibition
years was reversed by 1925.)
By 1870, two hotels had been established facing the plaza 300 block
of Healdsburg Avenue (West Street) and this block became the major commercial
focus of the downtown core. At this point, wood frame construction began
making a transition to brick.
A small public school was built around 1860 on a lot facing Fitch,
on the corner of Tucker and Fitch Streets. A lot bounded by Fitch, East,
Matheson (South), and Tucker had been donated by Heald for the purpose
of churches and schools at the southern end of University Street, in 1857.
A private academy, established in 1859, provided the only quality education,
however, and this academy was available only to more affluent families.
A large free public school was finally built on the old public school
lot in 1871. The building of the public school, which required a large
community investment, indicated the development of a substantial core
of permanent residents. In fact, a substantial number of residences were
built between 1860 and 1890 in the area between the public school fronting
Tucker Street and the private Alexander Academy on the southern end of
University Street. (See Tucker Street District) This area had the most
dense clustering of residences as shown on an 1884 lithograph, owing no doubt
to the location of the schools.
The private Alexander Academy evolved into a college, one of the few
in northern California, after the popularity of the new high-quality public
school diminished enrollment. The Healdsburg Institute, as the Academy was
renamed, built a large new building on a lot at the eastern end of Plaza
Street in 1877. Financial reverses caused the sale of the Institute to the
Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1882, which established a college, known
as Healdsburg College, that operated from 1882 until 1908, when the college,
renamed Pacific Union College, was moved to Angwin, California. This college
is still in operation.
The major effect of the NWP railroad to the physical shape of the
town was the creation of an artificial boundary around the southern
and western portions of Healdsburg. At the time the track was laid and
the railroad bridge over the Russian River was built (1871), it followed
the actual incorporated boundary. With a single exception, all of the seven
small tracts incorporated from 1870 until the post-World War II era, were
to the south and west of the tracks. All seven tracts were incorporated
between 1872 and 1896. These additions, especially those south of the railroad
tracks, became residential areas for incoming immigrants or light industrial
areas. The next: addition to the city did not occur until 1947. The remarkable
stability of the size and population of Healdsburg between 1880 and 1940
accounts for the well-preserved condition of the residential areas, and,
until recently, the altered but original commercial core area. By the late
nineteenth century, Healdsburg had reached an optimum level in supporting
both itself and the outlying agricultural community, the former being largely
a part of or dependent on the latter.
The change from a settlement town to a stable municipality was also
evidenced by the landscaping of the central plaza in 1873. As was the
case with the public school lot mentioned previously, the lot for this
plaza/park had been donated by Harmon Heald in 1857. For the first two
decades of its existence, it served as a rather dusty or muddy parking
lot, depending on the season. Historical accounts indicate that the plaza
was originally low at its center so as to form a lake in the winter months,
which coincides with data extrapolated regarding the pre-historic settlement
period. (See Prehistoric
period: Native Americans.) As a striking analogy of the progression
of historic style and cultural development, the plaza is summarized below.
In 1873, pressure from local citizens caused the clearing of the native
oak and madrone vegetation, fill and grading, perimeter fencing, star-shaped
walkways, and the planting of pine, firs and eucalyptus
at random. In
1878, a bell tower and bandstand were built and all previous vegetation
cleared to make way for a meticulously maintained Italianate (mushroom shaped
trees and shrubs) plaza. In the mid 1890s, the bell tower was replaced with
an ornate gazebo, and in 1896, the mushroom shaped trees were also eliminated.
But, by 1900, the gazebo was replaced by a granite drinking fountain
and a bandstand, and a more relaxed atmosphere was created by planting
Kentucky blue grass, rose bushes, citrus trees, and palms.
The bandstand and the Plaza under its various manifestations was the
central gathering point for community festivals (which by photographic
evidence reached surreal proportions), political orations, weekend commercial
and musical events, and casual social interaction from 1880 until approximately
1942, when the last Saturday evening band concert was held.
The band concerts were discontinued after World War II. In 1960, the
fountain and bandstand were replaced by a low concrete and mosaic fountain.
Recently, much public discussion has revived interest in the Plaza as
a center of community activity. Moves to revitalize the downtown commercial
area have precipitated this interest.
Municipal gas mains, initially utilizing rosin and fish oils, then
petroleum, and later Sydney coal, were laid in the city streets in 1875.
