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102-649: The Blue Wing Inn in Sonoma, California , was one of the first hotels built in the state north of San Francisco. What began as the first property transfer in the new Pueblo de Sonoma and a simple adobe residence transformed with time and the addition of more rooms into a storied landmark. During the California Gold Rush it was used by miners going to and from the gold fields and by the U.S. Army soldiers stationed in Sonoma. After many years, owners and uses -

204-420: A council–manager form of government, wherein a council sets policy and hires staff to implement it. The city council has five members, elected to four-year terms. The city council selects one of its members to serve as mayor. In addition to the official mayor, Sonoma has a tradition of naming an honorary mayor each year, titled " Alcalde /Alcaldesa". The Alcalde or Alcaldesa presides over ceremonial events for

306-421: A stagecoach depot. The 1888 Sanborn fire insurance map indicates the building had been enlarged by a wood-frame addition on the west end and most of the building was used for making and storing wine. The same map shows that the central room on the first floor was occupied by a grocer named Monferdini and the east room housed a clothing store. Eva Rideout inherited the property when Tivnen died in 1892. She sold

408-406: A turnpike gate, a Dickensian passenger coach covered in snow pulling up at a coaching inn , a highwayman demanding a coach to "stand and deliver" and a Wells Fargo stagecoach arriving at or leaving an American frontier town. The yard of ale drinking glass is associated by legend with stagecoach drivers, though it was mainly used for drinking feats and special toasts . The stagecoach

510-416: A 35’ by 35’ two story adobe addition abutting the west end of the original structure. According to reports of travelers, The dining room and kitchen were located in the east room of the first floor. The central room served as the gambling room and the westernmost housed the saloon and business office. One the second floor the west and central rooms housed overnight guests. For a time Cooper housed his family in

612-410: A Stage Coach (If God permits), which starts every Thursday at Five in the morning. The novelty of this method of transport excited much controversy at the time. One pamphleteer denounced the stagecoach as a "great evil [...] mischievous to trade and destructive to the public health". Another writer, however, argued that: Besides the excellent arrangement of conveying men and letters on horseback, there

714-416: A basic stagecoach infrastructure had been put in place. A string of coaching inns operated as stopping points for travellers on the route between London and Liverpool . The stagecoach would depart every Monday and Thursday and took roughly ten days to make the journey during the summer months. Stagecoaches also became widely adopted for travel in and around London by mid-century and generally travelled at

816-654: A coach could travel at full gallop across levels, combined with more staging posts at shorter intervals, cut the time required to travel across the country sometimes by half. A Cobb & Co (Australia) proprietor arrived in New Zealand on 4 October 1861, thus beginning Cobb & Co (New Zealand) stagecoach operation. Beginning in the 18th century, crude wagons began to be used to carry passengers between cities and towns, first within New England by 1744, then between New York and Philadelphia by 1756. Travel time

918-417: A day and a half, including a night stop at Bab al-Wad (Shaar HaGai), the trip in the opposite, downhill direction took 12 hours. The stagecoaches belonged to private owners, and the wagoners were mostly hired, although sometimes the wagoner was also the owner of the wagon. The license to operate the stagecoaches was granted by the government to private individuals in the cities and to the colony committees in

1020-540: A dwelling for their majordomo located close to both their neophytes ranchería and the padre's quarters. Fr. Quijas, the parish priest, soon complained about Ortega's treatment of the Native Americans. It wasn't until the summer of 1837, because of new scandals and unsatisfactory accounts, that Vallejo removed Ortega as majordomo. Ortega continued to live in the adobe and established a tavern (pulqueria) that continued to operate until August 1848. The property

1122-430: A female householder with no husband present, 174 (3.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 230 (4.6%) unmarried partnerships , and 48 (1.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships . 1,920 households (38.7%) were made up of individuals, and 1,054 (21.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10. There were 2,693 families (54.3% of all households);

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1224-691: A few miles per hour. Shakespeare 's first plays were performed at coaching inns such as The George Inn, Southwark . By the end of the 17th century stagecoach routes ran up and down the three main roads in England. The London-York route was advertised in 1698: Whoever is desirous of going between London and York or York and London, Let them Repair to the Black Swan in Holboorn, or the Black Swan in Coney Street , York, where they will be conveyed in

1326-533: A half after leaving Manchester." A similar service was begun from Liverpool three years later, using coaches with steel spring suspension. This coach took an unprecedented three days to reach London with an average speed of eight miles per hour (13 km/h) . Even more dramatic improvements were made by John Palmer at the British Post Office . The postal delivery service in Britain had existed in

1428-405: A household in the city was $ 50,505, and the median income for a family was $ 65,600. Males had a median income of $ 51,831 versus $ 40,276 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 32,387. 3.7% of the population and 2.0% of families were below the poverty line . 3.3% of those under 18 and 4.7% of those were 65 and older. The City of Sonoma was incorporated on September 3, 1883. It uses

