Sonoma County History

San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad - This line which traverses the entire length of the Petaluma, Santa Rosa, and Russian River valleys, was commenced in the year 1869, and was completed to its present terminus at Cloverdale in 1872. As a road, not one in the entire State is more complete in its appointments, while from its incipience to the present time it has progressed with the county, and reflects much credit upon its builders and upon its management.

The builder of the line, and the President of the company is Colonel Peter Donahue. His attention was first called to the work by the Hon. A. P. Overton, now a prominent citizen of Santa Rosa and formerly of Petaluma. Colonel Donahue, with that keen business foresight for which he is so eminent among his compeers, at once saw the necessity which existed for such a road, took in hand, and pushed it to its completion with that iron will which knows not let nor hindrance. Of Colonel Donahue's labors, Mr. R. A. Thompson says: "To that enterprise, which has placed Colonel Donahue in the foremost rank of the business men of the great metropolis of the Pacific Coast, we owe our excellent facilities for communication with San Francisco. When others faltered or drew back, he pressed to the front. His business sagacity and capital proved the "open sesame" which smoothed and made straight our highway to the sea, over which the varied products of Sonoma County are transported (a rich tribute) to his adopted city, San Francisco."

"The North Pacific Coast Railroad extends from a point in Marin County, opposite San Francisco, through that county into Sonoma, and terminates at Duncan's mill, on Russian river. Milton S. Latham is President of the company. W. F. Russell is Secretary and general agent, John W. Doughtery is general manager, W. B. Price is Auditor and general passenger agent, C. B. Mansfield is assistant superintendent, and J. W. Fillmore, train dispatcher.

"The road was first opened January 1875. Freight cars cross the bay of San Francisco on barges to the opposite shore at Saucelito, the land terminus of the road, a distance of six miles; or, reversing the order, they carry the freight laden cars from the terminus to the city. Each barge has a capacity for twelve loaded cars, making a great saving in transporting freight."

"The road has a second terminus on the bay of San Francisco, at San Quentin, by a branch road, which leaves the main line two miles north of San Rafael. The Saucelito terminus is used for freight business, while the San Quentin terminus is used principally for the passenger business. This latter terminus is connected with San Francisco, a distance of about nine miles, by two elegant ferry boats, built in New York exclusively for this line, and for travel between the city of San Francisco and San Rafael.

"The road is a narrow-gauge, being three feet between the rails; leaving San Rafael, the road runs through Marin County, passing Ross valley, by Fairfax and Pacheco, to the summit, known as White Hill, at the head of Ross Valley. The grade in this ascent is one hundred and twenty-one feet tp the mile, and so doubles back upon itself that in one instance the tracks are not one hundred yards apart after traversing a distance of three-fourths of a mile.

"At the summit the road passes through a tunnel thirteen hundred feet long, and descends into the valley of San Geronimo creek to Nicasio, and from there to Tomales. The route to this point is through a splendid dairy country, and, for all those rare beauties of scenery peculiar to California, it can nowhere be surpassed.

"For a year and a half the northern terminus of the road was at Tomales, fifty-four miles from Saucelito. The entrance to Sonoma County was barred as it were, by a wall of solid rock, through which it was necessary to cut a tunnel seventeen hundred feet in length. The men who formed this company were not to be deterred by obstacles even as formidable as this rocky barrier; they pierced it, and soon the hills which enclosed the fertile valleys of south-western Sonoma echoed the steam-whistle of the approaching locomotive.

"The road was finished to its destined terminus on Russian river in the winter of 1876-7. Just before reaching Valley Ford the road crosses the Estero Americano, and enters Sonoma County, passing Valley Ford, a pretty village; but just why its church should have been built across the line in Marin County, is beyond our ken. Steaming north, we pass Bodega Corners depot, and next Freestone. Just beyond Freestone the road enters the redwood timber belt, ascends Salmon Creek by a steep grade to Howard's Station, crossing there the summit of the divide between the waters which fall, on the south, into Bodega Bay, and on the north, into Russian River. Just before reaching Howard's the road passes over one of the highest bridges west of the Mississippi River. The bridge is one hundred and thirty-seven feet high. At Howard's we have fairly entered the redwood timber fields, and begin to realize the ultimate aims of the projectors of this enterprise, and the business it is destined to develop. Up to the fall of 1876 there were only three small saw-mills on or near the line of the road, and the great expense of hauling made them available for only the local trade. It has been but nine months since the road was completed, and there are now (1877) on the line of the road six large saw-mills, sending to market daily one hundred and seventy-five thousand feet of lumber, besides great quantities of shingles, laths, pickets, cord-wood, tan-bark, and charcoal.

