In the past couple of weeks, we have had the chance to finally venture out of the area and do a bit of local sightseeing(socially distanced and masked of course) during our search for our new RV. Our most recent shopping adventure took us near the historical California town of Woodland.
The
County Seat of Yolo County, Woodland was originally inhabited by the
Patwin. A native people who moved into the valley area from the north,
the Patwin enjoyed the warmer climate along with the rich farming soil
found this central California valley. The Patwin people enjoyed their
solitude until the early 1800s when British and American trappers made
their way to the area in search of beaver and otter pelts. The trappers
found what they were looking for and unfortunately they also passed on a
disease which decimated the Patwin.
In the Mid 1800s Frank Freeman acquired the then "Yolo City Store" from Henry Wyckoff with aspirations of building a large trading town for the large grain producing area. In 1851 Freeman fomally petitioned a post office for "Woodland, CA." Freeman's wife Gertrude thought the name was perfect for the wooded country that surrounded the area when she suggested it to her husband.
The Woodland Opera House, designed by San Francisco architect Thomas Welsh, was built during 1885 and opened 1886. It was the first opera house in the Sacramento Valley, and the center of theatrical entertainment for the large farming community. Little did they know tragedy would destroy the building less than 10 years later.
Behind the Woodland Opera District, in the Chinese section of the alley, fire broke out on July 1, 1892. The flames were fanned by strong winds and, in addition to a block of homes, the Opera House along with businesses along with a large area of Main Street were destroyed. Due to the ongoing country wide depression, people feared rebuilding might not happen. Luckily, David Hershey and other prominent businessmen of Woodland pulled together to rebuild, not only the Woodland Opera House, but by 1896 the rest of Main Street was ready for business as well!
Join me next week for a walk down Woodland's Historical Main Street!
Historical Data collected from:
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteThat was very interesting and beautifully illustrated, Beth! A good reminder, too, of the carrying of disease... YAM xx