Boyes Hot Springs (also called Boyes Springs or The Springs) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 6,656 people at the 2010 census. Resorts in Boyes Hot Springs, El Verano, Fetters Hot Springs, and Agua Caliente were popular health retreats for tourists from San Francisco and points beyond until the middle of the 20th century because of the geothermic hot springs that still well up from deep within the earth. [1]
SONOMA VALLEY COMMUNITIES: Sonoma, Boyes Hot Springs, Eldridge, El Verano, Glen Ellen, Kenwood, Vineburg, Schellville and Oakmont.
GenealogyOnline: About
the Town Boyes Hot Springs
. . . Link
Surnames: Lodeweges
Roadside Thoughts: Boyes Hot Springs California . . . Link
Sonoma
County Genealogical Society . . . Link
The web site "The Cockrill Family of Sonoma County" [Link] has a wonderful collection of local genealogy including the following with ties to this town: Coleman Asbury
The area was first occupied by Indigenous peoples, who discovered and used the hot springs that the area is named after. Under Mexican rule, in July 1840, Lazaro Piña was deeded 50,000 acres as Rancho Agua Caliente. Sometime in 1849 Thaddeus M. Leavenworth acquired 320 acres of the Rancho in what became present-day Agua Caliente, Fetters Hot Springs, Boyes Hot Springs, and part of Maxwell Farm. In 1889, property was being sold in the area as being near the "celebrated old Indian Medicine Spring." Henry Ernest Boyes discovered hot springs in 1895 in the central part of the area. He and his wife called the area Agua Rica. and started the Boyes Hot Springs Hotel, now the site of the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. The area became popular with tourists, with over 70,000 visiting each year. A railroad serviced the area during this period. [1]
A
hotel brochure in the 1920's enticed guests with
"electric lights and running water throughout,...
competent masseurs and masseuses,... moving
pictures changed nightly,... vaudeville...and the
largest mineral water tank in the world - a cure
for rheumatism, stomach, kidney and nerve
troubles, malaria, etc." As the Golden Gate Bridge
was not constructed yet, a ferry ride across the
bay and an 80-cent train ride brought guests to
the depot on the hotel's grounds. In 1923, a fire
destroyed the hotel and most of Boyes Hot Springs.
[Source:
One Mound Kenwood. Link]
A wildfire in September 1923
destroyed the settlement. During the Great
Depression, the area's tourism business stopped and the
hotel closed. During that period, the Oakland Oaks and San
Francisco Seals did their spring training in Boyes Hot
Springs. Tourism became the region's main economic focus
again later in the 1930s, then during World War II it was
taken over by the United States Navy, who sent sailors to
the area for recreation. Railroad service stopped in
1942. Today, the area is primarily
residential with a large Latino population. Boyes Hot
Springs is part of an area called "The Springs", which
also includes Fetters Hot Springs and Agua Caliente.
[1]
Boyes Hot Springs
Captain
Henry E. Boyes and his wife, in search of a healthy
climate for Mrs. Boyes, came to the valley where they
learned of the medicinal value of the springs on the
property of T. M. Leavenworth. In 1888, the Boyes
purchased the land. In 1895, Boyes struck 112-degree water
at 70 feet while drilling a well; within five years, he
had built the Boyes Hot Springs Resort Hotel on the site
of the current Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. Around 1900
Boyes sold the resort and retired.. . . [Source: Archived
Website. Link]
"A long walk down the shoulder of memory's highway," by Gaye Lebaron. [Article] . . . Link
American Towns . . . Link
Boyes Hot Springs Today [Niche] (has a map of location) . . . Link
Boyes Hot Springs Wikipedia Page . . . Link
"Devil Waters for the Healing of the Nations" [Book Extract] [5] (pg 148, slide 148) . . . Link
LocalWiki: Boyes Hot Springs (Good history) . . . Link . . . History
"Musings: Fetters or Boyes Hot Springs?" [Article] . . . Link
Our Mound Kendwood: History on Boyes Hot Springs . . . Link
Springs Museum: Boyes Hot Springs . . . Link
Springs Museum: Centennial of the Boyes Hot Springs Post Office [History & Video] . . . Link
Sonoma County Life Opens Up: Hot Springs In Sonoma County . . . Link
Three pieces of Boyes Hot Springs history . . . Article
WikiVoyage: . . . Sonoma County. . . Sonoma Valley . . . El Verano (Boyes hot Springs Mentioned)
Antoinette Charlotte [Edwards] Boyes . . . Bio & Picture (pg 299, slide 346) . . .