The Healdsburg Gas Company, which precipitated this innovation, was privately
owned.
By 1886, Healdsburg had the resources and motivation to build an ornate
two and one-half story brick city hall, replete with bell towers, on the
southeast corner of the plaza. It housed the fire department, jail, post
office, public library, and soon after, a municipal court and police department.
This structure was demolished and the present City Hall built in 1960.
Water mains were first laid by private franchise in 1876. Hydro-electric
power was first generated by Baron Von Schilling, a local grape must producer
who sold electricity as a sideline, in 1893. This plant was the forerunner
of the Healdsburg Municipal Light Company, which was finally established
in 1900 after much litigation with private producers. Utilities have remained
under municipal supervision since that time.
For a few years after electricity was first installed and emanated
from the City Corporation yard at the east end of Matheson Street, only
the downtown Plaza area and the Johnson Street area, which was the first
residential section of the city to install electrical lights, had electricity.
During that period, Johnson Street was known as
Electric Avenue. Sewage
disposal systems were installed in 1900.
Between 1880 and 1906, construction of both commercial and residential
structures was slow but steady. The downtown core began to take on a uniform
appearance with earlier wood frame buildings increasingly being replaced
by brick. The residential area in the northeast portion of the city (Knaack's
Addition) became more densely populated. A small area west of Healdsburg
Avenue, known as West Grant and Grove Street, was subdivided and residences
built, although the area remains unincorporated.
It was not uncommon during this period and later for farm families
with residences in outlying agricultural areas to build residences in town.
This interesting pattern allowed school age children to attend the public
school, especially the high school established in 1888. It also allowed
senior family members to retire to a more convenient and social environment.
The areas that were subdivided and incorporated into the City between
1872 and 1896 to the south of the NWP tracks, mentioned previously, were
developed between 1880 and 1890. The houses that were built here are
nearly identical single-story Italianates. One of these additions in
the Ward Street area (See Ward Street District) became the focal point
of a completely homogenous Italian immigrant neighborhood, called
Bujinosca
(phonetic spelling). This name was reportedly derived from the name of the
town in Italy where many of the first immigrants were born.
Beginning in the late 1870s and ending with Prohibition, these Italian
immigrants came with the intent to buy agricultural land, but first resided
in this homogenous and physically enclosed ethnic community. Ward Street
residents generally worked small vegetable farms on nearby land parcels,
selling their produce by horse and, wagon in neighboring communities.
Ward Street families later purchased outlying agricultural land, eventually
residing there as they became more affluent. The move from vegetable farming
to fruit and vineyard crops was swift in the 1890s in this community.
By World War II, Ward Street was no longer predominantly Italian American,
and this segment of the community was fully integrated.
This area is currently predominantly Mexican American.
The 1906 earthquake destroyed or significantly damaged approximately
one-fourth of the buildings in the downtown area. The boom in commercial
construction from 1908 to 1912 was directly attributable to this damage
and to the general local prosperity of that time.
In 1911, a free public Carnegie Library was constructed. This period
also saw an increase in recreational and residential development catering
to tourists and seasonal residents in proximity to the Russian River. Beginning
in 1905 with the construction of three resorts on Fitch Mountain and the
construction of roads on its eastern face, this trend continued until
after World War II.
Although the area has contained tourist and health resorts capitalizing
on the river and nearby hot springs since the 1870s, it was the advent
of the automobile that sparked the marked increase in beach-front development,
bungalow-style motel construction, and construction of summer cabins on
Fitch Mountain. It was also due to automotive improvements that tourist/
recreational development declined in the post-World War II era. The ease
of automobile travel made larger and more scenic California recreation
areas more accessible to the short-stay tourist.
The first major subdivision of Fitch Mountain occurred in the late
1920s in the Del Rio Woods area (the northeast face of Fitch Mountain).
By 1930, all of the Del Rio Woods subdivision lots had been sold, and a
store and roller-skating rink had been constructed.
One of the Fitch Mountain resorts was the Villa Chanticleer, located
at the summit. Established in 1910, it was the leading French resort of
its day. The original main hall burned and was rebuilt in the 1940s, and
was purchased by the City of Healdsburg as a recreation facility in 1955.
