Holiday Procrastinators
Last minute shoppers need help and I’m just the guy to lend a helping hand. What better way to learn about history, particularly the history of our splendid town, than to give gifts that have stories. Because procrastinators, like me, are living amongst us, I will get right into it.
The Other Guys, founded by Mia and August Sebastiani, are continuing the legacy of their historic winemaking background, building their company “one handshake at a time.” One particular label, Leese-Fitch, comes in a variety of flavors, but it is the label I found most intriguing. Just for the record, I don’t drink, but have already purchased bottles from the Leese-Fitch collection, given to friends and family, just so that I can strike up a conversation about one of the oldest buildings in Sonoma.
The adobe was built in 1841 and is situated at 487 First St. West facing our historic Plaza. It is a Monterey Colonial two-story adobe with a wooden balcony. Very typical for early Sonoma. The Pacific Division Headquarters of the War Department was located in the building between 1849 and 1851. There were some big names associated with the adobe, including Colonel Joseph Hooker, Ulysses Grant, John C. Fremont and Kit Carson.
Jacob Leese was a successful horse trader in Mexican California and stated he was “willing to undertake any venture that promised to bring a good profit.” Leese conducted business throughout the state, but finally settled in Sonoma in 1841. A few years earlier, Leese and Mariano Vallejo met one another at a party in San Francisco. Vallejo’s sister, Rosalia, also attended the party and within a year, Jacob and Rosalia were married.
If you run out and pick up a few bottles of the Leese-Fitch label, grab a good book to go with it. The Images of America series titled Sonoma Valley would go well with the cabernet. Written and compiled by Valerie Sherer Mathes and Diane Moll Smith, this little gem begins in Sonoma’s early days and tracks our history well into the early 19th century. The best part about the book, when, after one too many glasses of wine the words begin to lose their focus, the pictures are remarkable.
There are two gift shops here in town that focus on history. One is the gift shop at the Sonoma Valley Historical Society located in Depot Park. They have recently added all kinds of knick-knacks to dazzle any stocking and their inventory of books on local history can’t be beat. Another great gift shop is located in the Barracks across from the Plaza. They also sell all kinds of books dedicated to history.
As the year quickly comes to an end, I do encourage readers to shop locally and if you give gifts, there is nothing better than a small memento that piques the interest of those interested in the past. Be safe this holiday season and if you find some interesting gift that reeks of history, let me know about it!
George McKale is a practicing archaeologist and Sonoma’s City Historian. He has excavated throughout California ranging from Native American site thousands of years o9ld to Gold Rush era locations. His passion and specialty in archaeology is the study of human remains.