1530-497: A local radio station, KSVY , and a public-access television station, SVTV 27 . California State Route 12 is the main route in Sonoma, passing through the populated areas of the Sonoma Valley and connecting it to Santa Rosa to the north and Napa to the east. State routes 121 and 116 run to the south of town, passing through the unincorporated area of Schellville and connecting Sonoma Valley to Napa, Petaluma to

1632-462: A low price (about a shilling for every five miles [8 km]) but with such velocity and speed in one hour, as that the posts in some foreign countries make in a day. The speed of travel remained constant until the mid-18th century. Reforms of the turnpike trusts , new methods of road building and the improved construction of coaches led to a sustained rise in the comfort and speed of the average journey - from an average journey length of 2 days for

1734-594: A monopoly on the supply of stagecoaches to the Royal Mail and a virtual monopoly on their upkeep and servicing for the following few decades. Steel springs had been used in suspensions for vehicles since 1695. Coachbuilder Obadiah Elliott obtained a patent covering the use of elliptic springs - which were not his invention. His patent lasted 14 years delaying development because Elliott allowed no others to license and use his patent. Elliott mounted each wheel with two durable elliptic steel leaf springs on each side and

1836-530: A network of stagecoach routes existed. Stagecoaches, often known by the French name "Diligence" - a smaller model with room for six passengers and a bigger one for ten, drawn by two horses (in the city, on the plain or on a good road) or three (on intercity and elevated roads) - were the main means of public transportation in Ottoman Palestine between the middle of the 19th century and the beginning of

1938-554: A political party. The two primary news sources for Sonoma are the Sonoma Index-Tribune and the Sonoma Valley Sun . The Sonoma Index-Tribune publishes twice weekly on Wednesdays and Fridays and has a circulation of 9,000. The Sonoma Valley Sun publishes every other Thursday and is free. The Sun is recognized as the alternative weekly for the Sonoma Valley. It has a circulation of 5,000. Sonoma has

2040-635: A popular solution. They built their first Concord stagecoach in 1827 employing long leather straps under their stagecoaches which gave a swinging motion. Describing a journey he took in 1861, in his 1872 book, Roughing It , Mark Twain wrote that the Concord stage was like "an imposing cradle on wheels". Around twenty years later, in 1880, John Plesent Gray recorded after travelling from Tucson to Tombstone on J.D. Kinnear's mail and express line: That day's stage ride will always live in my memory – but not for its beauty spots. Jammed like sardines on

2142-603: A pueblo at the site of the old Mission. In 1835, with the assistance of William A. Richardson , he laid out, in accordance with the Spanish Laws of the Indies , the streets, lots, central plaza and broad main avenue of the new Pueblo de Sonoma . Although Sonoma had been founded as a pueblo in 1835, it remained under military control, lacking the political structures of municipal self-government of other Alta California pueblos. In 1843, Lieutenant Colonel Vallejo wrote to

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2244-418: A relaxation, it seems as if we could never have survived the trip. The horses were changed three times on the 80-mile (130 km) trip, normally completed in 17 hours. The stagecoach lines in the U.S. were operated by private companies. Their most profitable contracts were with U.S. Mail and were hotly contested. Pony Express , which began operations in 1860, is often called first fast mail service from

2346-722: A single military unit. Frémont then took the majority of the men back to Sutter's Fort and left fifty men to defend Sonoma. The Bear Flag Revolt ended and the California Republic ceased to exist on July 9 when Lieutenant Joseph Warren Revere of the U.S. Navy raised the United States flag in front of the Sonoma Barracks . Following the American Conquest of California and the advent of the California Gold Rush , local businesses prospered with

2448-514: A southerly direction to discharge ultimately to the Napa Sonoma Marsh ; Arroyo Seco Creek is a tributary to Schell Creek with a confluence in the eastern portion of the town. The active Rodgers Fault lies to the west of Sonoma Creek ; however, the risk of major damage is mitigated by the fact that most of the soils beneath the city consist of a slight alluvial terrace underlain by strongly cemented sedimentary and volcanic rock. To

2550-602: A strong presence in the region north of the San Francisco Bay to protect the area from encroachments of foreigners. An immediate concern was the further eastward movement of the Russian America Company from their settlements at Fort Ross and Bodega Bay on the California coast. Figueroa's next step in implementing his instructions was to name Lieutenant Vallejo as Military Commander of

2652-463: A succession of restoration projects. They patched missing adobe brick then applied stucco and whitewash to the walls. They added a new concrete slab and converted several exterior openings - windows to doors and vice versa . They converted the second floor into residential units and installed new wood floors to the ground floor rooms. After restorative work, the Blue Wing became a retail center on

