Sonoma Mission 200: Time to Re-examine Our Story

Sonoma State Historic Park

Sonoma Mission around the 1950s or 1960s

The Bay Area District of California State Parks is engaging with local tribes, stakeholders, and the public to shape the future interpretation of Mission San Francisco Solano (Sonoma Mission). As part of California State Park’s initiative to Reexamine Our Past, we are taking steps to create an accurate and inclusive narrative of the Park’s complex history.

The Sonoma Mission was established July 4, 1823 and is the cornerstone of Sonoma State Historic Park located in Sonoma’s city center. It is the last of 21 California missions and one of few mission related sites that are protected and operated as a California State Park.

The mission’s 200^th anniversary is an opportunity to begin addressing shortcomings, broadening narratives, strengthening connections, and making the mission and its history relevant to a broader audience.

Focus on the Future

We would like to thank everyone who engaged with us and shared opinions about how California State Parks should acknowledge the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Sonoma Mission. Based on what we have heard over the past several months, we have determined that a commemoration may not be an appropriate way to mark this anniversary. Instead, we have decided to begin a long-term effort aimed at re-examining Sonoma State Historic Park in order to identify appropriate, meaningful, and impactful ways to contextualize this part of California’s history.

Project Updates

Please check back regularly for more updates.

The Sonoma Mission 200 Project

The Bay Area District is executing a three-phase project and has contracted the Sonoma State University Anthropological Studies Center (ASC). The “Sonoma Mission 200” project focuses on community input to help to define the scope of a mission commemoration and to shape the future of interpretation at Sonoma State Historic Park.

Phase I: Outreach/Event Plan Development

During Spring 2022 a multi-faceted outreach project was conducted to facilitate the collaborative development of a plan for how Sonoma SHP and the community will mark this historic anniversary. This effort included the Bay Area District holding a virtual public meeting, an in-person stakeholder meeting, a park staff and volunteer meeting and conducting an online survey. Analysis of project feedback and consultation with California Native American Tribal Nations is on-going.

Phase II: Plan Implementation

Working closely with the Bay Area District, ASC will coordinate meetings, develop and manage schedules, and communicate with Sonoma Mission 200 community partners.

Phase III: Project Legacy

ASC will produce a document that memorializes the Sonoma Mission 200 project. It will include the foundational data and feedback that informed the anniversary commemoration plan and its associated activities, and capture lessons learned. It will update the park’s interpretive themes that will inform the future of interpretation at Mission Sonoma.