*** 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 72 --- old partner, Meacham, was in Santa Rosa, came up on the second trip of the steamer Red Jacket, in November. He landed at New Town and came on horseback to Santa Rosa, and purchased of Meacham a half interest in his busi- ness. Meacham in the meantime had bought a tract of seventy acres of land from Julio Carrillo, where the town of Santa Rosa now stands, for twelve dol- lars an acre. On May 1, 1853, F. G. Hahman purchased Meacham’s interest in the business at the “old adobe,” and, a few weeks after Hoen & Hahman sold an interest to Hartman, and the firm took the name of Hoen & Co. That summer of 1853 business was lively at the “old adobe;” all the freight- ing was done by pack-mules, and it was a purchasing point for settlers up the Russian River valley, and as far north as Clear lake. Trains of pack-mules might be seen at all hours, either loading or unloading freight. In August, 1853, the following entry appears on the books of Hoen & Co.: “Real estate—- to Alonzo Meacham. Bought of him August 9th, payable two months after date, one piece of land (say seventy acres) opposite Julio Carrillo, $1,600”. the west line of this tract ran through the plaza of Santa Rosa; the land was valued at twelve dollars an acre,--the additional ten dollars an acre paid was for the fence which had been built around it. The “old adobe” was sold by Mallagh to Walkinshaw, of Santa Clara, and he wanted Hoen & Co., who had been paying twenty-five dollars a month for part of the house, to pay three hundred dollars a month for the whole. They refused to pay it, and made the Meacham purchase with the view of laying off a new town. Julio Carrillo agreed to give as much land for that purpose as there was in the tract of Hoen & Co. In the first rough survey of the place the creek ws taken for a base, and a line was run northerly from an oak-stump, which stood near the old Masonic hall, to Fourth street,--leaving the plaza trees on land of Hoen & Co. The price of lots was fixed at twenty-five dollars a-piece, without any regard to location. Julio Carrillo’s house on Second street,--now owned by J. P. Clark,--was built by John Bailiff in the summer of 1852. This was the only house in the town when it was first surveyed. Achilles Richardson had a small store near the creek, which was outside of First street,--the southern limit of the embryo city. The first real-estate transaction was a sale to Henry Valley, who purchased six lots, and built a house which still stands on the southwest corner of E and Second streets; for the six lots Valley paid one hundred and fifty dollars. In the winter of 1853 there was no event of consequence occurred, except the race between Hooker and Bennett for the legislature. The election of Bennett, and the bill he introduced to take a vote upon the question of the removal of the county-seat, was a matter of much importance to Santa Rosa. The question was not agitated publicly,--the Sonoma valley people were afraid to raise the issue, and the Santa Rosa people kept their council to themselves. The Bennett bill provided that the question of removal should be submitted to a vote of the people at the following election in September. The bill became a law in March, 1854, and from that time until the election, the people of Santa Rosa were not idle. In the spring of 1854 the old Masonic hall was built,--the third house in the town. John Ingram had the contract for its construction; singularly *** end ***