2754-636: A writer for the Federal Writers' Project described the Blue Wing as "shabby". By then, it was in part used as a museum that contained various memorabilia, including a music box that "still tinkles when fed coins" and a fire engine , Sonoma's first, whose painted decorations were described as "faded birds and flowers". The Pinelli family was considering tearing the Blue Wing building down until Rosa Pinelli, on September 15, 1941, sold it for $ 2,500 to San Francisco socialite Alma de Bretteville Spreckels and her second husband Elmer M. Awl. The headline on

2856-704: Is a city in Sonoma County, California , United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area . Sonoma is one of the principal cities of California's Wine Country and the center of the Sonoma Valley AVA . Sonoma's population was 10,739 as of the 2020 census , while the Sonoma urban area had a population of 32,679. Sonoma is a popular tourist destination, owing to its Californian wineries , noted events like

2958-433: Is named after the city. Stagecoach Commonly used before steam-powered rail transport was available, a stagecoach made long scheduled trips using stage stations or posts where the stagecoach's horses would be replaced by fresh horses. The business of running stagecoaches or the act of journeying in them was known as staging. Some familiar images of the stagecoach are that of a Royal Mail coach passing through

3060-416: Is of late such an admirable commodiousness, both for men and women, to travel from London to the principal towns in the country, that the like hath not been known in the world, and that is by stage-coaches, wherein any one may be transported to any place, sheltered from foul weather and foul ways; free from endamaging of one's health and one's body by the hard jogging or over-violent motion; and this not only at

3162-524: The Bear Flag Revolt in 1846, when American filibusters overthrew the local Mexican government and declared the California Republic , ushering in the American Conquest of California . When the first Spaniards arrived, the area was near the northeast corner of the Coast Miwok territory, with Southern Pomo to the northwest, Wappo to the northeast, Suisunes and Patwin peoples to

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3264-643: The Cambridge -London route in 1750 to a length of under 7 hours in 1820. Robert Hooke helped in the construction of some of the first spring-suspended coaches in the 1660s and spoked wheels with iron rim brakes were introduced, improving the characteristics of the coach. In 1754, a Manchester -based company began a new service called the "Flying Coach". It was advertised with the following announcement - "However incredible it may appear, this coach will actually (barring accidents) arrive in London in four days and

3366-725: The Missouri River to the Pacific Coast, but the Overland Mail Company began a twice-weekly mail service from Missouri to San Francisco in September 1858. Transcontinental stage-coaching ended with the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869. The railway network in South Africa was extended from Mafeking through Bechuanaland and reached Bulawayo in 1897. Prior to its arrival,

3468-561: The Napa Valley , was employed as a carpenter by General Vallejo. The Governor granted Lieutenant Vallejo the initial lands (approximately 44,000 acres (178 km )) of Rancho Petaluma immediately west of Sonoma. Vallejo was also named Director of Colonization which meant that he could initiate land grants for other colonists (subject to the approval of the governor) and the diputación (Alta California's legislature ). Vallejo had also been instructed by Governor Figueroa to establish

3570-565: The Sonoma International Film Festival , and its historic center. In 1823, Spaniard José Altimira established Mission San Francisco Solano , under the direction of Governor Luis Antonio Argüello . Following the Mexican secularization of the missions , Californio statesman Mariano G. Vallejo founded Sonoma on the former mission's lands in 1835. Sonoma served as the base of General Vallejo's operations until

3672-430: The U.S. military occupation of California ended in 1850, when California was admitted as a state, Sonoma was named the county seat for Sonoma County . About that time the flow of miners had slowed and the U.S. Army was leaving Sonoma. Business in Sonoma moved into a recession in 1851. Surrounding towns such as Petaluma and Santa Rosa were developing and gaining population faster than Sonoma. An 1854 special election moved

3774-401: The 1850's. In North America a few Concord Coaches survived until the first half of the 20th century. The first crude depiction of a coach was in an English manuscript from the 13th century. The first recorded stagecoach route in Britain started in 1610 and ran from Edinburgh to Leith . This was followed by a steady proliferation of other routes around the island. By the mid 17th century,

3876-518: The 20th century. The first stagecoaches were brought to Palestine by the German religious group known as the " Templers " who operated a public transportation service between their colonies in the country as early as 1867. Stagecoach development in Palestine was greatly facilitated by the 1869 visit of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I . For this distinguished guest, the road between Jaffa and Jerusalem

3978-544: The August 29, 1941 edition of the Sonoma Index-Tribune read “Sonoma’s Old Landmark is Saved by Elmer Awl”. The Awls did some much-needed repairs to the building and demolished the wooden western addition but soon divorced. The building was sold in 1945 to Walter and Celeste Murphy and three years later to William Henry and Eleanora Bosworth Black. The Blacks, who owned the Blue Wing for over twenty years, began

4080-598: The Blue Wing Inn are plentiful. Among the notables said to have stayed, gambled or drank there are Joseph Hooker , Philip Kearny , Ulysses S. Grant , William T. Sherman , John C. Fremont , Lotta Crabtree and Joaquin Murrieta . Cooper and his family lived on a ranch he had purchased from Mariano Vallejo. He prospered from both the Inn and the ranch and became the second wealthiest man in Sonoma (after Vallejo). He

