Valley Ford is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in western Sonoma County, California, United States. It is located on State Route 1 north of San Francisco. Like all of Sonoma County, Valley Ford is included in both the San Francisco Bay Area and the Redwood Empire. [1]
The village lies just north of Americano Creek, about 5 mi (8 km) from the Pacific Ocean. It is 7 mi (11 km) north of Dillon Beach, California, 9 mi (14 km) east of the town of Bodega Bay and 20 mi (32 km) southeast of Jenner, California. The Estero Americano is protected by the Estero Americano State Marine Recreational Management Area. [1]
Gedcom Index for Valley Ford, CA. . . . Link
Surnames: Fields
GenealogyOnline: About
the Town Valley Ford .
. . Link
Surnames: Howland
LDS genealogy.com: Valley Ford . . . Link
Roadside Thoughts: Valley Ford
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: Ada R. FOWLER, Ellesif Arrabella COCKRILL, James Edgar Fowler, John Henry FOWLER, John W. RIEN, Lurana Elizabeth COCKRILL, Obadiah Haight HOAG, Phebe Elizabeth AMES, Rebecca Hildreth Nutting Woodson, Sarah Ann FRISBIE, Stephen Cornel Fowler, Stephen Lawrence Fowler, William C. FOWLER, William Riley Robertson
For millennia, the indigenous Coast Miwok and Pomo people have hunted, fished and gathered in the area. A Miwok village named Ewapalt has been documented in the Valley Ford area. Europeans explored the coastline in the early 17th century but did not settle until 1812, when Russian fur traders came south from Alaska and built Fort Ross about 22 mi (40 km) northwest of Valley Ford. The Russians remained until 1841, when the area came under Mexican rule. In September 1850, California became a US state, the area was made part of Sonoma County. [1]
Valley Ford had a grain mill in the
mid-19th century. Starting in the 1870s, Valley Ford was
a stop on the North Pacific Coast Railroad connecting
Cazadero to the Sausalito ferry, enabling local ranchers
and fishers to export produce to San Francisco. Open
from 1856 to 1967, Watson School once served as
Valley Ford's school, and is located in a Sonoma County
Regional Parks Department historic park about 3.5 miles
north of Valley Ford. [1]
Check this website for town info. [Unknown
original source, I got it from Link. ]
Valley
Ford
Valley Ford was first called Fowlerville for Stephen L. and
James E. Fowler, who in 1849 purchased of F. G. Blume 640
acres of land lying between the Ebabias creek and the Estero,
and built a house two hundred yards from the ford. Thomas
Smith, who had been engaged in running a saw-mill with Messrs.
Hendy and Duncan built a cabin on the point between Ebabias
creek and the Estero, on land they also had purchased from F.
G. Blume.
Whitehead Fowler came to the country in 1852. The same year E. Thurber settled upon the tract east of town. These were the first settlers at Valley Ford and the adjoining ranches. In May, 1854, Stephen C. Fowler and his wife, the parents of S. L., James E., and W. Fowler, with their three sons, John H., Benjamin, and Nathaniel, arrived at Valley Ford. Mrs. Fowler was the first female resident of the town.
In 1856 Thomas Smith ran his grist-mill with twelve horses and two runs of stone. Two years later a steam engine took the place of horses, and the mill soon became famous for the excellent quality of flour made there. In the fall of 1861 Daniel Hall opened a blacksmith shop. In the spring of 1861 John H. Fowler opened a general merchandise business. James E. Fowler opened a lumber-yard, and E. B. & J. W. Palmer built a carpenter shop. In 1863 the Methodist church was built. J. N. Rien built the Valley Ford hotel in 1864. An express and post-office was established. In 1876 P. E. Merritt opened a new grocery store in the place. J. Parry opened a tin shop, and John Hunter opened a meat market. . . . [Archived Website. Link]
American Towns . . . Link
A Short history of Valley
Ford
[Wendtrot.com] . . . Link
Permit Sonoma: Valley Ford Hotel. . . Link
Sonoma County Life Opens Up: Valley Ford . . . Link . . . Vally Ford Hotel
Valley Ford Historical Society . . . Link
Valley Ford Wikipedia Page . . . Link
Visit Sonoma Coast: Valley Ford . . . Link
Sonoma Historian (SCHS) has numerous articles about the town of Valley Ford. . . . Link
The Journal, 1978, no. 1, p. 5: notes
about Grist-mills in the late 1870’s . . . Link [pg. 5]
The Journal, 2021, no. 2, p. 10:
Western Sonoma-Marin Dairy Cattle Show held in VF in
1920’s . . . Link
A. P. Garver . . . Link . . The same year E. Thurber settled upon the tract east of town, now owned by A. P. Garver.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude [Running
Fence Art Piece] . . . Link
In 1976, Christo and Jeanne-Claude's installation art piece Running Fence passed through Valley Ford on its way from Cotati to Bodega Bay.
Daniel Hall . . . Link . . In the fall of 1861 Daniel
Hall opened a blacksmith shop.