An increase in commercial and residential construction also occurred
between 1919 and 1923, following World War I. However, a devastating depression
in the local wine and hops industries caused by the slightly delayed effects
of Prohibition, followed by the national economic depression of the 1930s,
brought commercial construction to a virtual standstill until after World
War II.
The post-war years in Healdsburg, like most other areas in California,
was a period of relatively rapid growth. Population figures increased
by 30% from 1940 to 1950, and by another 22% from 1950 to 1960. The population
growth trend slowed to a 12% increase between 1960 and 1970, and a 17%
increase between 1970 and 1980.
This population growth within the city limits is partially attributable
to increased municipal subdivision and annexation. Between 1947 and 1983
there were 46 separate subdivisions and additions. With only a few exceptions,
these annexations were located to the north and east of the original town.
These subdivisions followed formation of the first city planning commission
in 1946.
Commercial growth between 1945 and the present has tended to be
focused in areas other than the original downtown plaza. The most pronounced
growth area has been the area north of downtown along Healdsburg Avenue.
Recent building condemnations brought about the demolition of the 300
block of Healdsburg Avenue in 1980 (the original commercial core). Since
that time the city has formed a Redevelopment Agency and has itself purchased
a large portion of this vacant property to facilitate redevelopment.
Highway 101 was extended from Santa Rosa to Cloverdale in 1964. This
made Healdsburg's recreation areas more accessible to urban centers, but
at the same time made nearby urban areas more accessible to local residents.
The latter has changed the purchasing pattern of the entire survey area
and, in general, has had a negative effect on the established local businesses.
The completion of the Warm Springs Dam by the U. S. Army Corps of
Engineers in 1983 will most likely have a significant effect on the
entire area. Although recreation facilities have not yet been installed
at the dam, an increased transitory and permanent population will undoubtedly
create construction pressures in and around it. One motel has already been
planned just north of the City Limits on Dry Creek Road, and a 40-60 room
hotel is planned on the west side of the downtown Plaza. This move toward
increased transitory population has also increased the conversion of older
homes to bed and breakfast inns.
AGRICULTURE AND
INDUSTRIES
An Economic Base
As mentioned in previous sections, the earliest ranchers in the
area planted grain crops, especially wheat. Chilean wheat was planted
in the area in 1840. Fruit seeds and cuttings and grape vines had been
planted by 1843.
Grain remained the main crop planted by the early settlers, and
it continued to be the mainstay of agriculture until well into the 1870s.
This crop stimulated the establishment of related industries, such as grist
mills.
Cattle raising, another early pursuit of settlement era ranchers, brought
about the establishment of several tanning factories and a slaughter-house.
Although a statewide drought in the 1850s curtailed the cattle industry,
evidence shows that at least two glove-tanning factories and a soap factory
persisted into the 1870s, and one glove-tanning factory was still in
operation in 1901.
Lumber mills, as previously described, were established in the survey
area as early as 1849, and a sawmill was in existence on Mill Creek until
the 1920s, and at Lytton until the 1960s.
Mining was a significant local industry although various reports
of gold being found in the Russian River invariably turned out to be false.
The Russian River area did have a respectable amount of sulfate of mercury,
otherwise known as cinnabar, however. Until 1868, local quicksilver was
in demand for Placer County gold and quartz mining, but from 1868 to 1874,
the industry went into a slump as the high grade lump ore began to give
out. Industry innovations, allowing lower grades of ore to be used, caused
another surge in mining until an injunction was placed against hydraulic
mining in 1884. With the exception of modest booms during both world wars,
cinnabar mining slowly diminished and ceased altogether by the mid-1940s.
By 1880, fruit orchards, including apple, cherry, citrus, olive,
peach, pear, prune, and walnut trees were being experimented with as a
cash crop. Before that time, most homesteads had a family orchard, but
large-scale production did not occur until the 1870s. Prune, apple, and
peach trees soon gained preeminence, and by the early 1900s, prunes were the
largest orchard crop.
Grape vineyards became common by 1860. The introduction of foreign
grape varieties and legislation beneficial to the industry, caused an
upsurge in wine making statewide in the post-Civil War years. The first
wineries in the Healdsburg area were established during the late 1860s
and early 1870s (Chambaud Winery at Front and Hudson Streets).