4182-462: The Blue Wing Inn was purchased by the State of California in 1968 and is currently under study for its best use as part of Sonoma State Historic Park . Mariano Vallejo was named administrator ( comisionado ) to oversee the closing of Mission San Francisco Solano . With the assistance of William A. Richardson he laid out, in accordance with the Spanish Laws of the Indies , the streets and lots of

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4284-512: The English Mail Coach. Although normally well-sprung and enclosed, seating eight or more passengers, some types had a semi-open seat, for three or more passengers, shared with the driver. This latter was known as the banquette. Although most vehicles were coachman driven, others were in the care of postillions . The number of horses varied according to difficulties of the route. Three, or a unicorn team were not unfamiliar, especially on

4386-522: The Governor recommending that a civil government be organized for Sonoma. A town council ( ayuntamiento ) was established in 1844 and Jacobo Leese was named first alcalde , and Cayetano Juárez second alcalde . Before dawn on Sunday, June 14, 1846, thirty-three Americans, already in rebellion against the Alta California government, arrived in Sonoma. Some of the group had traveled from

4488-399: The Inn went through a succession of owners. Patrick Hayne owned and operated the property as the "Blue Wing Tavern" until 1863 when the tavern was sold to Margaret Hayne who, with her husband, sold it to John Tivnen in 1867. The uses of the building during John Tivnen's twenty-five years of ownership are unclear. It did not remain a hotel or gambling hall past 1880 and may have functioned as

4590-526: The Northern Frontier and to order the soldiers, arms and materiel at the Presidio of San Francisco moved to the site of the recently secularized Mission San Francisco Solano . The Sonoma Barracks were built to house the soldiers. Until the building was habitable, the troops were housed in the buildings of the old Mission. In 1834, George C. Yount , the first Euro-American permanent settler in

4692-658: The Plaza, is home to a particularly vibrant Farmers Market on Tuesdays during season. The city is situated in the Sonoma Valley , with the Mayacamas Mountains to the east and the Sonoma Mountains to the west, with the prominent landform Sears Point to the southwest. Sonoma has an area of 2.7 sq mi (7.0 km ). The principal watercourse in the town is Sonoma Creek , which flows in

4794-495: The Sonoma Valley, the racial makeup was 46.3% White, 49.1% Hispanic, and 2.7% Native American. The average household income was $ 96,722. The Census reported that 10,411 people (97.8% of the population) lived in households, 11 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 226 (2.1%) were institutionalized. There were 4,955 households, out of which 1,135 (22.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 2,094 (42.3%) were married couples living together, 425 (8.6%) had

4896-512: The Sonoma fire of September 23, 1911. The tank was held in a cellar of a building adjacent to the Blue Wing but Pinelli did help stop the fire and the Blue Wing only suffered a scorched roof. Agostino Pinelli died in 1925 and left the property to his wife Rosa. During this period the Sonoma Chamber of Commerce moved into the first floor where the ‘Blue Wing Museum’ began operating. The long-neglected building fell into disrepair. In 1939

4998-417: The ancient world and modern Europe/America. Revived in England during the late 16th or early 17th centuries, although a nationwide system was not organised until 1658. Considerable improvements came during the 18th century with the turnpike system and better engineering of public roads. ... Forced from its main trunk routes by railway competition from the late 1830's, although some lingered in remoter areas until

5100-514: The authorities. This could be overloading of passengers in excess of the licence or minor matters such as luggage too high on the roof. They did this in return for a portion of any fines imposed, sometimes as much as half. The tax paid on passenger seats was a major expense for coach operators. Harris gives an example of the tax payable on the London to Newcastle coach route (278 miles). Annual tax amounted to £2,529 for 15 passengers per coach (4 inside and 11 outside). Annual tolls were £2,537. The hire of

5202-593: The average daily mileage traversed approximately 60 to 70 miles (97 to 113 km). With road improvements and the development of steel springs, speeds increased. By 1836 the scheduled coach left London at 19:30, travelled through the night (without lights) and arrived in Liverpool at 16:50 the next day, a distance of about 220 miles (350 km), doubling the overall average speed to about 10 miles per hour (16 km/h), including stops to change horses. [Stage coaches operated] between stages or stopping places, both in

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5304-644: The average family size was 2.82. The population was spread out, with 1,920 people (18.0%) under the age of 18, 559 people (5.2%) aged 18 to 24, 2,252 people (21.1%) aged 25 to 44, 3,250 people (30.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,667 people (25.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.8 males. There were 5,544 housing units at an average density of 2,021.9 units per square mile (780.7 units/km ), of which 2,928 (59.1%) were owner-occupied, and 2,027 (40.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate

