Sonoma County CA Archives History - Books .....Boundaries 1877
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Book Title: Historical And Descriptive Sketch Of Sonoma County, California

HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CAL.
BOUNDARIES.

   SONOMA county lies twenty-five miles north of San Francisco, a little west of
a due north line. It is bounded on the south by the bay of San Francisco and
Marin county, the latter county a peninsula lying between the bay and the ocean;
on the west by the Pacific ocean; on the north by Mendocino county, and on the
east by Lake and Napa counties. Its sea-coast front, following the sinuosities
of the shore line, is about sixty miles. Its average length, from north to
south, is about fifty miles, and its average width is about twenty-five miles.
Its area is, in round numbers, eight hundred and fifty thousand acres. The
district of Sonoma originally included all the vast territory lying between the
Sacramento river and the Pacific ocean. At the first session of the legislature
the northern line was fixed along the fortieth parallel of latitude to the
summit of the Mayacmas range of mountains, and thence south to the bay,
including all the present county of Mendocino, and a portion of Napa county. In
1856, Napa county having been previously formed, the limits of Sonoma were
contracted to the present boundary lines by the segregation of Mendocino county.

   A glance at the map of the State herewith published, will show the great
advantages of the location of the county of Sonoma. It fronts on the bay of San
Francisco, known in its northern extremity as the bay of San Pablo, once called
the bay of Sonoma. Two estuaries lead from the bay inland into the county of
Sonoma, navigable at high tide for steamers and sail-vessels of considerable
size. The latter, with a fair wind and tide, convey the produce of the county,
at the current freight-rates, in a few hours to the wharves in San Francisco. In
addition, there are a number of shipping points along the coast, of which more
will be said hereafter.

   Sonoma county is not so fully known as portions of this State with less
advantages of climate, soil, and productions; because it is off* the great
central line of travel, which follows the Sacramento Valley to tide-water,
thence to San Francisco, and turns southward. It has been hidden, as it were,
behind the Coast Range of mountains, which separates it from the great
Sacramento Valley. From San Francisco, through the Sacramento Valley, you pass
along the east foothills of the Coast Range; from the same place to Sonoma
county you pass along the west face of the same range. The trend of the coast is
northwesterly, and the county of Sonoma lies almost entirely west of the city of
San Francisco. Lying west of the greater part of the State, may account for the
fact that about one-third more rain falls here than in San Francisco, and fully
one-half more than in the counties south and east of the bay of San Francisco.
There has never been a season in the history of the county when there was not
enough rain to make a crop. There have been years of drouth in other parts of
the State; but in this section in those seasons the crops were better than an
average.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORICAL
AND
DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH
OF
SONOMA COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA,
BY
ROBERT A. THOMPSON,
EDITOR OF "THE SONOMA DEMOCRAT."
PHILADELPHIA:
L. H. EVERTS & CO. 
1877.


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