This era also brought an influx of new grape vineyardists. These
early vineyardists often made their own wine on a small scale, which,
it is said, was of a lesser quality. In 1879, however, these vineyardists
were hit with the beginning of the plague of root lice that destroyed the
vines, known as Phylloxera.
Phylloxera had spread throughout the state by the mid 1880s. The
pest seemed to have originated in Sonoma County, but this may have been
due to the fact that by this time, Sonoma County was the premier grape-growing
region in California. Sonoma County vineyardists were not hit so hard as
those in Southern California, who were virtually wiped out by the plague.
Some attribute this fact to the difference in soil composition.
Phylloxera was eventually suppressed by grafting wild native vines
from the eastern and Midwestern United States, which were resistant to
the lice, to European vines. Many of these California hybrids were, in fact,
exported to Europe, which was also infested.
By 1890, the California wine industry had cut into the European
market and there was a marked increase in immigration of European wine
makers, especially Italian, to the area.
Although the lucrativeness of the grape industry fluctuated, locally
(1888 newspaper editorials plead with growers not to rip out their vines)
there was a steady increase in production. By 1900, there were an estimated
25,000 acres of grapes planted in Sonoma County yielding close to 10 million
gallons of wine.
From the 1880s until Prohibition, Sonoma County, and especially
the Russian River area and Sonoma Valley, had the largest number of wineries
in the state.
It might be mentioned that the number of private labels in Sonoma
County as a whole, was lessened due to the influence of the large California
Wine Association, a cooperative in the Healdsburg area. Private labels
flourished in Napa County, where there was no such cooperative.
As early as 1908, Healdsburg vintners were organizing to fight the
growing Prohibition movement. When Prohibition was enacted in 1919, the
wineries suffered immediately, but the grape growers actually benefited
by shipping their fruit by rail through the Pacific Fruit Exchange from
1920 to 1924. But, by 1927, their market began to plummet. Most of the
wineries essentially shut down during this period. Others managed to keep
running by selling wine for sacramental purposes, although one should not
underestimate the amount of covert wine making and selling that went on in
the survey area. Bootlegging was a widespread fact, was practiced almost
openly, and sustained some wineries totally until prohibition was lifted
in 1933. Many of the smaller wineries disappeared during this era, however,
despite bootlegging. In 1936, Sonoma County still produced more dry wine
than any other county in the nation and had 101 bonded wineries (compared
to 64 in Santa Clara, and 54 in Napa). By 1939, the grape acreage in the
county was about 21,000 (less than in 1900), and the price per ton was $16
(the same as in 1900).
Contrary to popular opinion, the wine industry in Sonoma County
did not fully recover from the effects of Prohibition until the 1970s.
Figures for 1968 show a drastic decrease in grape acreage, only 12,764
bearing acres. This decrease is understandable considering the market
price per ton (about $133 in 1968), and the highly inflated price of land
by this time.
Another large cash crop that was crippled by Prohibition was hops.
Hops were first planted in Sonoma County in the 1860s. By 1900, approximately
2,000 acres were planted in hops. By 1913, Sonoma County was responsible
for nearly one-half of all the hops grown in California, about 5,000 acres.
One third of the hops grown in the county were grown in the vicinity of
Healdsburg.
Three separate breweries had been established in Healdsburg during
this time span, one was established prior to 1867. The largest and
most well known of these was the F. O. Brandt Brewery, established in
1895. It was crippled by Prohibition, and although it attempted to
operate thereafter as an ice plant and creamery, it was completely
dismantled by 1935. There was no market for bootleg beer, as beer is
easily made at home with no special equipment. The hop-growing
industry was further injured by the appearance of a mysterious fungus
in the mid-1940s called the Downie Mildew,
which, in effect, rotted the hops. By this time, Oregon had taken most
of the hop market, and the Russian River hop industry withered and died.
The crop that kept the area agriculturally, and therefore
economically, sound from 1923 to 1970 was prunes. It was mentioned
earlier that orchard produce became a major cash crop in the late 19th
century. After prohibition, local grape growers ripped out hundreds of
acres of vines and replaced them with prune orchards. In 1947, 13,500
tons of prunes were produced in the Healdsburg area alone. Packing
plants, which had been in existence since the 1870s, expanded and in
some cases became large cooperatives. A city publication in 1967
states plainly that prunes were by far the most important industry in
Healdsburg, and through the 1970s the official Healdsburg logo
proclaimed: Healdsburg - the
Buckle of the Prune Belt.