5406-471: The basket, and generally presents a pile, half as high again as the coach, which is secured by ropes and chains, tightened by a large iron windlass, which also constitutes another appendage of this moving mass. The body of the carriage rests upon large thongs of leather, fastened to heavy blocks of wood, instead of springs, and the whole is drawn by seven horses. The English visitor noted the small, sturdy Norman horses "running away with our cumbrous machine, at

5508-445: The body of the carriage was fixed directly to the springs attached to the axles . After the expiry of his patent most British horse carriages were equipped with elliptic springs; wooden springs in the case of light one-horse vehicles to avoid taxation, and steel springs in larger vehicles. Steady improvements in road construction were also made at this time, most importantly the widespread implementation of Macadam roads up and down

5610-432: The business brought by the soldiers as well as miners traveling to and from the gold fields. The prosperity and optimism about Sonoma's future promoted land speculation which was particularly problematic because of the cloudy records regarding land ownership. Vallejo had granted land by virtue of his office as Director of Colonization before the pueblo was organized. Among the traditional duties of Alta California's alcaldes

5712-603: The camp of U.S. Army Brevet Captain John C. Frémont who had entered California illegally in late 1845 with his exploration and mapping expedition. Others had joined along the way. As the number of immigrants arriving in California had swelled, the Mexican government barred them from buying or renting land and threatened them with expulsion because they had entered without official permission. Mexican officials were concerned about

5814-548: The church's highly influential standing in California's economy and political system. Governor José Figueroa appointed Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo , then the Commandant of the Presidio of San Francisco , as administrator ( comisionado ) to oversee the closing of Mission San Francisco Solano and its conversion into a civilian town. Governor Figueroa had received instructions from the Mexican Congress to establish

5916-548: The city was 93.80% White , 0.36% African American , 0.34% Native American , 1.70% Asian , 0.05% Pacific Islander , 1.61% from other races , and 2.14% from two or more races. 6.85% of the population were Hispanics (of any race). There were 4,373 households, of which 21.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.0% were non-families. 39.2% of households consisted of individuals, and 21.5% had someone living alone who

6018-853: The city. In the California State Legislature , Sonoma is in the 3rd Senate District , represented by Democrat Bill Dodd , and in the 10th Assembly District , represented by Democrat Stephanie Nguyen . In the United States House of Representatives , Sonoma is in California's 4th congressional district , represented by Democrat Mike Thompson . According to the California Secretary of State , as of February 10, 2019, Sonoma has 7,162 registered voters. Of those, 3,694 (51.6%) are registered Democrats , 1,309 (18.3%) are registered Republicans , and 1,783 (24.9%) have declined to state

6120-481: The coming war with the United States coupled with the growing influx of American immigrants into California. A group of rebellious Americans had departed from Frémont's camp on June 10 and captured a herd of 170 Mexican government-owned horses being moved by Californio soldiers from San Rafael and Sonoma to Alta California's Commandante General José Castro in Santa Clara. The insurgents next determined to seize

6222-440: The country. The speed of coaches in this period rose from around 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h) (including stops for provisioning) to 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) and greatly increased the level of mobility in the country, both for people and for mail . Each route had an average of four coaches operating on it at one time - two for both directions and a further two spares in case of a breakdown en route. Joseph Ballard described

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6324-991: The countryside the 1860s did see the start of a coaching revival spurred on by the popularity of Four-in-hand driving as a sporting pursuit (the Four-In-Hand Driving Club was founded in 1856 and the Coaching Club in 1871). New stagecoaches often known as Park Drags began to be built to order. Some owners would parade their vehicles and magnificently dressed passengers in fashionable locations. Other owners would take more enthusiastic suitably-dressed passengers and indulge in competitive driving. Very similar in design to stagecoaches their vehicles were lighter and sportier. These owners were (often very expert) amateur gentlemen-coachmen, occasionally gentlewomen. A professional coachman might accompany them to avert disaster. Professionals called these vehicles 'butterflies'. They only appeared in summer. Cobb & Co

6426-637: The county seat and its entailed economic activity to Santa Rosa. The Sonoma City Hall , located in the center of the Sonoma Plaza, was dedicated on September 9, 1908. The United States Navy operated a rest center at the Mission Inn through World War II . Parts of Wes Craven 's Scream (1996) were filmed in the city, with shots of the Sonoma Community Center masked as Westboro High School. The center of town, known as

6528-497: The course of his business, and noted that it seemed far more efficient than the system of mail delivery then in operation. His travel from Bath to London took a single day to the mail's three days. It occurred to him that this stagecoach service could be developed into a national mail delivery service, so in 1782 he suggested to the Post Office in London that they take up the idea. He met resistance from officials who believed that

6630-423: The creation of new routes. Within the month the service had been extended from London to Norwich , Nottingham , Liverpool and Manchester , and by the end of 1785 services to the following major towns and cities of England and Wales had also been linked: Leeds , Dover , Portsmouth , Poole , Exeter , Gloucester , Worcester , Holyhead and Carlisle . A service to Edinburgh was added the next year, and Palmer

