INDUSTRY

  Natural resources in Sonoma County provide products of many industries. Fishermen fish along the seashore and large fishing boats go out from Bodega Bay into deeper waters for fish and crab.

  The lumber industry is very large. Redwood is harvested and was used in many buildings in old San Francisco and for railroad ties for the old railroad lines.

1880 - Logging giant Redwood trees

Douglas fir trees were used to build ships. Most of the trees grew in the western part of the county so that is where many lumber mills were built.

1880's - Guerneville

 The large logs were brought out of the forest by ox teams or floated down the Russian River to the mills.

Bringing timber down to the mill near Occidental

Guerneville lumber mill owned by George Guerne and Thomas Heald

The Korbel Family, who came from Czechoslovakia, are mainly know for their wines. However, they started out in the cigar business in the 1860's. They bought this mill in the 1860's to log lumber for their cigar boxes.

 By 1901 the area was logged out and the big mills closed.

  Today large manufacturing firms like Hewlett Packard and other electronic factories and plants are located in Sonoma County.