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 VISIT
SONORA
City's History
A History of Sonora
Queen of the 'Southern Mines' Still Reigns
Sonora, one of the oldest cities in California, was
incorporated on May 1, 1851. Only ten cities have
been incorporated longer. Sonora was historically
referred to as the ‘Queen of the Southern Mines.’
Like so many Gold Rush towns, Sonora had a wild
reputation in its early days. According to Frank
Marryat, who wrote about his 1851 experiences in Sonora,
“No church bells here usher in the Sabbath . . . every
man carries arms, generally a Colt revolver, buckled
behind, with no attempt at concealment.” While not
totally accurate as to the lack of church bells, since
the Catholic Padre Arnault was here in the fall of 1849
to establish St. Patrick’s, it does give one a feeling
that Sonora was a pretty wild place.
Sonora’s prosperity during the late 1800s and early
1900s is evidenced by many of the historic homes and
buildings we treasure today. Residences such as
those of Nicol, Curtin, Steinmetz, Symons, Rosasco
and Street-Morgan, as well as public and commercial
buildings such as the Sonora Dome, Sonora High School,
Tuolumne County Courthouse, Opera Hall and the Bradford
Building all give testimony to the faith our ancestors
had in the future of Sonora.
In 1986, Sonora was chosen as one of the first “Main
Street” cities in the State of California. Working
with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and
the California Main Street program the City Council
committed over a quarter of a million dollars in an
effort to revitalize the city’s historic downtown.
The restoration of the Sonora Opera Hall was a component
of this revitalization effort. Elements of the
“Main Street” program are now carried on by the Sonora
Redevelopment Agency.
Sonora can look with great pride to its
transformation from a country town to a small, vital
city that provides a way of life enjoyed by few other
communities, it is still the “Queen of the Southern
Mines.”
Pat
Perry, City Historian
94 N. Washington Street
Sonora, CA 95370
(209) 532-4541 FAX (209) 532-2738
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