6732-501: The early 1840s most London-based coaches had been withdrawn from service. Some stagecoaches remained in use for commercial or recreational purposes. They came to be known as road coaches and were used by their enterprising (or nostalgic) owners to provide scheduled passenger services where rail had not yet reached and also on certain routes at certain times of the year for the pleasure of an (often amateur) coachman and his daring passengers. While stagecoaches vanished as rail penetrated

6834-686: The early Zionist colonies. The license holders paid a special tax for this right and could employ subcontractors and hired wagons. The stagecoaches linked Jerusalem with Jaffa, Hebron and Nablus, the Zionist colonies with Jaffa, Haifa with Acre and Nazareth. They were also used for urban and suburban transportation in the Haifa region. The colony of Rehovot is known to have promulgated detailed regulations for stagecoach operation, soon after its foundation in 1890, which were greatly extended in 1911. Fares were fixed, ranging between 1.10 Grush for traveling to

6936-458: The east. Mission San Francisco Solano is the direct predecessor to the founding of Sonoma. The mission, the only to be constructed not by the Spanish but by the Mexican authorities (Spanish Viceroyalty at that time), was built as part of a larger plan Governor Luis Antonio Argüello had devised to fortify Spanish presence north of San Francisco Bay and thus deter Russian encroachment into

7038-666: The eastern room. The hotel was known as Sonoma House. This was the name of an earlier business that Cooper and a different partner had operated near the southeastern corner of the Sonoma's plaza. Thomas Spriggs died in May 1851 and soon thereafter the name of the inn was changed to Blue Wing Inn. The reason for the change isn't clearly known but there was a very popular saloon at 138 Montgomery Street in San Francisco and Cooper may have been wanting to take advantage of that popularity. Stories and myths about goings on at Sonoma House and

7140-522: The existing system could not be improved, but eventually the Chancellor of the Exchequer , William Pitt , allowed him to carry out an experimental run between Bristol and London. Under the old system the journey had taken up to 38 hours. The stagecoach, funded by Palmer, left Bristol at 4 pm on 2 August 1784 and arrived in London just 16 hours later. Impressed by the trial run, Pitt authorised

7242-587: The expression, and their uprising became known as the Bear Flag Revolt. There were some small unit skirmishes between the Bears and the Californios but no major confrontations. After hearing reports that General José Castro was preparing to attack Sonoma, Frémont left Sutter's Fort with his forces for Sonoma. There he called a meeting with "the Bears" and united his forces with the revolters to form

7344-681: The first floor with residential rentals on the second. In 1968 the California Department of Parks and Recreation acquired it, intending to make it into a house museum, but funding problems prevented this. The state repaired and re-roofed it in 1984. The Blue Wing Adobe Trust was founded in 2010 and the following year formed a partnership with Parks and Recreation to fully restore it and find an appropriate reuse . 38°17′36″N 122°27′20″W  /  38.2934°N 122.4556°W  / 38.2934; -122.4556 Sonoma, California Sonoma ( / s ə ˈ n oʊ m ə / )

7446-567: The flatter roads of the north west. In Germany, Austria and some parts of Switzerland the Diligence was known as the Post Coach or Malle Post. —D. J. M. Smith in A Dictionary of Horse Drawn Vehicles The diligence from Le Havre to Paris was described by a fastidious English visitor of 1803 with a thoroughness that distinguished it from its English contemporary, the stage coach . A more uncouth clumsy machine can scarcely be imagined. In

7548-425: The four coach vehicles needed was £1,274. The 250 horses needed for this service also needed to be paid for. Operators could reduce their tax burden by one seventh by operating a six-day-a-week service instead of a seven-day service. The development of railways in the 1830s spelled the end for stagecoaches and mail coaches . The first rail delivery between Liverpool and Manchester took place on 11 November 1830. By

7650-575: The front is a cabriolet fixed to the body of the coach, for the accommodation of three passengers, who are protected from the rain above, by the projecting roof of the coach, and in front by two heavy curtains of leather, well oiled, and smelling somewhat offensively, fastened to the roof. The inside, which is capacious, and lofty, and will hold six people in great comfort is lined with leather padded, and surrounded with little pockets, in which travellers deposit their bread, snuff, night caps, and pocket handkerchiefs, which generally enjoy each others company, in

7752-462: The hard seats of an old time leather spring coach – a Concord – leaving Pantano , creeping much of the way, letting the horses walk, through miles of alkali dust that the wheels rolled up in thick clouds of which we received the full benefit ... It is always a mystery to the passenger how many can be wedged into and on top of a stagecoach. If it had not been for the long stretches when the horses had to walk, enabling most of us to get out and "foot it" as

7854-454: The immediate south, west and east are deeper rich, alluvial soils that support valuable agricultural cultivation. The mountain block to the north rises to 1,200 feet (370 m) and provides an important scenic backdrop. Sonoma has a typical lowland near-coastal Californian warm-summer mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification Csb ) with hot, dry summers (although nights are comfortably cool) and cool, wet winters. In January,