E. B. & J. W. Palmer . . . Link
John H. Fowler opened a general merchandise business. James E. Fowler opened a lumber-yard, and E. B. & J. W. Palmer built a carpenter shop.
E. Thurber . . . Link
Whitehead Fowler came to the country in 1852. The same year E. Thurber settled upon the tract east of town. These were the first settlers at Valley Ford and the adjoining ranches.
Frederick Gustavus Blume . . . Link . . Bio
Thomas Smith, . . . built a cabin on
the point between Ebabias creek and the Estero, which
tract they had purchased of F.
G. Blume, and with his partner, R. Gahen,
prepared to put in a crop of potatoes.
FOWLERS:
Benjamin Fowler . . . Link . . . Tree
James E. Fowler . . . Link . . . Tree
Valley Ford was first called Fowlerville for Stephen L. and James E. Fowler, who in 1849 purchased of F. G. Blume 640 acres of land lying between the Ebabias creek and the Estero, and built a house two hundred yards from the ford. . . James E. Fowler opened a lumber-yard, and E. B. & J. W. Palmer built a carpenter shop.
John H. Fowler . . . Link . . . Tree .. . In the spring of 1861 John H.
Fowler opened a general merchandise business.
Nathaniel Fowler . . . Link . . . Tree
Stephen L. and James E. Fowler . .
. Link . . . Tree
Valley Ford was first called Fowlerville for Stephen L. and James E. Fowler, who in 1849 purchased of F. G. Blume 640 acres of land lying between the Ebabias creek and the Estero, and built a house two hundred yards from the ford.
Stephen C. Fowler & Wife
(Rebecca Lawrence Link) . . . Link
In 1854, Stephen C. Fowler and his wife, the parents of S. L., James E., and W. Fowler, with their three sons, John H., Benjamin, and Nathaniel, arrived at Valley Ford. Mrs. Fowler was the first female resident of the town.
Whitehead Fowler . . . Link . . Tree
Whitehead Fowler came to the country in 1852. The same year E. Thurber settled upon the tract east of town. These were the first settlers at Valley Ford and the adjoining ranches.
H. M. LaBaron (Reference to Grist mills?). . . Link [pg. 5] . . . His family also gifted money to help preserve Armstrong Woods Park . . . Link [p. 9]
J. N. Rien . . . Link . . .Tree. . J. N. Rien built the Valley Ford hotel in 1864.
J. Parry . . . Link . . . In 1876 P. E. Merritt opened a new grocery store in the place. J. Parry opened a tin shop, and John Hunter opened a meat market.
John Hunter . . . Link . . . In 1876 P. E. Merritt opened a new grocery store in the place. J. Parry opened a tin shop, and John Hunter opened a meat market.
John Vanderleith . . . Link
Thomas Smith, who had been engaged running a saw-mill with Messrs. Hendy & Duncan, near where John Vanderleith now lives, built a cabin on the point between Ebabias creek and the Estero
Messrs. Hendy and Duncan [Saw mill] . . . Link
Messrs. Huntley and Cook (c. 1876 ) [Grist mill] . . . Link [pg. 5]
P. E. Merritt . . . Link . . In 1876 P. E. Merritt opened a new grocery store in the place. J. Parry opened a tin shop, and John Hunter opened a meat market.
R. Gahen . . . Link
Thomas Smith, . . . whit the tract they had purchased of F. G. Blume, and with his partner, R. Gahen, prepared to put in a crop of potatoes.
Sanford & Stone . . . Link
Sanford & Stone located across the creek on the place now owned by Roach & Webber. They received a portable grist-mill from the east, and in the winter of 1852 and 1853 they ground the grain raised in the neighborhood. The mill was small and the flour coarse and unbolted, but they were kept busy by the settlers, who waited their turn at the mill.
Thomas Smith [ran Grist-mill] . .
. Link . . . Link
In 1856 Thomas Smith ran his grist-mill with twelve horses and two runs of stone. Two years later a steam engine took the place of horses, and the mill soon became famous for the excellent quality of flour made there.
Valley Ford Hotel . . . Link . . .
One of the few remaining buildings dating from the 19th century, now houses Rocker Oysterfeller's Kitchen & Saloon and six guest rooms. The Historic Valley Ford Hotel built in 1864 and updated with modern amenities and luxury bedding at competitive rates. Built by the Rein family in 1864 to provide lodging for coastal travelers, the Valley Ford Hotel has seen stagecoaches, the North Pacific Coast Railroad and now Coast Highway One roll across it's doorstep.
Watson School
(1856 to 1967) . . . Link
Maps
Map of Valley Ford, with boundaries [BingMaps] . . . Link
Map of Valley Ford[MapQuest] . . . Link
Town, 1955 . . . Link
[1] Wikipedia contributors. "Valley Ford, California." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 9 Aug. 2022. Web. 28 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. [ ??? pp 100-101] . . . Link
[4] "History of Sonoma County: Including Its Geology, Topography, Mountains, Valleys and Streams ...."' United States, Higginson Book Company, 1880. (page ???.) . . . Link . . . Text at CAGenWeb
[5] "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