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Ring in the New Year: go to a museum!
George McKale
I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating. 2010 marks the 175th anniversary of the founding of Sonoma. True, our mission was established 12 years prior, but it wasn’t until June 24, 1835 Lieutenant Vallejo received a formal order from Governor Figueroa to administer the secularization of the mission and lay out a pueblo in the valley. Governor Figueroa also provided Vallejo with 66,000 acres known as the Petaluma Rancho and an instructional memo of sorts, outlining how the new pueblo should be constructed.
Figueroa indicated the location of a village in the valley of Sonoma should be divided into quarters or squares, “the streets and plaza regulated so as to make a beginning.” The boundaries of the village were marked by Petaluma, Agua Caliente, Rancho de Huichica, Lena de Suhr, Salvador, Vallejo and La Veronica to the north of the pueblo. Furthermore, the pueblo shall be “commenced immediately around the hill where the fortification is to be erected.” The fortification was to protect the citizens from the “savages and all others (Russians, Americans, French, English).”
The development of the pueblo was a journey of exploration in and of itself. Like taking a wet piece of clay and molding it into something extraordinary. What better experience for children and adults alike, to turn over that stone, to discover something new. Recently I turned over a stone and discovered a wonderful exhibit at the Sonoma County Museum. “Envisioning the World: The First Printed Maps 1472-1700,” is on display until Jan. 17. Put in the museum’s own words, the exhibit delves into the journey to understanding the world, its true size and shape, as well as its place in the system of heavenly bodies. On display is an 1867 mega-sized map of Sonoma County. Well worth the price of admission.
In 1838, Second Lieutenant Vallejo was promoted to commandante-general and military governor of the new state of Alta California. Though his highest rank was a colonel, Mariano was now known to all as “General” Vallejo. In 1841, a visitor to the young pueblo described the generals’ soldiers as mere boys with enormous swords and a pair of nascent moustaches, deerskin boots and everlasting serape with a hole in the middle for the head. The next few years brought significant changes, as events began to unfold leading California to change from Mexican land to that of “E pluribus unum”.
California’s rich history can also be explored at the California Historical Society, in their San Francisco exhibit titled “Think California.” This exhibit highlights California’s colorful history through artwork, artifacts, and ephemera. The exhibit presents little known facts about our history and is well worth visiting and turning over that stone to see what little treasures lay waiting to be discovered. Plenty of time to visit as the exhibit runs through Feb. 5, 2011.
“General Vallejo is dead! He expired at 1:30 this morning” read the headlines announcing his passing on Jan. 18, 1890. A military band had been sent from San Francisco to play Chopin’s “Funeral March” as his body lay in state in the family parlor. So 120 years later we celebrate not his passing, but his vision. We imagine the general, compass in hand, walking the grassy flat lands, placing markers and determining the boundaries for our revered Plaza, streets, and parcels.
Of course, a last minute shout-out for our own historical society is in order. What’s the saying? Oh yes, “think globally, act locally.” The Depot Museum is right in our back yard, behind the barracks and across the parking lot. Look for the building next to the train where exhibits portray Sonoma history from Indian times, the founding of the pueblo and the railroads. 2010 will be a landmark year for remembering the past. This 2010, let us decide how to celebrate the 175th anniversary of our city and may the history you create, be safe, loving, and full of discovery.
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