7956-550: The lowest temperature was 13 °F (−11 °C) on December 22, 1990. Normal annual precipitation is 29.43 inches (748 mm). The wettest month on record was 20.29 inches (515 mm) in January 1995. The greatest 24-hour rainfall was 6.75 inches (171 mm) on January 4, 1982. There are an average of 68.6 days with measurable precipitation. Snow has rarely fallen, but 1 inch (2.5 cm) fell in January 1907; more recently, snow flurries were observed on February 5, 1976, and in

8058-485: The new Pueblo de Sonoma . The first recorded property transaction was Vallejo's granting of the east half of the lot 35 to Antonio Ortega, Vallejo's new majordomo , to whom Vallejo had delegated the day-to-day work of secularization of the Mission. This lot was across the street from the front of the old Mission's main building. It isn't known if there was already an adobe structure on lot 35. Other California missions had

8160-425: The normal high is 57.2 °F (14.0 °C) and the typical low is 37.2 °F (2.9 °C). In July, the normal high is 88.6 °F (31.4 °C) and the normal low is 51.2 °F (10.7 °C). There are an average of 58.1 days with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher and 12.1 days with highs of 100 °F (38 °C). The highest temperature on record was 116 °F (47 °C) on July 13, 1972, and

8262-489: The origin of the phrase " riding shotgun ". Always a headed vehicle, fitted with roof seats or gammon boards, from the early 19th century. ... Driven from an elevated box seat, its footboard supported by brackets. At first unsprung or dead axle, but later hung on braces, elbow and finally Telegraph springs, as with the Mail Coach . ... Most stage coaches were named and painted in special liveries . The American mud wagon

8364-485: The property to Agostino Pinelli for $ 425 on February 4, 1895. He was a vintner and probably had been the main tenant in the building. He continued to make wine in the building until the 1919 Volstead Act brought Prohibition . Italian workers, employed by the family, were housed on the second floor. Some histories record that the Blue Wing figured in Pinelli's famous use of the contents of his wine tank to help put out

8466-537: The rate of six or seven miles an hour". At this speed stagecoaches could compete with canal boats , but they were rendered obsolete in Europe wherever the rail network expanded in the 19th century. Where the rail network did not reach, the diligence was not fully superseded until the arrival of the autobus . In France, between 1765 and 1780, the turgotines , big mail coaches named for their originator, Louis XVI's economist minister Turgot , and improved roads, where

8568-482: The rebels to stay in Sonoma and start a new republic. Afterwards, Vallejo and his three associates were taken as prisoners and placed on horseback and taken to Frémont. The Sonoma Barracks became the headquarters for the remaining twenty-four rebels, who within a few days created their Bear Flag . After the flag was raised Californios called the insurgents Los Osos (The Bears) because of their flag and in derision of their often scruffy appearance. The rebels embraced

8670-668: The region. Franciscan padre José Altimira worked with Governor Argüello to plan the mission, against the desires of José Francisco de Paula Señan , then the President-General of the Californian missions , who disapproved of government intervention into religious matters. In 1833 the Mexican Congress passed the Mexican secularization act of 1833 , ending mission stewardship and control of huge tracts of associated lands in California, one goal being to diminish

8772-406: The same delicate depository. From the roof depends a large net work which is generally crouded with hats, swords, and band boxes, the whole is convenient, and when all parties are seated and arranged, the accommodations are by no means unpleasant. Upon the roof, on the outside, is the imperial, which is generally filled with six or seven persons more, and a heap of luggage, which latter also occupies

8874-403: The same form for about 150 years—from its introduction in 1635, mounted carriers had ridden between "posts" where the postmaster would remove the letters for the local area before handing the remaining letters and any additions to the next rider. The riders were frequent targets for robbers, and the system was inefficient. Palmer made much use of the "flying" stagecoach services between cities in

8976-581: The stagecoach service between Manchester and Liverpool in 1815 as having price competition between coaches, with timely service and clean accommodations at inns. Stagecoaches in Victorian Britain were heavily taxed on the number of passenger seats. If more passengers were carried than the licence allowed there were penalties to pay. The lawyer Stanley Harris (1816–1897) writes in his books Old Coaching Days and The Coaching Age that he knew of informers ready to report any breach of regulations to

9078-518: The weapons and materiel stored in the Sonoma Barracks and to deny Sonoma to the Californios as a rallying point north of San Francisco Bay. Meeting no resistance, they approached the home of General Vallejo, who invited the filibusters ' leaders into his home to negotiate terms. However, when the agreement was presented to those outside they refused to endorse it. Rather than releasing the Mexican officers under parole, they insisted they be held as hostages. William Ide gave an impassioned speech urging

