Sonoma Valley, California

For its first hundred years as part of the United States, the Sonoma Valley, with an approximate population of 9,128, remained a quiet rustic area. Despite Vallejo's efforts, it the town of Sonoma lost its place as the county seat, and the Gold Rush took the flow of business and trade to San Francisco. The valley developed a flourishing wine industry that has survived two great blows, the phylloxera epidemic of the 1870s and the legal impactof Prohibition. After World War II Sonoma Valley began to grow, but it has remained isolated enough to keep its original beauty. Today it remains a vigorous center of the California wine industry as well as a growing tourist destination.