*** Source: Thompson, Robert A., Historical and descriptive sketch of Sonoma County, California. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts & Co., 1877, 122 pgs. Notice: This data is donated to the Public Domain by TAG, 2004, and may be copied freely by anyone to anywhere. *** ---page 20--- interesting details of the removal will be given elsewhere, in an account of the early history of the town of Santa Rosa. In that year Roberson & Parsons put on the first stage line between Sonoma and Petaluma, a straw which proves the growing importance of the latter place, elsewhere set forth. From 1854 to 1860, the country progressed in wealth and population slowly, when its great advantages are considered; still its growth was healthy. The most rapid increase in wealth and population was in the city of Petaluma. Santa Rosa, having gotten the county seat, went to sleep--making but little progress. The old town of Sonoma stood still. From this time on the history of the county can best be carried on with that of its leading towns, to which we will soon invite the attention of the reader. CLIMATE AND RAINFALL OF SONOMA COUNTY. The climate of the county of Sonoma differs in many respects from that of other portions of the State. First, in this: the average rainfall is about one- quarter more than at San Francisco, fifty miles south. We have never, since the American settlement of the county, lost a crop from drouth, though other parts of the State have suffered severely. This is particularly due to the fact that our coast line is thirty-five miles west of a due north line from San Francisco. As the coast trends to the northward and westward, the annual rainfall increases. South of San Francisco, the coast trends to the south and east, and the reverse rule holds good--the rainfall is lighter until, as in Lower California, it rarely rains at all. The season of rain in this section may be said to commence in October and end in May, though it sometimes rains in June. It is rare that it rains longer than two or three days at a time, and the intervals between rains varies from a few days to a month or six weeks. Old Californians consider the winter the most pleasant part of the year. As soon as the rains commence--in October-- the grass grows, and by the middle of November the hills and pastures are green. So soon as the ground is in condition to plow, after the first rains, the farmers sow their grain. December is usually a stormy month, with now and then a fall of snow on the surrounding hills; but it is rare that the snow falls in the valleys, and never lies on the ground. The thermometer seldom goes as low as thirty-seven degrees above zero; occasionally there is a thin coat of ice over the pools of standing water. December is usually the month of heav- iest rainfall. In January one begins to recognize an indescribable feeling of spring in the air; the almond trees blossom, and the robins come. During this month grass and early-sown grain grown rapidly. If the early season has not been favorable for seeding, grain may be sown in January, February or March, and it will produce well. In this county it is often sown as late as the middle of April, producing a fair crop. As a rule, the bulk of the planting is done either in the fall, or in January, February, and the first half of March. February is a growing month, and is one of the most pleasant in the year. It is like the month of May in the eastern States. The peach and cherry trees bloom this month. March is a stormy month; we are liable to have either heavy southeast storms or a dry north wind. *** end ***