Geyserville (formerly Clairville) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma County, California, USA. Located in the Wine Country, Geyserville has a small selection of restaurants, bed and breakfasts, and wineries. Geyserville is located on California State Route 128, close to US Route 101. The population was 862 at the 2010 census. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 4.6 square miles (11.9 km2), all of it land. [1]
Gedcom Index for Geyserville, CA. . . . Link
Surnames: Batt, Branson, Cadd, McFarling, Rose,
GenealogyOnline: About
the Town Geyserville .
. . Link
Surnames: Blackburn,
Cram, Ferguson, Gunnink, Petray, Schmitt, Vassar,
Wyckoff
Geyserville Press 1969 – 1970 [Searchable Newspaper] . . . Info . . . Link [Google News Archive]
LDS
genealogy.com: TOWN . . . Link
Roadside Thoughts: Geyserville
California . . . Link
Sonoma County Genealogical Society . . . Link
Geyserville, located on the Rancho Tzabaco Mexican land grant, owes its foundation to the discovery in 1847 of a series of hot springs, fumaroles, and steam vents in a gorge in the mountains of Sonoma County, California, between Calistoga and Cloverdale. This complex, which became known as The Geysers, soon became a tourist attraction, and a settlement grew up to provide accommodation and serve as a gateway to The Geysers. It was initially known as Clairville but subsequently renamed Geyserville. After the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad was extended to Cloverdale in the 1870s, its trains stopped in Geyserville. [1]
Geyserville
The Geysers were discovered in
1847, by William Elliott and in 1851, a man named Levy
built a house on a level plateau overlooking the
Geysers. In 1854, Major Ewing opened a hotel near Levy,
which was sold to William Forsyth in 1877 and Archibald
C. Godwin opened a store. In 1863, Clark Foss, opened a
second stage coach line from Healdsburg to the Geysers.
Later, John Clare bought a large tract of land here and
his wife soon petitioned for a post office. She was
named postmistress and she had the name of the place
changed to Clareville. There was already a post office
at Geyser Springs, which began getting mail intended for
Geyserville residents, so the name was changed back to
Geyserville. Pioneers of this town include George
Petray, Davenport Cozzens, Henry Wiedersham and Mr. and
Mrs. Archambeau. The first settler here was Cozzens, the
postmaster and merchant in Upper Dry Creek Valley. Dr.
Elisha Ely also claimed to be the town's first settler.
William A. Ford owned the first saloon. By 1880, the
town had a store, post office, saloon, hotel, blacksmith
shop and a newspaper called the Geyserville Gazette. By
1900, the town had 300 residents. . . .
[Source:
Archived Website. Link]
"A Bit of Geyserville History Discovered from a Fire Map" [Article] . . . Link
American Towns . . . Link
Bosworth & Son General Mercantile (1911) . . . Link . . . Store Page . . . History
A former buggy shop that's been a thriving general store since 1911, Bosworth & Son General Mercantile now stocks Western-themed hats, clothing, and gifts, and houses a small historical museum featuring objects used by the town's early settlers.
"Bosworth and Son opens Geyserville history museum" [Article] . . . Link
Bosworth and Son, a family-owned retail business that has been a fixture in downtown Geyserville since the beginning of the last century, seems a fitting place for the town’s new museum. [2019]
Catelli's . . . Link . History . Catelli's was originally opened in Geyserville around 1936 by Italian immigrants Santi and Virginia Catelli.
Diavola Pizzeria & Salumeria . . . Link
Set in a historic landmark dating back to the 1900’s, Diavola celebrates the seasons of California with an Italian state of mind.
"Geyserville, California A Bit of Italy in Sonoma Wine Country" [Article] . . . Link
Geyserville Historical
Society . . . Link
Geyserville History [Visit Geyserville] . . . Link
Geyserville schools [History, Scroll to bottom] . . . Link
The Geyserville schools date back to the mid-1850's with upwards of 10 one-room schoolhouses around Alexander Valley and Dry Creek Valley. Oriental, Canyon Road....to name a few.
