Joseph Hooker Ranch
16060 Serres Lane near Sonoma Highway
Aqua Caliente
Built 1850

A marker reads:

This was the home of Fighting Joe Hooker in 1851 to 1858, then Lieutenant-Colonel U.S.A. Later a famous general of the Civil War

Some other historic sites in Sonoma County are associated with Hooker: Leese-Fitch Adobe, Union Hotel and Blue Wing Inn.

The Joseph Hooker Ranch is also Sonoma County Landmark 94.

It is common knowledge that the term hooker was derived from Hooker's name. So many prostitutes worked around Hooker’s army during the Civil War that they became known as “Hooker’s Division” or “Hooker’s Brigade” or simply “hookers.”

As is often the case, common knowledge is probably wrong. The Oxford English Dictionary cites usage as early as 1567 when it meant petty thief or pickpocket. In America this synonym for prostitute dates back at least as far as 1845.