The recent explosion of the Sonoma County wine industry reverses
exactly the trend seen following Prohibition. In 1981, there were 28,469
acres of grapes in Sonoma County, but this seemingly modest acreage represented
an almost 48 million dollar wine industry. As might be expected, since
1970 hundreds of acres of prune orchards have reverted to vineyards in the
survey area, and the trend continues.
ARCHITECTURAL OVERVIEW
Residential
The architecture of Healdsburg and the surrounding rural areas reflects
both the history and character of the community. The survey has identified
examples of all significant architectural styles built in and around
Healdsburg, which serve as present-day links to the area's past, and
when viewed from current perspective, provide a number of insights into
the nature of the community.
The first structures built by Euro-American settlers were residences
and outbuildings of split-log redwood. No example remains of these early,
temporary structures. The first permanent structures were made of adobe,
utilizing native clay and local Indian labor. All substantial residences
in the survey area were built of adobe between 1840 and 1848, when the
first sawmill was established. All three of these adobe residences were
destroyed or severely damaged in the 1906 earthquake, with the exception
of one adobe outbuilding which has been recently restored and still stands
at 8644 Highway 128.
As more settlers came to the survey area in the 1850s, simple wood
frame homestead style structures were built. The earliest homestead
houses were small single-story, single-gable structures built to shelter
the settlers, most of whom were without families. The fact that sawn lumber
was still at a premium and nails had to be hand-forged were additional reasons
of the relatively small scale of these early buildings. An example of an
early (1853) homestead exists at 239 Center Street.
In the late 1850s and 1860s homestead style houses became larger
in order to accommodate larger families and because sawn lumber and nails
were becoming more readily available, the latter being mass-produced.
Simplicity, and design based on function rather than ornamentation were
still the dominant characteristics during this period, reflecting the
agricultural emphasis of the survey area and the need to devote available
time, energy, and resources to agricultural pursuits.
The earliest homesteads were, of course, built by the settlers themselves,
but soon professional carpenters came to the area. Interestingly, an 1860
census of Healdsburg shows that "carpenter was the most common occupation
listed next to farmer. Many of these carpenters were no doubt drafted
into service to provide housing for the influx of settlers. Many of these
homestead style houses, and perhaps some later Italianates, were built
by architect and carpenter, Joseph Albertson. Albertson lived and worked
in Healdsburg from 1849 to 1875 when he moved to Ukiah to become one of
the most prominent architects of that city. Although Albertson cannot be
tied conclusively to any one structure, the more elaborate residences from
that era are undoubtedly of his design.
Examples of basic later homestead houses are at 815 Johnson Street,
317 Tucker Street, 412 North Street, and 226 Lincoln Street. Examples
of larger homesteads, some with superficial alterations, are at 340 East
Street, 447 Piper Street, 230 Center Street, and 1710 Westside Road.
By what is considered to be the late settlement era (1870-1880),
the prosperity of businesses and farms began to be reflected in more elaborate
local architecture. Several Italianate mansions and larger homes were constructed
during this time which incorporated far more ornate features such as balconies,
brackets, and grillwork. One of the area's first documented carpenter/contractors,
James W. Terry, built several of these large Italianates which are similar
in design and probably based on architectural plan books.
Examples of large Italianates are at 211 North Street, 619 Johnson
Street, 14891 Grove Street, and 14851 Grove Street.
A significant number of more modest Italianate homes were constructed
following this period, which served as middle class housing. A collection
of these single-story Italianates are seen in the Italian community south
of the railroad tracks in what is sometimes known as the Ward Street District
R. These houses are essentially identical and serve as examples of the
earliest row or tract housing in the survey area.
As the population of the survey area increased toward the end of
the 19th Century, a substantial middle class developed and a large number
of moderately-sized homes were built. Owing to Eastern influence, the vast
majority of these homes were cottages in the Queen Anne style. Even though
relatively small, these homes were embellished with verandahs, circular
bays, multi-gabled roofs and other features characteristic of this style.
An exemplary Queen Anne cottage is at 403 Matheson Street. Many of these
homes were actually second residences following a local pattern for more affluent
ranch families to maintain both town and country homes.
