A CAGenWeb Project 

Sonoma County Genealogy

Geyserville

(Clairville)

  • Genealogy
  • About The Town
  • People & Other Entities
  • Maps
  • Photos
  • Citations
Table of Contents

Geyserville (formerly Clairville) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma County, California, USA. Located in the Wine Country, Geyserville has a small selection of restaurants, bed and breakfasts, and wineries. Geyserville is located on California State Route 128, close to US Route 101. The population was 862 at the 2010 census. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 4.6 square miles (11.9 km2), all of it land. [1]



Genealogy


Gedcom Index for Geyserville, CA. . . . Link

Surnames: Batt, Branson, Cadd, McFarling, Rose, 


GenealogyOnline:  About the Town Geyserville . . . Link

Surnames: Blackburn, Cram, Ferguson, Gunnink, Petray, Schmitt, Vassar, Wyckoff


Geyserville Press 1969 – 1970 [Searchable Newspaper] . . . Info . . . Link [Google News Archive]


LDS genealogy.com: TOWN . . . Link


Roadside Thoughts: Geyserville California . . . Link


Sonoma County Genealogical Society . . . Link



About The Town


Geyserville, located on the Rancho Tzabaco Mexican land grant, owes its foundation to the discovery in 1847 of a series of hot springs, fumaroles, and steam vents in a gorge in the mountains of Sonoma County, California, between Calistoga and Cloverdale. This complex, which became known as The Geysers, soon became a tourist attraction, and a settlement grew up to provide accommodation and serve as a gateway to The Geysers. It was initially known as Clairville but subsequently renamed Geyserville. After the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad was extended to Cloverdale in the 1870s, its trains stopped in Geyserville.  [1]


Geyserville
The Geysers were discovered in 1847, by William Elliott and in 1851, a man named Levy built a house on a level plateau overlooking the Geysers. In 1854, Major Ewing opened a hotel near Levy, which was sold to William Forsyth in 1877 and Archibald C. Godwin opened a store. In 1863, Clark Foss, opened a second stage coach line from Healdsburg to the Geysers. Later, John Clare bought a large tract of land here and his wife soon petitioned for a post office. She was named postmistress and she had the name of the place changed to Clareville. There was already a post office at Geyser Springs, which began getting mail intended for Geyserville residents, so the name was changed back to Geyserville. Pioneers of this town include George Petray, Davenport Cozzens, Henry Wiedersham and Mr. and Mrs. Archambeau. The first settler here was Cozzens, the postmaster and merchant in Upper Dry Creek Valley. Dr. Elisha Ely also claimed to be the town's first settler. William A. Ford owned the first saloon. By 1880, the town had a store, post office, saloon, hotel, blacksmith shop and a newspaper called the Geyserville Gazette. By 1900, the town had 300 residents. . . . [Source: Archived Website. Link]



"A Bit of Geyserville History Discovered from a Fire Map[Article] . . . Link


American Towns . . . Link


Bosworth & Son General Mercantile (1911) . . . Link . . . Store Page . . . History

A former buggy shop that's been a thriving general store since 1911, Bosworth & Son General Mercantile now stocks Western-themed hats, clothing, and gifts, and houses a small historical museum featuring objects used by the town's early settlers. 


"Bosworth and Son opens Geyserville history museum" [Article] . . . Link

Bosworth and Son, a family-owned retail business that has been a fixture in downtown Geyserville since the beginning of the last century, seems a fitting place for the town’s new museum. [2019]


Catelli's . . . Link . HistoryCatelli's was originally opened in Geyserville around 1936 by Italian immigrants Santi and Virginia Catelli.


Diavola Pizzeria & Salumeria  . . . Link 

Set in a historic landmark dating back to the 1900’s, Diavola celebrates the seasons of California with an Italian state of mind.


"Geyserville, California A Bit of Italy in Sonoma Wine Country" [Article] . . . Link


Geyserville Historical Society . . . Link


Geyserville History [Visit Geyserville] . . . Link


Geyserville schools [History, Scroll to bottom] . . . Link

The Geyserville schools date back to the mid-1850's with upwards of 10 one-room schoolhouses around Alexander Valley and Dry Creek Valley. Oriental, Canyon Road....to name a few.


