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The Sonoma Plaza Historic District is comprised of
80 acres containing 28 buildings and two objects of historic significance.
The National Register Statement of Significance reads:
Established June 1835 to check possible Russian expansion from Fort Ross and
to control the Indians, Sonoma Pueblo was the chief military base of the Mexican
Government in Alta California; Mission San Francisco Solano de Sonoma, founded
1823, is the last of the 21 California missions. On June 14, 1846, the raising
of the Bear Flag in the Plaza marked the beginning of the American revolt
against Mexican rule.
The eight-acre plaza itself was laid out by
General Mariano Vallejo in 1835
as a parade ground for the Mexican soldiers stationed at the
Sonoma Presidio.
It is the largest central plaza in
California, and as the site of the Bear Flag Revolt,
it can reasonably claim to be the birthplace of modern California.
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