Several Queen Anne mansions, both in town and the surrounding countryside,
were built during this period characterizing the visual exuberance of
that style. An exemplary Queen Anne mansion is the Swisher Mansion at
642 Johnson Street. Another mansion typical of that style is at 4785 Westside
Road.
By the turn of the century, the population had stabilized and this
era witnessed slow but steady new residential construction of a number
of Transitional style homes showing the influences of both Queen Anne and
the Bungalow style to follow. Like the earlier Homestead, the Transitional
style involved less ornamentation, but still utilized such features as
oversized gables and sawn shingles for their decorative effect. Exemplary
transitional Queen Annes are at 326 Matheson Street, 321 Haydon Street, and
2476 Westside Road.
A local contractor, William H. Chaney, built many of these late
Queen Anne residences. Utilizing such unusual features as octagonal towers
and quatrefoil windows, Chaney built his most distinctive houses between
1890 and 1910, one of which is at 423 Matheson Street. Chaney was succeeded
by his son, William Chick Chaney, who built many Healdsburg residences
of a later era.
The Transitional style, while maintaining some of the ornamentation
which preceded it, indicated a definite movement toward a more subdued
approach. Between 1900 and 1925, two styles of bungalow, the California
bungalow style and the locally popular Craftsman bungalow style, became
characteristic of the movement away from, and a reaction against, the
excesses of Victorian architecture. Both provided housing for the middle
class population, superseding the function of the Queen Anne cottage,
and both involved an effort to integrate indoor and outdoor living spaces
with the use of sleeping porches, natural wood, etc. The more prevalent
Craftsman homes, with their broad-based pillars, overhanging eaves, and
exposed beams, made use of somewhat more prominent design features than
the simpler bungalow.
An exemplary California bungalow can be seen at 214 Center Street.
Variations of the Craftsman style can be seen at 538 Tucker Street, 328
Grant Street, and 439 Matheson Street. Another local contractor, George
Day, built many of the bungalows of both styles seen in the survey area.
Numerous examples remain in the area, owing to the healthy overall
economic climate of that period, due mainly to prosperous vineyard, hop,
and orchard activity. The slightly delayed effects of Prohibition brought
about a severe depression in the local hop and vineyard industries, and
by the mid-1920s this depression severely curtailed residential construction.
The combined effects of the local and then national depression, in fact,
obstructed building of all types until after World War II.
Consequently, very few examples exist of architectural styles prevalent
in other parts of the country during this time, such as the Prairie style,
which was very popular in the nearby San Francisco Bay area. Usually
characterized by a center portion rising slightly above the flanking
wings, low-pitched roof with eaves extending well beyond the walls, and
stucco siding, only a few examples can be seen in Healdsburg, one of which
is at 744 Healdsburg Avenue. Another style of that era seldom seen in
Healdsburg proper but common in the Fitch Mountain resort area is the
Vernacular cottage, in this case characterized by board and batten siding,
natural materials, and an overall rustic appearance. Most were built as
vacation homes in this predominantly seasonal residential area. Examples
of these residences can be seen at 1610 South Fitch Mountain Road, and
1616 South Fitch Mountain Road.
Some Mediterranean and Spanish or Mission style homes were constructed
in the area, generally between 1930 and 1945, and they exhibit characteristic
arches, red tile roofs, and brick walls finished in stucco. Many very
modest Mission style stucco homes were built by local contractor Amedeo
Pordon, who also built several fine Tudor style residences in the 1920s.
Commercial
Unlike residential buildings in the survey area, which have been
left largely intact, many non-residential buildings have either been destroyed
or modified to the point that there are relatively few remaining examples
of the early commercial styles that characterized Healdsburg. Several
reasons account for this.
The 1906 earthquake resulted in substantial damage to Healdsburg's
commercial core, particularly those buildings made of relatively poor
quality local brick. Several were destroyed and many others required substantial
repair. Also, the use of commercial structures is such that frequent changes
and modifications are made as commercial needs change. As a result many
buildings have been modified or enlarged so that their original style is
indistinguishable. Finally, and particularly in relation to the earliest
structures, the quality and type of construction was such that later attempts
to modify or remodel them were considered to be economically unfeasible.
Often, the solution was to replace the building with more
modern structures.