Geyserville Today [Niche] (has a map of location) . . . Link


Geyserville Wikipedia Page . . . Link


Healdsburg Museum & Historical Society: Geyserville Collection . . . Link


Northern Sonoma County Fire Protection District (beg. 1904) [History] . . . Link


Permit Sonoma: Geyserville . . . Link


Sonoma County Life Opens Up: Geyserville . . . Link . . . Getting To Know Geyserville . . . Tour Itinerary . . .


WikiVoyage: Geyserville . . . Link



Check Sonoma Historian (SCHS) for articles about the towns. . . .  Link




People & Other Entities


Archibald C. Godwin . . . Link . . . in 1877 and Archibald C. Godwin opened a store.


A. Thompson (First Fire Chief in 1904) . . . Link


Clark Foss . . . Link . . . In 1863, Clark Foss, opened a second stage coach line from Healdsburg to the Geysers.

. . . Link . . in 1863 Clark Foss, a famous stage driver, opened a second stage coach line from Healdsburg to the Geysers. With the construction of the railroad to Calistoga in 1868, he opened another line to the resort and the hotel prospered.


"Dr. Elisha Ely: The First White Settler in Geyserville" 1819-1906 (p. 5) [Article Full Doc PDF] . . . Link


Geyserville Baha’i School (1927- Present) [History] . . . Link


Geyserville Christian Church History (1884) . . . Link


Hope-Merrill House (circa 1870) . . . Link . . . History

The Hope-Merrill, which Rosalie's research shows to have been the early Stage Coach Stop for the area is no musty museum piece.


James Mead . . . Link

A larger hotel, built from lumber sawn on the spot, was erected by James Mead in 1857-58. Many important visitors, including Mark Twain, Theodore Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant, and others visited its wonders and signed the guest book. The hotel burned in 1937.


John Clare (and wife) . . . Link

John Clare bought a large tract of land here and his wife soon petitioned for a post office. She was named postmistress and she had the name of the place changed to Clareville. There was already a post office at Geyser Springs, which began getting mail intended for Geyserville residents, so the name was changed back to Geyserville.


Lago di Merlo Vineyards & Winery, 1965 [History] . . . Link


Major Ewing . . . Link 1 . . Link 2 . . .


Old Crocker Inn . . . Link

Named for Charles Crocker, founder of the Central Pacific Railroad, the property began as a summer hunting ground often visited by Charles Crocker and his cronies, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins and Collis Huntington, the empire builders known to historians as "California's Big Four".


Ridge Vineyards [History & Video] . . .  Link


Sei Querce Winery: History . . . Link


Trentadue Winery [History, PDF] . . . Link


William A. Ford . . . Link . . . owned the first saloon.


William Elliott . . . Link . . Link

The Geysers were discovered in 1847, by William Elliott and in 1851, a man named Levy built a house on a level plateau overlooking the Geysers.


William Forsyth . . . Link . . Link . . After 1877, William Forsyth took over the resort, built cottages for guests, and improved the menu. 


Pioneers from the town include: Mr. and Mrs. Archambeau, Davenport Cozzens, George Petray, & Henry Wiedersham.



Events


Geyserville May Day Festival, founded in 1925 (May) . . . Link


Geyserville Fall Colors Festival & Vintage Car Show (October) . . . Link


Geyserville Tree Lighting and Tractor Parade of Lights (End November) . . . Link



Maps


Map of Geyserville, with boundaries [BingMaps] . . . Link


Map of Geyserville [MapQuest] . . . Link



Photos


CaliSphere Collection for Geyserville, Cal. . . . Link


Main St., Geyserville, Cal. 1914 . . . Link








Citations:


[1]   Wikipedia contributors. "Geyserville, California." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 27 Jul. 2022. Web. Viewed 6 Oct. 2022.. . . . Link


[2]   "Historical and Descriptive Sketch Book of Napa, Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino: Comprising Sketches of Their Topography, Productions, History, Scenery, and Peculiar Attractions", C.A. Menefee, 1873 . . . Link


[3]  "Historical and Descriptive Sketch of Sonoma County, California" Robert Allan Thompson. L.H. Everts, 1877 - Sonoma County (Calif.) - 104 pages. [Bodega pp 100-101]  . . . Link


[4]   "An Illustrated History of Sonoma County, California: Containing a History of the County of Sonoma from the Earliest Period of Its Occupancy to the Present Time", Lewis Publishing, 1889  . . . Link