SONOMA

city, Sonoma county, western California, U.S., 21 miles (34 km) southeast of Santa Rosa, in the Sonoma Valley (made famous by Jack London as the Valley of the Moon). It was founded in 1835 by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (who had been sent to investigate the Russian outpost at Fort Ross, 50 miles north-northwest) at the site of the Mission San Francisco Solano, the last (1823) and most northerly of the 21 Franciscan California missions. The name Sonoma comes from a Wintun Indian word for nose, probably derived from a local Indian chief and tribe. Vallejo's home (1850) and the restored mission now form the main part of Sonoma State Historic Park. On June 14, 1846, a small band of American settlers invaded Sonoma and captured Vallejo and his Mexican military garrison. They raised an improvised Bear Flag of California (designed by William Todd, nephew of Mary Todd Lincoln) and declared a republic, which lasted until July 9. In the 1850s Hungarian count Agoston Haraszthy planted thousands of cuttings from European grape vines around his Buena Vista vineyard (east of the town) and laid the basis for the vast California wine industry. Wine-making and diversified farming are the city's economic mainstays. Inc. 1900. Pop. (1990) 8,121.