Fort Ross/ Northern California

Fort Ross is located north of the San Francisco Bay area on the Pacific Coast Highway on the Sonoma coast. It is approximately 94 miles north of San Francisco and about 12 miles north of the coastal town of Jenner.


Fort Ross was built by the Russians and represents their southernmost expansion on the North American continent. An interesting side note is that when you consider the European countries that explored North America, The French, English and Spaniards traveled west over the Atlantic whereas the Russians went east. All of the world's powers seemed to meet on the North American continent.

Historic Fort Ross

The explorations by the Russians were essentially for trading purposes rather than to colonize. They established the Russian American Company, somewhat on the same lines as the Hudson Bay Company. The main interest was the fur trade such as beaver and otter. Fort Ross itself was established primarily as an agricultural settlement to supply provisions to the surrounding traders. At the time of settlement the Spanish influence in California extended north to San Francisco. The Mexicans went a bit further north up to and around the town of Sonoma. All of this came to an end in the mid 1840's when the United States expanded into California as a result of the Mexican American War.

Fort Ross, circa 1828

Some interesting facts about Fort Ross and the Russian American Fur Company operators had to do with their relations with the Native Americans in the area.

The Russians and the Spaniards in California

The Russians seemed to have forged a good working relationship with the local Indians and trading between the two took place regularly. This of course was much different than the Spaniards to the south who set up a mission system primarily to convert the Indians to Christianity.

The reason for these differences were because, as mentioned above, the Russians never had any serious intentions of trying to colonize the northwest. The Spaniards of course did want to colonize and the Americans who came into Alta California after the Spaniards and Mexicans did as well. The Russian outposts along the northern coast of California extended as far south as today's Bodega Bay and they were there for fur trading purposes.

Regardless of the fact that the Russians never tried to colonize, both the Spaniards and Mexicans after them were concerned about the Russian presence to the north. Most historians seem to believe that this was the reason that the Sonoma Mission and barracks were erected by the Mexicans after Spanish rule ended. The Sonoma Mission was the last mission built and the furthest north.

Visit Historic and Scenic Fort Ross

There are several reasons why Fort Ross CA makes an excellent side trip. The fort has been designated a state park and there is much to explore. Lots of history is explained when you enter the fort compound. It's also very convenient in as much as it's proximity to the Sonoma County wine country and the drive there is spectacular along the Pacific Coast Highway going north from the town of Jenner. It's one of those drives where you'll take many pictures. Fort Ross CA is situated right on the coast with magnificent ocean views.

See our Western Trips articles n the links below...

 Russian River Kayaking

Coastal Hiking at Bodega Bay


These websites will give you a lot of additional information on the area:

www.fortrossstatepark.org

www.militarymuseum.org/FtRoss.html


www.googlemaps.com


Here are also some very good restaurants in the towns of Guerneville, Occidental and Bodega Bay south of Fort Ross:

Lucas Wharf- Bodega Bay

The Tides- Bodega Bay


Union Hotel- Occidental


Applewood Inn & Restaurant- Guerneville

Montana Mining / Virginia City

If you want to add a stop at a real Montana gold mining town during your next Montana vacation, Virginia City Montana is a must stop. The town is a perfect rendition of what Virginia city was like during the 1860's gold mining boom. A walking tour of this old frontier mining town is a great Montana side trip for the entire family.

Montana mining was legendary and it brought permanent change to the territory.

The 1863 Gold Discovery

Gold was discovered in 1863 at Alder Gulch by six prospectors. Word obviously spread like wildfire. This meant a huge influx of people hoping to strike it rich. It was like the next California 49s gold strike. Shortly thereafter the town was plotted and the name chosen was Virginia City. Actually there was quite a bit of contention over the name because at this period, during the civil war, there were prospectors with allegiances to both sides. Some wanted to name the town after the wife of Jefferson Davis and others from the Union side certainly objected. Davis' wife was named Varina, so the name Virginia could be considered some sort of compromise. The town was shortly designated as the Territorial capital in as much as this was where most people were due to the Montana gold strike.

Bozeman Trail route along yellow line

A Stampede of Many Characters, Good and Bad

Anytime you have a sudden discovery of gold you have an influx of many people. Montana mining was no exception.

The discovery at Alder Gulch was all that it took to start the stampede. Some new arrivals were prospectors, some were shopkeepers to supply the miners and some of course were outlaws wanting to take advantage of the situation. At one point it became so bad that miners were killed when they attempted to leave the area with their take of gold. In fact it came to epidemic proportions. Where's there a lot of gold and a lot of strangers, danger usually lurks nearby.

From Gold Miners to Cattle Ranchers

When the Montana gold eventually dried up, which gold usually does at some point, the area became better known for cattle ranching. Montana had an abundance of first class grazing land and this attracted the cattlemen. It attracted cattlemen and cowboys all the way from Texas.

Many additional stories came from the cattle era. Many range disputes all around the west were between cattlemen and sheep men regarding the use of grazing land. Montana was no exception. You also had the ever present cattle rustler and horse thief.  One particular event was "The Horse Thief War". Horses could be stolen and transported easily to either the Dakota's or Canada. The situation got so bad that the cattlemen (many of their particular names were kept in secret) formed a committee and went after the horse thieves. The cattlemen knew pretty much who to suspect and when they were captured it was hanging on the spot with very little ceremony.The Horse Thief War was a product of the cattlemen's associations.

Thomas Francis Meagher House

To give you an idea of the scale of the pursuit of the horse thieves, in the month of July 1884 alone, there was approximately 16 to 19 people hung by the cattlemen committee, some right in the center of town. This did pretty much end the horse thief problem at that time. It had the intended results even though it broke the law.

The photo at right is the Thomas Francis Meagher house. The photo is from the Historic American Buildings Survey. After the Civil War, Meagher served as the first governor of the Montana Territory.

The Montana mining boom during the 1860's was also the main reason for Red Cloud's War. The Lakota Sioux were attacking travelers all over the Bozeman Trail and many of these people were heading to the Montana gold fields.

One of the largest battles about this time was the Fetterman Massacre in 1868 just outside of Fort Phil Kearny north of Laramie Wyoming. The military eventually closed the Bozeman route and although trouble in the area really continued into the 1870's Sioux Wars. The photo below left is a present day Bozeman Route marker in Montana

Courtesy Phil Konstantin

This is very beautiful country and it does offer a great side trip or vacation destination for the entire family. Lots of history in those hills. I read that at one point in her life Calamity Jane made Virginia City her home.

The area is located about 100 miles northwest of Yellowstone Park almost halfway between the park and Butte, MT.  Best traveling access is off either I-15 or I-90.

There is much more to tell about this area and I would recommend these websites for further exploration and for help in planning your trip.

(Article copyright Western Trips. Photos and images in the public domain)

www.virginiacitymt.com

www.googlemaps.com