Circa 1910. Located in Boyes Hot Springs, adjacent to the railroad depot. This building may still exist.
Circa 1910.
Post marked 1949. Built in 1924 or 1925. It’s future is in doubt. Currently unoccupied (2018).
Category Archives: History
The Boyes Hot Springs Plaza
On December 20, 1956, the Sonoma Index Tribune reported “Old timers in Boyes felt some remorse this Monday when the old stately palm tree in the Boyes Plaza was cut down to make way for a new building.” The new building was the second half of the Plaza Center building, which houses the post office today. The IT went on, “They (the old timers) could remember standing beneath that tree when the old train used to unload vacationers at the railroad station, located years ago, right near the tree.”
The Boyes Hot Springs Plaza palm tree, 1943. courtesy Bruce Greiwe
Aurthor’s collection
Yes, there was a Plaza in Boyes Springs. It existed as part of the land owned by the Northwestern Pacific Railroad. A railroad map from 1925 shows an elongated lozenge shaped feature, parallel to the tracks, bisected by pathways at right angles, and with a circular form at the center. The palm tree was there, according to an aerial photo from 1943.
Plaza showing palm tree. The depot had been removed the previous year. Photo courtesy Bob Palmelee.
In 1949 the IT reported that the Boyes Springs Boosters Club voted to “ put a new lawn at the Boyes Hot Springs Plaza and pay for the electricity used in keeping the “Boyes Hot Springs Welcome” sign lighted each evening.
Courtesy Jerry Biers
In 1941 plans for the celebration of the centennial of the Bear Flag revolt included an event at the BHS Plaza.
In 1949, the community celebrated its own “centennial.” How 1849 was chosed as a founding year is unclear. The hot springs had been commercialized by 1847 by Andrew Heoppner. Thaddeus Leavenworth arrived in 1849, but Boyes didn’t show up until 1882.
At any rate, the editorial page of the Index Tribune approved.
The Plaza and palm looking north, 1930s.
The idea of a new Boyes Hot Springs Plaza has resurfaced in recent years. Several architects have produced conceptual plans. Below is the Ross, Drulis Cusenberry version.
Ross Drulis Cusenbery Plaza Concept
Ross Drulis Cusenbery Plaza Concept
Ross Drulis Cusenbery Plaza Concept
Ross Drulis Cusenbery Plaza Concept
Ross Drulis Cusenbery Plaza Concept
Ross Drulis Cusenbery Plaza Concept
Ross Drulis Cusenbery Plaza Concept
Reclamation?
This is the key historic building still standing in Agua Caliente. Apparently undergoing demolition-by-neglect, it has, in August 2018, gotten a set of new windows and a paint job. We can only hope that the structure behind the stucco still has integrity.
Before the new paint, the ghost of the word “Mexcian” could be seen near the sidewalk. Various restarants and markets have been housed in the building.
After paint. The windows still have the factory sticker.
In the days of Liexner’s Resort.
And Nimpfer’s.
The 119th Anniversary of the Founding of the Boyes Hot Springs Post Office
In July of 1911, the Sonoma Index Tribune reported that “A.D. Graham of Graham’s Cash Store received the appointment as post master of Boyes Springs. Located at his store.” The exact date was July 8, 1911. The location of the store, now not know exactly, was near the train depot at Boyes Blvd. and the Sonoma Highway.
That building was lost, along with most of the town in the fire of 1923. After rapid rebuilding, the post office was located in the Woodleaf Store. It stayed there until 1951. The Woodleaf became the Big Three Diner, part of the Sonoma Mission Inn. The post office relocated to the Plaza Center building at Sonoma Hwy. and Boyes Blvd. when it was built in 1951, where it is today. Prior to 1951 this site was know as the Boyes Springs Plaza and was the scene of street parties and fiestas.
A.D. Graham was the first postmaster. The name was changed to Boyes Hot Springs at some point. Courtesy California State Library
In 2011 we celebrated the centennial. To produce the joyous event, we had the help of the USPS and its employees, Sonoma County, the owner of the Plaza Center building, Kickstarter donors, the Springs Community Alliance, and many volunteers.
Caliente Villa
Courtesy Robert Palmelee
The resort was located on the east side of Sonoma Highway, near the corner of what was then known as Sonoma Avenue, now Marin Avenue. The Agua Caliente post office was reportedly located in one of the resort buildings.
Map courtesy of Jeff Gilbert
In a 1941 article, the Index Tribune located the resort across the road from (the old) Flowery School, which was at the corner of Vailetti Drive.
In this alarming article from 1972, the address is listed as 17127 Sonoma Highway.
