398 Transactions of the 



SANTA ROSA TOWNSHIP. 



We now come to Santa Rosa Township, which has an assessed valu- 

 ation or' property amounting to nearly four million dollars, the largest 

 in any of the thirteen townships in the county. It embraces a territory 

 extending from east to west across the county for eighteen miles, with 

 an average width of from eight to ten miles. It is in the very center of 

 Sonoma County. The railroad crosses it from north to south. The 

 Town of Santa Rosa, the county seat, is in the center of the township, 

 on the line of the railroad. An hour's travel by rail brings passengers 

 from either extreme end of the county to the capital town. Passenger 

 trains for San Francisco arrive at Santa Rosa about eight A. M., from 

 Cloverdale; returning, pass Santa Rosa at six thirty P. M. Freight 

 trains, with accommodations for passengers, pass Santa Rosa, for Clover- 

 dale, at about nine A. M.; returning, pass Santa Rosa at three P. M. The 

 east line of the township is the divide between Napa and Sonoma Counties. 

 These hills are well suited for grazing and the south hillsides for grape 

 culture. Two thirds of the township lies in what is known as the plains 

 of Santa Rosa — mostly bottom lands, which produce forty bushels of 

 wheat to the acre — lying along Mark West and Santa Rosa Creeks, 

 which flow from the bills west across the plain, parallel with each other 

 and about lour miles apart, to the Lagoon. For ages these streams had 

 no well defined channel, and year after year the Winter freshets brought 

 down and distributed over the plain a rich tribute of alluvial and vege- 

 table mold from the mountains. In some places the land is stratified 

 by these yearly deposits. The periodical overflow is marked as plainly 

 in the sod as the annual rings of the oaks which grow upon the surface. 

 The soil is from twelve to fifteen feet deep. It rests upon a bed of gravel 

 in which water is always found. The gravel lies on a concrete; on this 

 concrete ami through the gravel overlying it there seems to be a flow of 

 underground water. Fruit trees, shrubbery, and roses will send their 

 roots down to this water. Even alfalfa has been dug where its long 

 tough root had gone from twelve to fifteen feet to the gravel strata. 

 Wherever the roots of trees or shrubs reach the water the growth is 

 prodigious. 



Since the occupation of the plain the water from the streams has been 

 turned in one direction until it has cut a deep channel, which now acts 

 as a surface drain. There is no overflow except in seasons of extraor- 

 dinary rains. 



Immediately west of Santa Rosa Township lie the "Sonoma Downs," 

 commencing on the edge of the plain, seven miles west of the town, 

 extending to the ocean. Northwest about sixteen miles lies the great 

 timber belt. North, in easy ranch, are Russian River, Mendocino, and 

 Washington Townships. Northeast twenty-seven miles lies the great 

 quicksilver belt. Southeast lies Sonoma Valley, and south about sixteen 

 miles Petaluma and Vallejo Townships. The Sonoma Mountain 

 branches about seven miles below Santa Rosa, and forms three valleys, 

 each of which are in Santa Rosa Township, lying east and southeast, 

 and within a few miles of the Town of Santa Rosa. In Bennett Valley- 

 there are fifty-five farms of about three hundred acres each. The Gui- 

 lucos Valley is about seven miles long by an average width of about 

 three miles. It has the finest of fruit, grape, and farm land. The 

 scenery around the residence of William Hood, owner of the Guilucos 

 Rancho, is considered the finest in the State. Tho road from Santa 



