Sonoma County, California
U.S. County|
county = Sonoma County|
state = California |
seal = Sonoma County ca seal.png |
map = California map showing Sonoma County.png|
map size = |
founded = 1850|
seat =
Santa Rosa | area = 4,580
km² (1,768
mi²) |
area land = 4,082 km² (1,576 mi²) |
area water = 498 km² (192 mi²) |
area percentage = 10.88% |
census yr = 2000|
pop = 458,614 |
density = 112|
web = www.sonoma-county.org|}}
Sonoma County is a
county located on the
Pacific coast of the
U.S. state of
California, north of
Marin County and the
San Francisco Bay Area. As of the year 2000, Sonoma had a population of 458,614. The
county seat is
Santa Rosa.
Sonoma County is a world-famous
wine producing region, the wine growing region known as
Valley of the Moon. 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.
Regarding the
etymology of the name
Sonoma, according to the 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.' (
Gudde, 370)
According to the Coastal
Miwok tribes that lived in the region and the
Pomo, Sonoma translates "valley of the moon" or "many moons", and their legends detail this as a land where the moon nestled, hence today the names
Sonoma Valley and
The Valley of the Moon.
(May,Indian Country) The translation of
Valley of the Moon was first recorded in a 1850 report by General
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo to the California Legislature. (
Hanna, p. 311).
Jack London, in his 1913 novel
The Valley of the Moon, popularized the romanticized lunar etymology for Sonoma, and this translation has been popular ever since.
Additional research indicates that in the native language(s) there is a constantly recurring ending
tso-noma, from
tso, (the earth), and
noma, (village); hence
tsonoma, meaning ‘earth village' (
Hanna, p. 311).
Notwithstanding the above local translations from the Miwok and their legends, other sources theorized (and this is disputed) that the word Sonoma comes from the Patwin tribes west of the
Sacramento River and their
Wintu word for "nose". Per
California place names, "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 [1946]) 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 [1932]). Beeler believes that the name applied originally to a nose-shaped
orographic feature (WF 13:268-72 [1954])" (
Gudde, 370)." See also,
The Encyclopedia of California (1999),
Encyclopedia Britannica (2005) and the
California Gazetteer (1985).
Sonoma County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood.
Originally the home of the Native American coastal
Miwok tribes, 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:
| 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, by Ivan Alexandrovich Kuskov, the founder of Fort Ross and, from 1812 to 1821, its colonial administrator. Note: There is an overlap of rule with the Mexican Empire (next item), until the Russians sold Fort Ross in 1841 to John Sutter, and subsequent leaving the area in 1842 |
| 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/California, 9 July 1846 |
Sonoma was the location of
Mission San Francisco Solano, founded in 1823 as the last and northernmost of 21
California missions, built on the end of
El Camino Real. The
El Presidio de Sonoma, or Sonoma Barracks (part of Spain's
Fourth Military District), was established in 1836 by Comandante General
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo whose duties included keeping an eye on the
Russian traders at
Fort Ross, secularizing the Mission, maintaining cooperation with the Native Americans of the entire region, and doling out the lands in large estates and ranches. Among the most notable events, the
Bear Flag Revolt took place in this County in 1846, and it is the site of many
historical monuments.
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
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.
Presidential elections results| 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 | |
| | | | | | | | | |
Incorporated cities
{|valign="top"|
*
Cloverdale*
Cotati*
Healdsburg*
Petaluma*
Santa Rosa
*Rohnert Park
*Sebastopol
*Sonoma
*Windsor | 