"Streeten's mill is owned by Latham & Streeten; has a capacity of fifteen thousand per day; has about one thousand acres of land; employs forty men. The Russian River Land and Lumber Company is owned by Governor M. S. Latham, the largest owner of timber-land in this section, having ten thousand acres in one body. From Streeten's mill to Duncan's, with the exception of two miles, the road passes through its land. It owns all the timber-land on the old Bodega Rancho that lies in Ocean township. Its two mills - the Tyrone mill and the Moscow mill (at Moscow) - have each a capacity of forty thousand feet per day. Each mill employs from eighty to ninety men, and in the logging for both mills about sixty cattle are employed. The logs are hauled to mill on small locomotives, or tramways laid with railroad iron. The lumber, as at all the six saw-mills, is loaded directly on the cars, and not rehandled until delivered at the wharf in San Francisco. The saving of labor, expense, and breakage, from this fact alone, will at once be appreciated by any one familiar with the lumber business.

"The next mill below is one of the mills of the Madrona Land and Lumber Company, near the intersection of Howard Creek with Russian River. This company has about one thousand acres of land, and the mill has a capacity of twenty thousand feet per day, employing fifty men. A branch tract runs three-fourths of a mile up the Russian River to another mill of this company, having a capacity of twenty-five thousand feet per day, and employing sixty men.

"Following down the Russian River we pass the Moscow mill (already mentioned) and cross the river on the four-hundred-foot bridge to Duncan's mill. Mr. A. Duncan, the senior proprietor, is the oldest lumberman on this river. He owns four thousand acres of land, principally on Austin Creek, which empties into Russian River opposite Moscow. Duncan's mill has a capacity of thirty-five thousand feet per day, and employs seventy-five men.

"A description of this road would be incomplete without referring to the great inducements it offers to pleasure-seekers and sportsmen. It is not a sufficiently strong assertion to say that no route of eighty miles out of San Francisco offers such a variety of beautiful scenery. Moscow and Duncan's Mill (opposite the river,) are two charming spots, and as picturesque as any in the State. The ocean winds, tempered by the distance of seven miles up the Russian River, prevail all through the summer. Here are to be found the finest fishing and shooting. Austin Creek is one of the notable trout streams in the State; quail abound; deer are still in the forests and glades. Salmon can be caught in large numbers in the river."

SONOMA VALLEY RAILROAD. - Several attempts have been made to overcome the disadvantages to which Sonoma is subjected, yet, though the obstacles in the way are not only not insuperable, but also not great, the schemes have invariably come to naught. Now, however, there is a prospect of better things. A shorter route has been devised, embracing a railroad to overcome the sinousities and shallows of Sonoma Creek (which in its course resembles the Mississippi river) and a shorter line by vessel. The most favorable thing to be said of the present project is that it is not only devised, but that the execution of the project has actually begun. The scheme is this: A narrow guage railroad is to be constructed from Sonoma to Sears' Point, some fourteen miles. At that point a wharf is to be extended out to a depth of fourteen feet at low-water mark. Between there and the city a fast steamer is to ply. The entire distance between Sonoma and San Francisco, it is promised, will be made inside of two hours and a half, and two round trips will be each way; and instead of each trip requiring from four to seven hours, two and a half will be necessary. Stage-coaching will be done away with, teaming of freight will be greatly lessened, loss of time on sand-bars will be greatly saved, communication will be increased, and Sonoma will no longer be isolated.

The construction of the railway has been begun at Norfolk, a point on the creek between McGill's and Embarcadero, and extended some four miles to the village boundary. Thence it will be continued as fast as practicable to the heart of the village.* The right of way has been obtained on the plan that the Sonomans shall raise funds sufficient to recoup individuals for whatever damage shall be done to their property. Only one property-holder stands out,

and, if necessary, his opposition will be overcome by the purchase of his small holding. Simultaneously with the extension of the road into the village, the road will be pushed from Norfolk - a draw-bridge will here be necessary - across the reclaimed lands to the base of the foothills, and thence some six miles to Sears' Point. The construction of this road requires no great obstacles to be overcome. The greatest has already been surmounted, the building of the track over some three miles of unreclaimed tule land. There are no cuts of any consequence to be made, there is virtually no grade, and there is an abundance of gravel for ballasting easily accessible. The proposed road, in fact, presents few difficulties, and they will be easily mastered. The Sonoma Valley Railroad will certainly soon be a fact. Then all that will remain to give the country through which it passes the vitality across the bay shall be kept. This, there is scarcely a doubt, will be done. This much accomplished, it is next proposed to place Sonoma and Santa Rosa in railroad communication. The effect of this will be to throw open lands and to stimulate the already great wine, brandy, and raisin production.

We will now draw this portion of our work to a close, and for any matter which may not be found on the foregoing pages we would refer the reader to the histories of the townships which will be found farther on. We have endeavored not to rob county history for the benefit of township history; in many cases, however, it has been impossible to follow this rule, therefore the annals of some of the latter are much fuller than others; this may or may not be a fault; at any rate when certain portions have been omitted in one place they will be found in the other. In conclusion, we append the following beautiful lines by Bayard Taylor, as fully portraying the past, present, and future of Sonoma County: -