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by now, many people have discovered the charming, quirky bucolic town of sebastopol California with its great food. It's one of a kind shops and its abundance of creativity. What many of you may not be aware of is how Sebastopol came to be, what it is today.

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Right here in town lies a goldmine of history right in the old train station, across the street from the post office. This old building is today, the home of the West County Museum, which in turn is home to the Western Sonoma County Historical Society. Here lies

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a rich and colorful past that for over 100 years has played a central role in our town's history here. Volunteers archive and preserve our packed display exhibits and organized events, enjoy. Oh, if these walls could talk, they would tell stories of days long ago when life

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in Sebastopol was profoundly different from the world we know today. Back in the 1880s and 90s, Sebastopol was a small but growing farm town farmers arriving from the east and midwest were delighted to find rich, fertile soil, ample water and a mild climate ideal for raising

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bountiful crops. The only problem was transporting all this fresh produce to markets in san Francisco roads in those days were challenging at best being muddy in the winter and dusty in the summer. The wagons had to travel to Petaluma before being unloaded onto boats to cross

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the bay. Fresh produce was in for a long bumpy ride, too long for some crops Getting around got easier. When the first steam-powered railroad started service to Santa Rosa in 1890, the local newspaper, the Sebastopol Times proudly proclaimed verily, Sebastopol is booming. We are too soon

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have a fire engine and two trains a day now come to town Even better news came to sebastopol in 1904 when the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad started construction of an electric railroad which would go from Petaluma through Sebastopol and up to Forrest Ville. A branch

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line would go from Sebastopol to santa rosa That summer the tracks were laid on Main Street, but the first train to run on the new tracks was a steam powered locomotive loaded with cement and crushed rock from nearby stony point material to construct a new state

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of the art powerhouse to power the new electric railroad system. Two years later, when the 1906 earthquake shook, this structure was one of the few masonry buildings still standing. It still stands strong today for passengers. A small wooden depot was built beside the tracks by october

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electric passenger and freight service began and suddenly Sebastopol being the hub of the quiet and clean running system began to truly flourish Up to 47 trains a day now stopped here. Merchants in town could order a bicycle from San Francisco and it would arrive the next

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day workers could board and hop off at towns and farms along the line thanks to the new electric train, young people were now able to travel to school. So annalee High school was built in town. Many students boarded in Forrest ville Grayton Mill station and all

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the many stops along the way. Residents loved the passenger cars which were called palace cars. They were luxurious indeed, with padded upholstery, polished wood and etched glass windows. They were even heated and lit with electric lights as popular as the passenger service was though the biggest

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impact was on local agriculture packing houses sprouted up along the rail line and soon tons of produce was rolling south to Petaluma and then floated across the bay on steam powered river boats that were owned by the railroad company. Fruit could be loaded onto a train

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in the afternoon and it would be on breakfast tables in san Francisco the next morning. Not only was it fast and reliable, it was smooth, fragile berries could now be grown along the rail line and tons of fruit was shipped out daily from Grayton alone. Some

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of the fruit pickers were Children who arrived each summer from the Children's Aid society in san Francisco. Here they lived and camped at marlo's ranch. As fruit production soared. Sebastopol became known for its early season and exceptionally tasty Grabenstein apple indeed, Sebastopol had much to be

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proud of to promote and celebrate the apple harvest and draw visitors to town, the people of Sebastopol decided to throw a party. The whole town was decorated for the event. Everyone wanted a ticket to the show fairgoers from points near and far could come by train

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and disembark at the Sevastopol station right across the street. Even the aid society Children came into town for the excitement. Local hero Luther Burbank was the guest of honor. Once inside fairgoers were treated to a fantasy world made of apples. Over 100 years later, Sebastopol still

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goes all out to celebrate the Grabenstein Apple. Not only is the harvest in august celebrated, but also the apple blossom festival and parade take place each april. By 1917, Sebastopol had outgrown its small wooden depot. So prominent Petaluma architect Brainerd Jones designed an elegant new station

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made from the same stony point rock used in the adjacent powerhouse. The many employees of the Petaluma and santa rosa Railroad were proud of the new depot During the 1920s, the electric railroad also enabled a new industry tourism to emerge. Visitors from the cities could disembark

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at the Forest Hill station, check into the electric hotel across the street or piled into auto stages, some connecting with other railroad lines bound for fashionable resorts along the Russian River. Soon towns like boonville and Montevideo were swinging with music from the greatest big bands of

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the day. However, as popular as the train was, the passenger cars were becoming less profitable, the great Depression put a damper on travel and the age of the automobile was quickly dawning, much to the regret of many Sebastopol residents. The last passenger car of the santa

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rosa and Petaluma railroad rolled down Main Street on june 30th 1932 the freight service fared better. Fruit production was booming and the refrigerated box cars were still the best way to ensure speedy safe transit for the delicate cargo. The large packing houses had side tracks where

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they could fill up the cars quickly. Even during the Depression, there was lots of work to be had beyond shipping out. Fresh fruit, dried fruit and applesauce was sent all over the world. Even right in town, huge warehouses packed and processed apples. The building that houses

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our movie theater today was a massive apple vinegar and brandy plant Across the street from the train depot, a new post office was built on the old apple fairgrounds As roads continued to improve, trucking became increasingly convenient, reducing the need for the trains. In 1947, the

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quiet clean electric trains were replaced by much larger diesel-powered locomotives. Finally, in 1950, the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad ended their riverboat service that had applied the Petaluma Creek channel and crossed the Bay for 45 years. The sebastopol Apple industry continued to flourish through the 60s,

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but the train down main, once so welcome, was now viewed as a nuisance by some in town. Finally, in 1987, the train tracks were removed and the Joe Rodota Trail was created. Meanwhile, the Sebastopol depot had served a variety of businesses, but local historians had a

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vision to preserve the venerable building. In 1993, after many months of restoration work by volunteers, the West County Museum came to life. An old box car came to rest beside its old station and now stores much of the archived material for the Western Sonoma County Historical

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Society. Inside the museum, exhibits on local history are displayed and docents welcome visitors. Volunteers digitize and organize the many thousands of historical photos and documents as we move through time. Sebastopol keeps changing and evolving. Once a thriving agricultural center, it is now as dynamic and loved

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as ever, especially by those who know its past.