These are, however, examples of most of the early commercial architectural
styles in various parts of the city. With the recent heightened interest
in preservation, several of these buildings are in the process of rehabilitation.
The earliest commercial buildings were simple single-gable structures
covered with a wooden false front. They were one or two-story wooden
structures first located on Healdsburg Avenue and around the downtown
Plaza. There are no remaining examples of the early wooden false-front
structures, but a simple redwood commercial building still exists, albeit
covered with stucco, at 318 Center Street. A building similar in style
to the early false-front buildings can be seen at 200 Lytton Springs Road,
where a later bathhouse copied an earlier style. A building once utilized
for a time as a commercial false front, but which has since had its front
removed, can be seen at 20 West Grant.
In the late 1850s, several two-story brick buildings were constructed
using brick from a local yard. An example of one of these can be seen
at 340 Healdsburg Avenue. This circa 1858 structure was built by E. Rathburn,
the town's earliest documented bricklayer. The early brick structures,
while generally larger than their wooden counterparts, were often simple
one-story storefronts. Later, in the mid-1870s, several larger brick buildings
were constructed by the Burgett Brothers, local brick masons whose buildings
include the Kruse Building at 112 Matheson Street.
By the late 1880s cast-iron fronts from foundries in San Francisco
began to be added to commercial buildings in Healdsburg. The Kruse Buildings
at 112 Matheson Street, mentioned previously, and the Koenig Building at
330 Healdsburg Avenue are exposed examples of this feature. The rehabilitation
of the Gobbi building at 312 Center Street will involve the uncovering
of the cast iron front of this building and it is hoped that other, as
yet unidentified, examples will be uncovered in the future.
As mentioned above, the 1906 earthquake resulted in substantial
damage to Healdsburg's business district. Four brick buildings received
devastating damage and the front of the Gobbi building, mentioned previously,
literally fell into the street. While this did not halt the use of brick
in commercial construction, it did result in a shift toward higher-quality
brick from nearby localities.
The use of reinforced concrete was introduced to commercial construction
after the earthquake and several examples of this type of construction
remain today. The Odd Fellows building is a perfect example of the effects
of the 1906 earthquake on local commercial construction. This structure
is actually two separate buildings, facing two different streets. One building
at 240 Healdsburg Avenue was built of local brick just prior to the
quake. The other part, at 100 Matheson Street, was originally identical
to the first, but was demolished in the earthquake. It was rebuilt soon
after by the same contractor, but utilized reinforced concrete and a design
suited to that building material. Thus the two components of one building
aptly illustrate the architectural trauma and readjustment after 1906.
Other examples include the Farmers and Mechanics Bank at 119 Plaza Street
and the Masonic Temple at 322 Center Street.
These buildings also serve as examples of the post-earthquake trend
towards bringing in architects from outside the local area, particularly
for larger projects. The Farmers and Mechanics Bank was designed by Frank
Sullivan from Santa Rosa, and the Masonic Temple by Stanley and Handers
of Santa Rosa. The Healdsburg National Bank (Bank of America) building at
320 Healdsburg Avenue is an example of later brick construction. Designed
by San Francisco architect Frederick Meyer in 1920, this building incorporated
high quality masonry and terra cotta to achieve a
modern look. The two
banks also serve as examples of the Neo-Classic style, with their stone
columns and porticos common at that time (1900-1920).
Due to the economic conditions mentioned earlier there are very
few examples of commercial architecture constructed between 1925 and
1945. There are only two existing examples of the Moderne style, one of
which was built in 1939 at 301 East Street. The persistence of the tourist
industry motivated the construction of a bungalow motel (circa 1930) at
904 Healdsburg Avenue. Like other such motels throughout California, this
motel was composed of several small single-story units built around a
courtyard.
Post-World War II commercial construction tended to be of a much
smaller scale and appears, with current perspective, to be of a lesser
quality. Innovations in construction techniques, as well as altered sociological
patterns, brought about the demise of two-story commercial architecture.
Civic
The first substantial public buildings in the area were the two-
or three-story, single gable, wood frame public school buildings. The smaller
one-room schoolhouses built in outlying rural areas were generally of the
simplest possible construction of their particular era. Examples of settlement
era schoolhouses are at 8644 Highway 128, and at 18899 Independence Lane.
Examples of late 19th Century schoolhouses can be seen at 795 Dry Creek
Road, and at 12840 Grant School Road.