Boyes Bath House . . . Link
Boyes Springs Food Center: .
. Link
A sampling of the history of the Food Center, as told by the Index Tribune. Included are surrounding articles and advertisements, to give some sense of the life in the Springs in 1949. That year was indeed a special one in this area, and deserves and article of its own.
Emily Long . . . In 1933, Emily Long, a hotelier from Grass Valley, bought the inn and restored it to prosperity.
Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa . . . Link . . .
Originally built in 1927 in the style of California's early missions, the property was renovated in the late 20th century. Shortly thereafter, a new thermal mineral water source was discovered more than 1,000 feet below the hotel.
Henry E. Boyes, British Captain (1844-) . . . Bio & Picture (pg 297, slide 342) . . . Wikipedia . . . Article
In 1883 the Boyes' moved to Sonoma Valley, where they bought 75 acres of land after hearing about the area from Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. The couple lived on a house that was built in 1849 by T.M. Leavenworth. Eventually, another house was built on a 15-acre part of the property, which the couple named "El Mirador." [1]
Keaton’s Shack . . Link
The earliest mention of Keaton’s Shack in the Index Tribune is in 1949, which was a busy year for the Springs. The Boyes Bath House recorded it’s largest ever Sunday crowd, so said an article on June 10, 1949. An adjacent article told of the Boyes Hot Springs Booster Club’s folk dance class being held at Keaton’s shack (Monday night, 7:30). The previous month the North Bay Portuguese Barbecue was held at Keaton’s. The attendance was 250 people.
Leavenworth’s House . . . Link
The plat of Leavenworth’s claim was drawn in 1860 by the US Surveyor General in SF. Near the center is a small square with the inscription “Leavenworth’s house.” Also on the plat are the township and range lines of the Public Land Survey System, with their alpha-numeric designations (“T5N R6W”).
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo . . . Wikipedia
Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa . . . History . . . Timeline . . .
Sylvia Sebastiani . . . Link
During World War II in 1943, she turned control of the hotel over to the Navy who used it for "R & R" for sailors and marines for the next two years. Permanent locals Sylvia Sebastiani and Mrs. Spreckles organized weekly dances at the inn for the troops.
Thaddeus M. Leavenworth, Dr. . . . His Bio can be found in the book: “The Springs: Resort Towns of Sonoma Valley” See citations.
In 1849, Dr. Thaddeus M. Leavenworth, an eccentric San Francisco physician, was the first to commercially develop the hot springs. He constructed a small bathhouse and a tank on the site to create the pioneer health resort of the county. According to some accounts, Dr. Leavenworth had an a particularly heated argument with his wife, burned the bathhouse, filled the tank with earth, and went out of business.
Valley Hardware (1950) [later an automobile agency] . . .
Maps
Old Maps of Boyes Hot Springs . . . Link
Boyes Hot Springs train depot, Depot Road, Boyes Hot Springs, California, February 2 or 7, 1908 . . . Link
[1] Wikipedia contributors. "Boyes Hot Springs, California." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 26 Jul. 2022. Web. Viewed on 29 Sep. 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. [Mineral Springs pp 37-38] . . . 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
McKale, George (January 26, 2012). "Mr. and Mrs. Boyes". Turning Stones. Sonoma Valley Sun. Retrieved February 6, 2017. . . . Link
[5] Tom Gregory (1911). "History of Sonoma County, California: With Biographical Sketches of the Leading Men and Women of the County, who Have Been Identified with Its Growth and Development from the Early Days to the Present Time". Historic record Company. [pps 148, 342-343] . . Link
[6] Michael Acker (March 27, 2017). "The Springs: Resort Towns of Sonoma Valley". Images of America series. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. pp. 69–. ISBN 978-1-4396-5994-6. . . . Link