California Governor Newsom announced an opportunity we couldn't miss. I instantly signed up for a special free pass to California’s State Historic Parks in honor of Juneteenth and America’s 250th Anniversary.

The site was established in 1811, atop a promontory up the coast from Port Rumiantsev (now known as Bodega Bay). Timber and a dependable water supply made this an attractive location, and in 1812, settlement building commenced, with the addition of a stockade, bell tower, two windmills, cattle yard, farm buildings, bathhouses, two blockhouses, two threshing floors, a home for the governor, a forge, a tannery, and a Russian Orthodox chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas. Along the cove below, a small shipyard and boathouse were erected. Most everything was made of redwood.

Encompassing over 3,400 acres, Fort Ross is still perhaps best known for the Saint Nicholas Chapel. Though the original chapel was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, it was rebuilt between 1915 and 1917. In the autumn of 1970, an accidental fire ripped through the chapel, destroying it once again.

By 1973, it had been reconstructed using lumber from the burned remains, a Russian Orthodox tradition. The original chapel bell melted in the fire, so a new one was cast in Belgium using rubbing and metal from the original bell. Two small inscriptions appear on the bell today: “Heavenly King, receive all, who glorify Him.” And, along the lower edge, an inscription reads, “Cast at the foundry of Michael Makar Stukolkin, master founder and merchant at the city of St. Petersburg."

Under the supervision of a Russian foreman, native Californians and Aleuts from Alaska who lived in earthen huts on the outskirts of the colony, regularly embarked alongside Russian colonists, on arduous harpooning expeditions at sea. They’d return with an abundance of seal and sea otter pelts, salmon, sea perch, and sea bass, and bird meat, eggs, and feathers, as well as salted sea lion meat and kegs of whale blubber, used for food preparation and lamp oil. The ocean proved more abundant than the land, where crops were never plentiful. It was too cold and moist for wheat to properly thrive. And though cattle were raised, grazing was limited due to harsh conditions.

The most profitable industry run by the Russians in California was hunting sea otters for their pelts, which needed to be treated and prepared at the Fort Ross tannery before they could be shipped back to Russia or traded with the Spanish. The tanners used lime from seashells and tannin from oak bark in the area and, in addition to sea otters, also prepared cowhides, deer hides, sealskins, wild goat skins, and sea lion skins. The goods made from these hides included shoes, leather, and deer hide suede.

Each of the buildings had laminated informational material. This one, in the warehouse described the photo, "Most sea otter pelts from coastal Alta California were traded by the Russians, English, and Americans to China. In the early 19th century, English and Americans could trade with China through Canton (near Hong Kong), whereas the Russians traded with China through their earlier established trading post at the more distant Kyakhta (near Lake Baikal and Mongolia). It was fashionable for the upper class to wear sea otter hats plus leather coats or silk robes featuring collars, trim or even lined with sea otter fur (if they were particularly wealthy). Pictured is Li Hung Chang, Prime Minister, Qing Dynasty, China." What an intriguing extra layer of history.

In 1839, officials of the Russian government decided to close and abandon the colony. The sea otter population had been depleted, and expectations for a vibrant grain, beef, and dairy industry could not be met. Shipbuilding was difficult and proved largely defective, with manufactured goods not returning enough profit to offset costs. Moreover, Russian claims to the territory were challenged by the new Mexican republic, and eventually, the colony proved untenable.

In 1841, the Russian-American Company sold the fort and its equipment to John Sutter, a Swiss-Mexican settler. Over the next several decades, the property operated as a working ranch focused on agriculture, livestock, and lumbering.

This site is historic for many reasons one of which was its innovations. The outpost became the site of California's first shipbuilding, wind-powered mills, and records of the region's natural history.

History is found everywhere and now we get to discover it for FREE. Cool stuff!