diseases to which Europeans were resistant. Soon after the
Sonoma mission was built, it was secularized by the Mexican government, and,
under the orders of Lieutenant, later General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, el
Pueblo de Sonoma (the town of Sonoma) was laid out in the standard form of a
Mexican town, centered around the historic plaza, which is still the town's
focal point. The raising of the first California Bear Flag and Vallejo's arrest
in 1846 by a band of Americans claiming to act on the orders of Col. John C.
Fremont was the initial act that founded the Bear Flag Republic. Vallejo later
transferred his allegiance with US statehood (1850), and with his amassed land
holdings guided the development of the town and dispensed large ranches
throughout the valley. California's first wineries were established here,
including Buena Vista Winery (1857) and Gundlach Bundschu (1858).
The other communities in the valley, such
as Kenwood, Glen Ellen, Schellville, and Boyes Hot Springs, were founded later
in the 19th century, some as resorts centered on the geothermic hot springs
that still well up from deep within the earth. Boyes Hot Springs and Agua
Caliente were popular health retreats for tourists from San Francisco and
points beyond until the middle of the 20th century. Today the Sonoma Mission
Inn in Boyes Hot Springs remains as a main destination resort, and the
wineries, the historic sites, and the area's natural beauty are the main
tourist attractions