Geyserville Today [Niche] (has a map of location) . . . Link
Geyserville Wikipedia Page . . . Link
Healdsburg Museum & Historical Society: Geyserville Collection . . . Link
Northern Sonoma County Fire Protection District (beg. 1904) [History] . . . Link
Permit Sonoma: Geyserville . . . Link
Sonoma County Life Opens Up: Geyserville . . . Link . . . Getting To Know Geyserville . . . Tour Itinerary . . .
WikiVoyage: Geyserville . . . Link
Check Sonoma Historian (SCHS) for articles about the towns. . . . Link
Archibald C. Godwin . . . Link . . . in 1877 and Archibald C. Godwin opened a store.
A. Thompson (First Fire Chief in 1904) . . . Link
Clark Foss . . . Link . . . In 1863, Clark Foss, opened a second stage coach line from Healdsburg to the Geysers.
. . . Link . . in 1863 Clark Foss, a famous stage driver, opened a second stage coach line from Healdsburg to the Geysers. With the construction of the railroad to Calistoga in 1868, he opened another line to the resort and the hotel prospered.
"Dr. Elisha Ely: The First White Settler in Geyserville" 1819-1906 (p. 5) [Article Full Doc PDF] . . . Link
Geyserville Baha’i School (1927- Present) [History] . . . Link
Geyserville Christian Church History (1884) . . . Link
Hope-Merrill House (circa 1870) . . . Link . . . History
The Hope-Merrill, which Rosalie's research shows to have been the early Stage Coach Stop for the area is no musty museum piece.
James Mead . . . Link
A larger hotel, built from lumber sawn on the spot, was erected by James Mead in 1857-58. Many important visitors, including Mark Twain, Theodore Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant, and others visited its wonders and signed the guest book. The hotel burned in 1937.
John Clare (and wife) . . . Link
John Clare bought a large tract of land here and his wife soon petitioned for a post office. She was named postmistress and she had the name of the place changed to Clareville. There was already a post office at Geyser Springs, which began getting mail intended for Geyserville residents, so the name was changed back to Geyserville.
Lago di Merlo Vineyards & Winery, 1965 [History] . . . Link
Major Ewing . . . Link 1 . . Link 2 . . .
Old
Crocker Inn . . . Link
Named for Charles Crocker, founder of the Central Pacific Railroad, the property began as a summer hunting ground often visited by Charles Crocker and his cronies, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins and Collis Huntington, the empire builders known to historians as "California's Big Four".
Ridge
Vineyards [History & Video] . . . Link
Sei Querce Winery: History . . . Link
Trentadue Winery [History, PDF] . . . Link
William A. Ford . . . Link . . . owned the first saloon.
William Elliott . . . Link . . Link
The Geysers were discovered in 1847, by William Elliott and in 1851, a man named Levy built a house on a level plateau overlooking the Geysers.
William Forsyth . . . Link . . Link . . After 1877, William Forsyth took over the resort, built cottages for guests, and improved the menu.
Pioneers from the town include: Mr. and Mrs. Archambeau, Davenport Cozzens, George Petray, & Henry Wiedersham.
Geyserville May Day Festival, founded in 1925 (May) . . . Link
Geyserville Fall Colors Festival & Vintage Car Show (October) . . . Link
Geyserville Tree Lighting and Tractor Parade of Lights (End November) . . . Link
Maps
Map of Geyserville, with boundaries [BingMaps] . . . Link
Map of Geyserville [MapQuest] . . . Link
CaliSphere Collection for Geyserville, Cal. . . . Link
Main St., Geyserville, Cal. 1914 . . . Link
[1] Wikipedia contributors. "Geyserville, California." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 27 Jul. 2022. Web. Viewed 6 Oct. 2022.. . . . Link
[2] "Historical and Descriptive Sketch Book of Napa, Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino: Comprising Sketches of Their Topography, Productions, History, Scenery, and Peculiar Attractions", C.A. Menefee, 1873 . . . Link
[3] "Historical and Descriptive Sketch of Sonoma County, California" Robert Allan Thompson. L.H. Everts, 1877 - Sonoma County (Calif.) - 104 pages. [Bodega pp 100-101] . . . Link
[4]
"An Illustrated
History of Sonoma County, California: Containing a
History of the County of Sonoma from the Earliest
Period of Its Occupancy to the Present Time",
Lewis Publishing, 1889
. . . Link