9180-641: The west, and Marin County to the south. Sonoma County Transit provides bus service from Sonoma to other points in the county. VINE Transit also operates a route between Napa and Sonoma. The nearest airport with regularly scheduled commercial passenger service is Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport , about 30 miles (50 km) northwest of Sonoma. San Francisco International Airport and Oakland International Airport are both about 60 miles (100 km) south of Sonoma. Apple 's desktop operating system, macOS Sonoma , announced on June 5, 2023, during WWDC ,

9282-488: The winter of 2001. The 2010 United States Census reported that Sonoma had a population of 10,648. The population density was 3,883.3 inhabitants per square mile (1,499.4/km ). The racial makeup of Sonoma was 9,242 (86.8%) White , 52 (0.5%) African American , 56 (0.5%) Native American , 300 (2.8%) Asian , 23 (0.2%) Pacific Islander , 711 (6.7%) from other races , and 264 (2.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,634 persons (15.3%). Within

9384-507: Was 2.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.0%. 6,294 people (59.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 4,117 people (38.7%) lived in rental housing units. At the previous census of 2000, there were 9,128 people, 4,373 households, and 2,361 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,442 people per square mile (1,329 people/km ). There were 4,671 housing units at an average density of 1,762 units per square mile (680 units/km ). The racial makeup of

9486-414: Was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.77. The age distribution was as follows: 18.6% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 28.9% from 45 to 64, and 24.2% who had achieved age 65. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.0 males. The median income for

9588-417: Was a closed four-wheeled vehicle drawn by horses or hard-going mules . It was regularly used as a public conveyance on an established route usually to a regular schedule. Spent horses were replaced with fresh horses at stage stations , posts, or relays. In addition to the stage driver or coachman who guided the vehicle, a shotgun messenger armed with a coach gun might travel as a guard beside him. Thus,

9690-411: Was an earlier, smaller, and cruder vehicle, being mostly open-sided with minimal protection from weather, causing passengers to risk being mud-splashed. A canvas-topped stage wagon was used for freight and passengers, and it had a lower center of gravity, making it harder to overturn. Until the late 18th century, stagecoaches traveled at an average speed of about 5 miles per hour (8 km/h), with

9792-650: Was established in Melbourne in 1853 and grew to service Australia's mainland eastern states and South Australia. The diligence , a solidly built stagecoach with four or more horses, was the French vehicle for public conveyance with minor varieties in Germany such as the Stellwagen and Eilwagen . Diligence. Late 18th century name for a French public coach working on long distance routes. So-named from its reputation for promptitude and good time-keeping, as with

9894-444: Was greatly improved, making possible the passage of carriages. Stagecoaches were a great improvement over the earlier means of transport used in the country, such as riding horses, donkeys or camels, or light carts drawn by donkeys. When the stagecoach ran into a difficult ascent or mud, the passengers were required to get off and help push the carriage. The trip between Jaffa and Jerusalem by stagecoach lasted about 14 hours spread over

9996-415: Was purchased from Ortega by James C. Cooper and Thomas Spriggs on August 15, 1849 (the transfer was witnessed by Vallejo). Cooper and Spriggs soon expanded the hotel to incorporate a gambling hall and a saloon . They added a second story with a wood-frame balcony and stairway to provide access to the second floor rooms. The building had the appearance of a typical Monterey Style adobe. In 1852 they completed

10098-715: Was reduced on this later run from three days to two in 1766 with an improved coach called the Flying Machine . The first mail coaches appeared in the later 18th century carrying passengers and the mails, replacing the earlier post riders on the main roads. Coachmen carried letters, packages, and money, often transacting business or delivering messages for their customers. By 1829 Boston was the hub of 77 stagecoach lines; by 1832 there were 106. Coaches with iron or steel springs were uncomfortable and had short useful lives. Two men in Concord , New Hampshire , developed what became

10200-516: Was rewarded by being made Surveyor and Comptroller General of the Post Office. By 1797 there were forty-two routes. The period from 1800 to 1830 saw great improvements in the design of coaches, most notably by John Besant in 1792 and 1795. His coach had a greatly improved turning capacity and braking system , and a novel feature that prevented the wheels from falling off while the coach was in motion. Besant, with his partner John Vidler, enjoyed

10302-524: Was stabbed and killed on September 5, 1856, in a fight with D. M. Graham, the local schoolmaster. Graham had administered a severe whipping to Cooper's two sons. According to the San Francisco newspaper Daily Alta California , in stories published on September 8 and 13, the killing was determined to be in self-defense. Shortly before his death, Cooper sold the Blue Wing Inn to his attorney, State Senator Martin E. Cooke. After Cooke's death in 1858

10404-514: Was the selling of town lots. Political factions backed different Sonoma alcaldes (John H. Nash, supported by American immigrants, and Lilburn Boggs supported by Vallejo and the Californios ) made the situation more complex. Some property was sold more than once. A valid land sale depended on proof of the seller's chain of title . Over thirty years of lawsuits were required before land owners in Sonoma were able to obtain clear titles. When

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