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Dear
Friends of Spring Hill Cemetery,
Sebastopol skies POURED rain Thursday night before our workday on Friday, accompanied by howling winds. It was touch and go as to whether or not we would be able to hold the work session as scheduled. But we decided to go ahead with it, despite the unsettled conditions. And - we were rewarded with very cloudy, but mostly dry conditions
Seven of us braved the weather. All the wild weather brought down quite a bit of Eucalyptus debris. As conditions were so wet, all our debris hauling was much heavier than normal, leading to a good work out for us all. We again filled our dump truck quickly.
We have long speculated on whether or not there was a physical building housing the Cumberland Presbyterian Church on Spring Hill land during the mid 1800s. We know that the church met here, but weren't sure how much of a permanent structure had been in place (or if they'd met in a tent). An article in A History of Sonoma County by JP Munro-Frasier indicated that there had been a structure, but we have never found evidence of it on the ground. Rae Swanson emailed me last week with another mention of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church (she wasn't sure of the source, but I think it is Twomey's History of Sonoma County). This second article goes into more detail on the timing of the church structure, and calls the site the "earliest settled by Americans of any spot in Sonoma County." Very exciting!! The two articles are included below, as well as attached pictures from our workday.
Thanks to all of you who joined me on Friday. We will meet again at the cemetery on Friday, May 5th. Please come and join us if you can.
Best Regards,
Sue
Cumberland Presbyterian Church (Think this is from Twomey's History of Sonoma Co. )
The Bodega* Cumberland Presbyterian Church was established at Spring Hill in the fall of 1851. The church was erected in this Green Valley spot, central to the Green Valley pioneer settlements, beside it was enclosed the cemetery wherein sleep many of the pioneers of that section, earliest settled by Americans of any spot in Sonoma County. The site was elevated above the valley, which experienced floods in the winter season, on that site the church was erected in 1860. For twenty-five years this edifice stood, a cemetery and a schoolhouse keeping it company, it was removed to a location on Morris Street in Sebastopol to serve as a church. It's final move was to a spot on Bodega Avenue where it was converted for use as City Hall.
*The name Bodega was attached to the church at Spring Hill because the name of the Bay of Bodega had long been given the region extending from the sea to the Laguna de Santa Rosa.
CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
The Sebastopol Cumberland
Presbyterian church was organized October 2, 1851. It was known until
September, 1876, by the name of the Bodega Cumberland Presbyterian
church, at which time the name was changed to Sebastopol. The
organizing members were Rev. J. M. CAMERON, Mrs. Mary CAMERON, C.
KAVANAGH, William M. REED, L. CLYMAN, Mrs. Harriett MORIN, Mrs. Nancy
HUDSPETH, J. C. THOMPSON, and J. M. REED. The following pastors have
served this charge: Revs. J. M. CAMERON, J. M. SMALL, J. J. MAY, E. C.
LATTY, J. G. JOHNSON, and others from time to time but not as a stated
supply. The present membership is thirty-five. The first church
building erected by this society was built in 1860, and was situated
about two miles west of Sebastopol. The present building located in
Sebastopol was erected in 1871; it is a fine large building and
affords ample room for its congregation. There is a good Sabbath
School connected with it.
---Source: History of Sonoma County:including its geology, topography, mountains, valleys and streams; together with a full and particular record of the Spanish grants; its early history and settlement ... the names of original Spanish and American pioneers ... and biographical sketches of early and prominent settlers and representative men, by J. P. Munro-Fraser, Alley, Bowen & Co., San Francisco, California (1880). Republished 1973 by Charmaine Burdell Veronda, Petaluma, CA
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