Spain Street is one of the most historically significant streets in all of California. It lies precisely at the northern terminus of the 1500 mile long El Camino Real. The founding of Mission San Francisco Solano (the Sonoma Mission) on July 4, 1823, marked the last in a line of 54 missions that extend from the southern tip of Baja California to Sonoma.

The contents of this website will present the historical significance of a number of structures found on Spain Street and important events that occurred there in Mexican times as well as in early American times.

Even before the advent of European culture we can see the importance of what would become Spain Street to the native populations. In choosing sites for the construction of missions, careful consideration was paid not only to natural resources but more importantly to the location of the Native American populations. The construction of the Sonoma Mission in 1824 was no exception. It is not difficult to visualize that a trail at this location would have connected the Miwok, Wappo and Pomo tribelets that populated Sonoma Valley with other Native Americans who populated Napa Valley. Along this route lies the Arroyo Seco Creek which even today shows direct evidence of former Indian habitation in the form of grinding rocks. Spain Street and the Arroyo Seco Creek provide the natural route not only to the Napa Valley but also to the closest site of marshland with reeds that were needed for basket weaving and for thatching material. The wetlands of Lovall Valley, directly to the east of Spain Street, were drained by Arroyo Seco Creek that flowed into Sonoma Valley. At the far end of Lovall Valley a gentle descent continued into Napa Valley. This route that begins with Spain Street would have been very important not only to the Indians but also to the missionaries who were soon to disrupt the ancient Indian culture and establish a sub-mission to the east.

Whether the Indians or Mexican missionaries had an exact name for Spain Street is unlikely; however circumstances changed with the secularization of the Sonoma Mission and appearance of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo in Sonoma in 1835. The first building that he erected was the Casa Grande for his family. It was built to the west of the Mission complex and directly north of the Plaza that he was also instrumental in laying out at this time. The road that extended west from his new adobe would soon be called Vallejo Street. The road to the east would be called Spain Street. It is these two streets that are today named West Spain Street and East Spain Street respectively.
 

Contributed by Peter Meyerhof, PhD, DDS