The most distinguished civic building ever constructed in the survey
area was the three-story brick Romanesque Healdsburg City Hall, built
in 1886. Unfortunately, this building was demolished in 1960.
Following the trend to utilize masonry in public buildings, a landmark
cobblestone grammar school was built in 1906 (demolished in 1936). In
the same year, an exceptional Craftsman style schoolhouse was built at 1201
Felta Road. These two schools represented new directions in civic architecture.
Among the most notable neo-classic buildings in Healdsburg is the
Carnegie Library, built in 1911, at 221 Matheson Street. This building,
along with the 1913 residence at 726 Fitch Street were designed by the
locally well known architect, Brainerd Jones, who made use of classic
columns during this era and is said to have started the trend locally of
adding these columns to existing structures of earlier styles.
Two of the very few commercial or civic buildings built between
1925 and 1945 are the Mediterranean style Chamber of Commerce building,
built by the W.P.A. in 1930 at 146 Healdsburg Avenue, and the Mission
Revival Healdsburg Elementary School, built in 1935 at 400 First Street.
Because of adverse economic conditions these two civic buildings are the
best examples of these styles in the survey area.
Industrial
Early industrial buildings resembled agricultural outbuildings.
Some unexpected settlement era industries, such as glove tanneries
and cream of tartar and must factories, utilized basic barn-like structures,
and were short-lived.
By 1880, nearly all industrial buildings were exclusively related
to agriculture. Among the oldest is the Fenton Hop Kilns at 6050 Westside
Road. This distinctive wooden structure typifies industrial architecture
in its functional design. A large tower for drying hops dominates one end
of the building, made from massive redwood beams taken from nearby forests.
Stone brought to the area from Mt. St. Helena was also somewhat common
in agricultural buildings in the late 1800s. The old Simi Winery at 433
Hudson Street, the Nervo Winery at 19585 South Geyserville Road, and
the abandoned Gaddini Winery at 11455 Old Redwood Highway are examples
of this type of stone industrial building.
As the agricultural/industrial complex became established and more
prosperous, the buildings followed their residential and commercial counterparts
by incorporating more elaborate design features and a larger scale such
as the Simi Winery building at 16275 Healdsburg Avenue. Because of the European
roots of the early wine makers the style and ornamentation of these buildings
were reminiscent of European industrial buildings.
The Miller Packing Plant at 55 West Grant Street and the Rosenberg
Packing Shed at 3 North Street, both substantial industrial buildings,
illustrate the importance and prosperous nature of the prune packing industry
in Healdsburg from 1920 to 1970.
The shift from prune and hop orchards to vineyards as an economic
base after 1970 is aptly shown in recent industrial architecture. Ironically,
Souverain Winery at 400 Souverain Road, built in 1973, copies the appearance
of the early hop kilns: The chateau style Jordan Winery at 1474 Alexander
Valley Road is again reminiscent of European architecture.
Conclusions
The architecture of Healdsburg reflects architectural and sociological
evidence that is both idiosyncratic and reflective of larger trends.
Early residential architecture is consistent with that of the state
as a whole, representing extremely rapid population expansion from 1850
to 1880. However, the stability of Healdsburg's population from 1890 until
1940, has inadvertently resulted in both the preservation of a relatively
large segment of existing settlement-era housing, and a very consistent
representation of residential architectural styles from 1890 until 1940.
Historic commercial architecture in Healdsburg reflects numerous
attempts by local entrepreneurs to readjust to fluctuating economic atmospheres.
Consequently there are few unaltered examples of early commercial styles
of architecture. Although two major commercial restorations are planned,
the bulk of these structures have been drastically altered or demolished.
It is hoped that several of the yet existing brick commercial buildings
can be preserved and rehabilitated.
The civic buildings of the survey area have suffered as high an
attrition rate as the commercial structures. The regrettable loss of
one of the most architecturally distinguished buildings in Sonoma County,
the 1886 Healdsburg City Hall, in 1960 has sharpened local sensibilities
to the potential importance of local architecture.
Industrial architecture, represented almost exclusively by agriculturally
related activities, enjoys a wide variety of existing examples in the
survey area. A recent upsurge in the vineyard winery industrial complex
has created a local renaissance in modern winery related architecture.
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