Virtual Guidebook to the Northern California Coast and Coast Ranges
Fort Ross State Historical Park
Sonoma County California

In the early nineteenth century Russian colonists from Alaska established settlements along the Sonoma coast. Fort Ross was a fortified site, as well as a base for sea otter hunting. Other nearby locations produced food, specifically for the Russian base in Sitka, and there was a port facility on Bodega Bay.

Fort Ross consisted of a timber palisade, blockhouse, and bastions armed with cannons, plus several buildings for production of food and other necessities. Being built of massive redwood timbers it survived well. The Russian Orthodox Chapel collapsed in the 1906 earthquake, was rebuilt, then was burned by vandals. Fort Ross is now largely restored to its original appearance and the highway has been re-routed around it. Along with the Spanish missions this is the premier historic site in California.