The founders of Caliente Villa in Agua Caliente are not known, but we do know the resort was owned by A. Nevraumont by 1917. Nevraumont was an early resort owner in El Verano, having established El Verano Villa before the turn of the 20th century.
”My Great Uncle Joe Costa and My Great Uncle SFPD Officer Joe O’Rourke – Early 1930’s…Great Shot of Caliente Villa – Behind Them.” Jeff Gilbert via Facebook.
In 1923 the buildings changed hands.
Courtesy Lynn Downey
In fact, the Villa went through many owners and managers. In 1920 Mrs. Lewis and Miss Ross were in charge. They…”have leased the (resort) and will conduct the popular springs resort on the apartment plan…” Along with “modern conveniences and comforts,” the new proprietors would provide “a long distance phone” and a “classy jazz orchestra!”
That same year, Lewis and Ross entertained “twenty four members of the Salt Lake City baseball team…Mrs. Lewis and Miss Ross were assisted by a number of young ladies…There was dancing, music and card playing…” and “everything was complimentary, including the smokes, and the boys report a swell time.”
Courtesy California State Library
Jack Valente (his name is seen under Caliente Villa in the sign) ran the resort as of 1940. The term “auto camp,” however, was in use at least from the early 1920s. Automobile tourism in Sonoma Valley started before the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Note the dormers on the three buildings shown in the photo.
Several of the buildings were in existence in 1984 when Dan Peterson made his Historic Resource report for Redevelopment.
The development proposal in 1986 probably resulted in the demolition of 17127, and it looks like the 20 multifamily units were indeed built.
17101 was still there in 2008.
In 2018 only one survives (17123).
New to the Valley of the Moon Historic Photo Database
From the 1948 National Geographic article on “Hap Arnold’s Valley of the Moon.”
Sierra Drive/Meincke Road
At the corner of Highway 12 and Sierra Drive stands the building housing Ross Drulis Cusenberry Architects. The building was built in 1966 for Sierra National Bank. It seems that the street, originally known as Meincke Road, was probably renamed for the bank. The street also has the distinction of being on the former Northwest Pacific Railroad right-of-way.
Assessor’s Parcel Map showing Meincke Road/Seirra Drive
On July 15, 1942, a hearing by the Interstate Commerce Commision in Santa Rosa pitted the War Department and the Southern Pacific Company against the Sonoma Valley Chanber of Commerce, Sonoma State Hospital, and the Sonoma Vista Improvement Club in a debate about whether the rail line between Sonoma and Glen Ellen should be abandoned (passenger service had ended in 1935). The Feds claimed that the line was not needed for the war effort as almost all frieght was brought into the valley by truck, and the SP pointed out that the line had lost money for years. However, Dr. Fred Bultler of the State Home said that his institution had been designated the main hospital for the region should a coastal evacuation be necessary. The Home had been mandated to provide 500 beds on two hours notice and that the rail connection would be required to supply this additional population. The Home had 3200 “inmates”, as he called them, and 450 employees at the time.
Southern Pacific prevailed, however, and by January of 1943, the rails were gone, freeing the stretch between the Mission Inn and West Thomson Ave. to become a road.
The street was probably originally named for George Meincke, a school bus driver, chauffer for the Spreckles family, fire commissioner, and local property owner. However, two other Meinckes were prominent enough in the Springs, midcentury and before, to also be the namesake: Charles Meincke and H. Meincke.
George Miencke with fellow Fire Commissioners at a fire station open house in 1954.
Interestingly, the obituaries for George Meincke and Edith Waterman appeared next to each other in the January 30, 1969 edition of the IT. Both had streets named for them, or their family in Ms. Waterman’s case. The Waterman family goes back a little farther than Miencke’s. Her obit notes that “When she and her parents first started coming to this area many years ago, they were guests of Capt. H. E. Boyes…”
The Boyes Hot Springs Company was incorporated in 1902, with August Waterman as one of the directors.
Sierra Bank
A very low key announcement of the proposed name change appeared in the IT in March of 1965.
Sierra Bank first opened in a storefront on Highway 12 in 1964. The address was 18006, now a liquor store (2018). It was front-page news in the Index Tribune. This was the first bank to open in Sonoma Valley outside of the town of Sonoma.
The new bank building was also a major project for Boyes Hot Springs in 1965 when it was announced.
Among the luminaries attending the groundbreaking were Bud Castner, and Tom Polidori, prominent Springs businessmen. (Notice the article at bottom left. In 1965 they were fund raising for a new swimming pool.)
New to the Valley of The Moon Photo Database
Postmarked 1908
Postmarked 1909
The Olive Grove Tract
The Olive Grove Tract: Where was it? What is the history of the trees? And where did the church go?
