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Images of America: Sonora’s Rich History Displayed, Preserved By Jerry Whitehead III - 11/01/2007 Sierra Mountain Times More Info on This Book: Sonora
14 years later, Arcadia boasts over 4,000 published titles that span the United States, from Bangor, Maine to Manhattan Beach, Calif. You’ve probably seen some of their books for sale at museums, gift shops, bookstores and elsewhere; their distinctive, glossy covers featuring a single, historic, sepia-toned photograph are common for each edition in the series. There are already several books published about areas in the Mother Lode: Alpine County – Bear Valley, Kirkwood, Markleville; Around Murphys; Amador County; Columbia; Yosemite National Park; and Northern Calaveras County. Now, beginning Nov. 5, Sonora’s history will be available to peruse as the city becomes the newest edition in the Images of America series. This wonderful little book features over 200 historical photographs – some dating as far back as the 1850s – over 127 pages. “Sonora” is written by Michael Gahagan, a 67-year-old Sonora resident and former publisher and editor of The Point Reyes Light, a weekly newspaper and one of the smallest to ever win the Pulitzer Prize. Gahagan graduated from Stanford University with a BA in Communications and a Masters in Journalism and has always had an interest in local history and historical preservation. He has been a Sonora resident, along with his wife Constance, since 2001. “I am so appreciative of past and current efforts at keeping the threads of our heritage, particularly local, documented for generations to come,” he said. “I feel privileged to be a part of the collaborative effort it takes to expand and add to our historical perspectives, relationships and frames of references.” Gahagan was able to amass such an extraordinary collection of photographs (and accompanying informative captions) through a strong cooperative effort with fellow like-minded history buffs throughout Tuolumne County. “Usually research and writing are very solitary processes,” he writes in the acknowledgements section of “Sonora.” “In compiling the photographs and snippets of material to accompany them, this was decidedly not the case. Whether those who helped and contributed either photographs, anecdotes or historic context realized it, they became a much-appreciated part of what ended up being a truly collaborative effort.” That effort shines though in “Sonora.” Those looking for a cohesive, point-A-to-point-B history of the City of Sonora might be disappointed; save for a great, informative yet short introduction that glosses over the area’s history from the 1700s to present day, there is no sequential, overarching storyline. But that’s not really what the Images of America series is all about. It is more a collection of very short stories and personal histories, each with a great photograph that reveal much about Sonora’s formative years and the interesting mix of people that inhabited it. “Sonora,” like all editions of the Images of America series, does it very well. The book is divided up into nine sections. “Sonora – Queen on the Southern Mines” shows how quickly and dramatically the Gold Rush shaped the previously uninhabited area of the Sierra Nevada foothills, exploding from an area with a few hundred Mi-Wuk Native Americans to a bustling settlement of nearly 20,000 settlers. Nearly all of the pictures in this section show Sonora’s wide selection of gold, quartz and marble mines, many of which are long gone. “Early Family Portraits – Many Never Left” is comprised of a plethora of portraits from the area’s most prominent families, including the Segerstroms, Rehms, Hardins, Dunlavys and many of the first Italian immigrant families that maintained a large presence in Sonora, such as the Bisordis and the Guissis. One of the more interesting sections is “Main Street – Now Almost as Then.” It’s filled with amazing photographs of Sonora’s Main drag, Washington Street, from the 1860s all the way to the 1940s. As the title suggests, Washington Street has remained remarkably similar in nature to its original geographic layout. Many of the small sidestreets (which were added as firebreaks after the devastating fire of 1852) remain today and make navigating downtown Sonora an adventure. Several of the business are still operational from Washington Street’s early days as well. “A Backyard Forest” shows Sonora’s early and continued interaction with the Stanislaus National Forest. Most of the chapter deals with the lumber industry, which as “When Steam Was King” showed (by Gerald French, available and the Mountain Bookshop in Sonora), was a big (if not bigger) factor that shaped the area. “We Guard Our Village Homes” details the history of the Sonora Fire Department, a necessary, important and respected organization in the town. “Landmarks – Some Gone Forever” showcases most of the prominent features of downtown Sonora, both ones still standing (Tuolumne County Courthouse, the Red Church) and ones long gone (the Rehm residence, the First Methodist). “Organizations and Institutions” shows some of the more popular civic and fraternal organizations from Sonora – such as the Knights of Columbus and the Native Daughters of the Golden West – and some lesser-known and now defunct ones – like the Soulsbyville Silver Coronet Band or the Sonora Camera Club. There’s also a picture of two-dozen men who were being drafted into service for World War I (or “The Great War”), but lucked out as the war ended before they left Tuolumne County. “Sonorans at Play” consists of archival photos from Sonora High School’s sports programs, Mother Lode Parades from years past, the once famous Sonora Soapbox Derby, old rodeos at the Sonora Racetrack (built in the 1890s) and other recreational activities enjoyed by Sonora’s early denizens. “On the Outskirts of Town” is a sort of miscellaneous section that features people, places and events that were closely related to Sonora but not quite in the city limits, including Mark Twain’s cabin north of Sonora and the filming of 1950’s “Blazing Arrows,” shot primarily in the Phoenix Lake area. All in all, “Sonora” is a wonderful collection of personal historical threads that weave together to form an important fabric of the city’s history as a whole. You can read about the general linear history of Sonora from several sources, including the city or county museum, but it’s very refreshing to see such an intimate, personal collection assembled in a lovely, attractive booklet that can be read in about an hour. Gahagan and his collaborators have done an excellent job with “Sonora” and it is an overdue, welcomed addition to Arcadia’s Images of America series. “Sonora” goes on sale Nov. 5 and will be available from local bookstores, independent retailers and online merchants, including Arcadia’s website. For more information, log onto www.arcadiapublishing.com. Buy It Now: Sonora $19.99 |
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