A CAGenWeb Project 

Sonoma County Genealogy

Salmon Creek

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

Salmon Creek is an unincorporated community settlement and census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma County, California, U.S. It is located on the Pacific coast about 90 minutes drive north of San Francisco, between the towns of Jenner and Bodega Bay, California. The population was 86 at the 2010 census. The settlement is bounded to the north by Salmon Creek, to the east by State Route 1 and to the west and south by Sonoma Coast State Beach.  [1]


Salmon Creek is an 18.3-mile-long (29.5 km) stream in western Sonoma County, California that springs from coastal hills west of the town of Occidental and empties into the Pacific Ocean north of Bodega Head. Salmon Creek originates about 2 miles (3 km) west of the town of Occidental near the junction of Joy Road and Bittner Road. It parallels Bittner Road eastward, passing just south of Occidental, where it turns right and follows Bohemian Highway to the town of Freestone. From there, it curves south and then west, passing Watson School historic park as it parallels Bodega Highway to a confluence with Nolan Creek just east of the town of Bodega. It flows through Bodega, then follows Salmon Creek Road westward into a narrow canyon, where it is joined by Tannery Creek, Fay Creek, Coleman Valley Creek, and Finley Creek. Salmon Creek emerges from the canyon between Irish Hill and Coleman Hill and crosses State Route 1 at milepost 12.49, entering Sonoma Coast State Beach south of the ranger station. It parallels Bean Avenue to Salmon Creek Beach, which it bisects as it enters the Pacific Ocean. [Kiddle... Link]



Genealogy


LDS genealogy.com: Salmon Creek . . . Link


Roadside Thoughts: Salmon Creek California . . . Link


Sonoma County Genealogical Society . . . Link



About The Town


The Coast Miwok village of Pulya-lakum was formerly located near the mouth of Salmon Creek. In 1812, the Russian-American Company established Fort Ross about 12 miles (19 km) northwest of present-day Salmon Creek, bringing the area into the Russian Empire's sphere of influence. [1]


When European explorers first reached Salmon Creek, they found it inhabited by Coast Miwok people. Six Coast Miwok villages near the creek have been authenticated: Pulya-lakum, near the mouth of the creek, Kennekono and Suwutenne near the present-day town of Bodega, and three near the present day town of Freestone: Oye-yomi, Pakahuwe, and Patawa-yomi.  In 1843-44, most of the Salmon Creek watershed was included in the 35,000-acre (140 km2) Rancho Bodega land grant awarded to Captain Stephen Smith. In 1873, the North Pacific Coast Railroad built a narrow-gauge line along the stretch of Salmon Creek between Freestone and Occidental as part of the route from Sausalito to Cazadero.   [Kiddle... Link]



Kiddle: Salmon Creek facts for Kids . . . Link


Mapcarta: Salmon Creek (with info). . . Link


Salmon Creek Wikipedia Page . . . Link


Salmon Creek Historical Society . . . Link


Salmon Creek, Sonoma Coast State Beach, Bodega Bay [Sonoma County Bird Watching Spots] . . . Link


Sonoma County Life Opens Up: North Salmon Creek Beach . . . Link . . . South Salmon Creek Beach . . . Link


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



People & Other Entities


Salmon Creek House with a History [Rancho Bodega Historical Society] (PDF) . . . Link

One of the best spreads in Salmon Creek is the old"Ocean View House", built in 1868 by Hugh Marshall,as a hotel, post office and saloon. It was a designatedstop for the coast stagecoach of the time. Originally,the property - known as the Ocean View Hotel Propertyencompassed 25 acres-stretched as far as the beach,but after subsequent owners subdivided some of theland, it now sits on close to an acre with sweepingviews. The 25-acre tract was deeded from ManuelaT. Curtis (widow of Capt. Stephen Smith) to HughMarshall on March 15, 1862. Marshall planted thecypress trees at the house and it is said that Monarchbutterflies used to winter in these trees. Its currentaddress is 255 McChristian Avenue.


Salmon Creek Ranch (actually in Bodega) . . . Link

Salmon Creek Ranch is situated between the villages of Bodega and Bodega Bay on the glorious Sonoma coast, about 80 minutes north of San Francisco. It is bordered on the south by Bay Hill Rd. and by Salmon Creek Rd. on the north, and has almost 400 acres of rolling hills, natural pasture, steeper ravines, redwood groves and forest. Over a mile and a half of Salmon Creek, a designated riparian habitat, meanders within its northern end. Tucked among similar sized parcels on an isolated stretch of the coast, it was originally part of a 580 acre thriving dairy operation until the 1980's. Subsequent owners leased front gate its pastures to local ranchers and it was used for non-intensive grazing up until the time we purchased the land in August of 2007. Since then, we have obtained organic certification for its pastures through the California Certified Organic Farmers and are raising Scottish Highland and Angus cattle for 100% grass-fed/grass finished beef, Kiko goats for meat and breeding stock, certified organic duck eggs and the occasional flock of ducks and geese for meat.


The web site "The Cockrill Family of Sonoma County" [Link] has a wonderful collection of local genealogy including the following with ties to this town: James Edgar Fowler



Maps


Map of Salmon Creek, with boundaries [BingMaps] . . . Link


Map of Salmon Creek [MapQuest] . . . Link



Photos


Salmon Creek Valley and farmhouse on Salmon Creek Road, Bodega, about 1963

[Sonoma County Library Archives] . . . Link







Citations:


[1]   Wikipedia contributors. "Salmon Creek, California." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 9 Aug. 2022. Web. 28 Sep. 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. [ ???  pp 100-101]  . . . Link


[4] "History of Sonoma County: Including Its Geology, Topography, Mountains, Valleys and Streams ...."' United States, Higginson Book Company, 1880. (page ???.) . . . Link . . . Text at CAGenWeb


[5]   "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