According to a Santa Rosa Press Democrat article from 1942, “Edwin P. Thomson, who many years ago owned the site of Fetters Springs…in 1887, planted the olive grove that now borders the highway between Fetters and Boyes Springs.” In 1946, the PD tells us that “Twenty-five acres of olive grove property fronting the state highway in Boyes Hot Springs and extending down to the ballpark, will soon be made available as an exclusive business and residential subdivision…” the owners were Bill Johnson and Rudy Lichtenberg, who also owned and managed the Boyes Bath House. Both men have streets named after them in that area.
Bill Johnson at the Boyes Bath House
(Courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society)
This map, from the website 321 Houses.com, shows an area which they call “Olive Grove.”
UPDATE: Below is the Recorder/Assessor map of the subdivision. It is dated 1947.
This is part of an aerial photograph from 1961, with a few street names superimposed. At that time, Bokman Avenue did not exist. Bokman approximately follows the outfield fence of the Boyes Springs Ball Park, which can be seen left center of the photo.
According to an IT article from 1988, the trees covered an area of 12.5 acres at that time. The trees were bulldozed in 1988, much to the dismay of local residents. See below.
Zan Stark photo showing olive grove behind the ball park (to the east.) Courtesy, Stanford University Library, Special Collections.
At various times, various people have made the claim that the trees in the Olive Grove tract were planted by M. G. Vallejo. This was asserted and denied in 1988 when the trees were removed. Real estate agents and B + B proprietors still use this “information.”
(Copy from online advertisment, below)
Property Details for 17600 Johnson Ave
This property is no longer available to rent or buy. This description is from May 03, 2010
Experience this darling 1949 Turn-Key home in the heart of the Wine Country! This meticulous 2 bedroom, 1 bath home features a spacious vintage kitchen, and a light and bright living room. The private back yard is a gardener’s delight that includes a patio, a deck and plenty of shade provided by two mighty olive trees that were once part of General Vallejo’s olive grove. Minutes from the Sonoma Plaza, restaurants and wineries.
”The area where this home is located was once part of General Vallejo’s personal olive grove.”
As mentioned above, the remaining trees were removed in 1988.
Olive trees on DeChene Ave. in 2017. (Author’s photos) Many of the existing trees in the area seem very old. They could be survivors from Thomson’s orchard.
The Valley of the Moon Community Church.
The Valley of the Moon Community Church was located in the Olive Grove tract.
In September of 1951, the foundations were poured. Fourteen months later, “The handsome church building is slowly but surely nearing completion.” In August of 1953, the church building was in use.
This Chamber of Commerce map, courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society, from the 1955 shows the VOM Community church approximately where Lichtenberg St. comes into DeChene Ave.
This is the last mention of the Church in the IT. What happened to the congregation? What happened to the church building?
Many thanks to Joanna Kolosov of the Sonoma County History and Genealogy Library for information from the Press Democrat and other sources.
Regrettably, we have lost track of the name of the gentleman who loaned the 1961 aerial photograph. The photograph was provided to him by Sonoma County.
Valley Watch Repair
Antonio Juan, who took over Johnny Mazza’s barber shop in 2017, found this clock in the back of the shop.
Valley Watch Repair was started in 1954 by George R. Trueman, who previously ran a jewelry store in Sacramento. The shop was located in the Kinucan building, at first. This building, once called the Central building, was located on the highway, on the land that now features the Sonoma Mission Inn employee parking lot. At the time Trueman moved in, part of the building was used for the Boyes Springs Variety Store, run by the Polidori family.
In this post card photo by Zan Stark, the Variety Store is at left. The cars date the scene to 1954.
George Trueman became active in the business community. In 1955 he was elected vice president of the newly formed Boyes Springs Merchants Association. President was Tom Polidori. Zan Stark and Babe Gallo were directors.
(The photo caption on the same page tells of the former A.B. Peluffo house being moved from the site of the new shopping center at the corner of the highway and Verano Avenue. Pellufo was the developer of the Plaza Center building which houses the post office in Boyes Hot Springs.)
In 1956 Trueman moved his business to the former Saul Becker real estate office adjacent to Gallo’s Service station on the east side of the highway, near Arroyo Road. (Gaye Notely left for Berkeley a few days later, as we ;earn on the same page of the Index Tribune. Much later she would become Gaye Le Baron.)
Mrs. Trueman opened her yardage and clothing store next to the Valley Watch Repair, “opposite the Mission Inn entrance on Highway 12…” in 1958. 
The indispensable Zan Stark provides a view of the Mission Inn entrance.
In 1961, the Truemans sold their businesses and embarked on a cross-country road trip, saying they would return to Sonoma Valley. And return they did, in 1962, and set up business in Frank’s Hardware.
Photographs courtesy of Michael Acker
springs museum 