*** 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 74--- the people, and from that day to this barbecues have been the most popular of all entertainments in Sonoma county. This barbecue was held beneath a splendid grove of oaks which stood on or near the Hewitt place, then owned by Commodore Elliott. The day closed with a grand ball, given in the store- room of Hahman & Hartman, which had just been finished, on the corner of Second and C streets. The Powers boys, with their violin, furnished the music, and about forty couple chased the hours with flying feet, until surprised by the early summer sun, which crept up behind Mayacmas, flooding the valley with rosy light. Early in 1853 J. W. Ball came into the valley; he first located on the Farmer place, on the south side of Santa Rosa creek. There a number of his family died of small-pox; he then moved over to the Boleau place, where Dr. Simms now lives, and kept there a sort of tavern and store. He bought ten acres of land at the junction of the Russian river, Bodega and Sonoma roads, where the cemetery lane now intersects the Sonoma road, and laid off a town there, which was called Franklin-town. S. G. Clark and Dr. Boyce, who had bought out Ball, built and opened a store in Franklin. Ball had a tavern there; H. Beaver a blacksmith shop, and W. B. Birch a saddle-tree factory. In September, 1853, S. T. Coulter and W. H. McClure bought out Boyce & Clark. The same fall the Baptist church, free to all denominations, was built. For a short time Franklin divided the attention of new comers with Santa Rosa and the "old adobe". The selection of Santa Rosa as the county seat, in the fall of 1854, put an end to rivalry. Within the year following all the houses in Franklin were moved to the new county seat, including the church, which still stands on Third street, between E and D streets. In 1875 it was sold and converted into two tenement houses. Barney Hoen, in a canvass of the county, promised that he and a few others would donate lots and build a court house, if the people would vote for the change. When it was known that Santa Rosa had won, an impromptu cele- bration was gotten up, anvils were fired, Hoen killed one beef, and Julio Carrillo another, for a free feast. The rejoicing was kept up for two days. On the 18th of September the board of supervisors met in Sonoma, can- vassed the returns, and passed an order declaring that Santa Rosa was the county seat of Sonoma county,--a majority of votes having been cast in favor of the change. Supervisor S. L. Fowler moved that the archives be removed to the new county seat on Friday, September 22, 1854, which passed unani- mously. On the day appointed, Jim Williamson, with a four-horse team and wagon, accompanied by Horace Martin and some others, went down to Sonoma, captured and brought up the archives, amid dire threats of injunction and violence from the Sonoma people, who saw, with no little chagrin, the county seat slip through their fingers. The Santa Rosans had the law, wanted only possession, and would not have hesitated to use all the force necessary to get that; as it was, they captured the archives by strategy, and the dry and dusty documents of former drowsy old alcaldes were whirled over the road as fast as Jim Williamson’s four-in-hand could take them to the new capital, where they safely arrived, and were deposited pro tem. in Julio Carrillo’s house, which was *** end ***