Prior to the mid-1800s a vast forest of gigantic redwoods existed in this area The trees towered to heights of over 350 feet and measured from 12 to 14 feet in diameter. The density of their foliage was so great that only an occasional ray of sunlight could penetrate to the fern-carpeted floor below. The early day Pomo Indians shunned the forest as a dwelling place of evil spirits. In the year 1865 a saw mill was erected on this tract of land to process the huge redwoods. Timbers from this mill were used as ties and in the construction of trestles for the transcontinental railroad completed at Promontory, Utah May 10th 1869. The settlement which sprang up adjacent to the mill was first called Stumptown as early day residents were forced to wend their way through a maze of huge stumps to go from one place to another. The name was later changed to Guerneville honoring George E. Guerne one of the pioneer founders of the early mill