Fountain Grove was a utopian colony founded near

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area ...

, by

Thomas Lake Harris Thomas Lake Harris (May 15, 1823 – March 23, 1906) was an Anglo-American preacher, spiritualistic prophet, poet, and vintner. Harris is best remembered as the leader of a series of communal religious experiments, culminating with a group call ...

in 1875. Most of its settlers were followers of Harris's Brotherhood of the New Life and moved with Harris from their previous colony at

Brocton, New York Brocton is a village in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The name was derived by combining the names "Brockway" and "Minton", two prominent local families. The population was 1,335 at the 2020 census. Brocton is within the town of Portl ...

. The neighborhood now refers to the modern-day Fountaingrove, in north Santa Rosa, west of Hidden Valley and east of Bicentennial Way and Piner Road areas. It has 3,500-4,000 residents. Much of it was burned down in the

Tubbs Fire The Tubbs Fire was a wildfire in Northern California during October 2017. At the time, the Tubbs Fire was the most destructive wildfire in California history, burning parts of Napa, Sonoma, and Lake counties, inflicting its greatest losses in ...

; most homes were rebuilt or replaced by 2019.

History

Nagasawa Kanaye Kanaye Nagasawa (né Isonaga Hikosuke; February 2, 1852February 14, 1934) was a California winemaker, the first Japanese national to live permanently in the United States, a recipient of the Order of the Rising Sun, and a disciple of Thomas Lake ...

(1852-1934) was Harris' California lieutenant, who acted as developer and manager of the community's of vineyards near Santa Rosa. He also succeeded Harris and acted as leader of the brotherhood until 1934. The main structure was a two-story mansion originally occupied by Harris, his wife, and a handful of utopians; it was also used for important guest lodging and common meals. It was called "Aestivossa" by Harris, which he said meant "high country of divine joy" in a language only he understood. The structure was commonly referred to as the manor house. Luxuriously furnished, it was in the center of a ring of eucalyptus trees and little gardens and a lily pond, but Harris maintained that his "real palace" was in "interspace." According to Brotherhood guidelines, all of the structures in the Fountain Grove commune were built to be taken physically into the "Celestial Sphere." The manor house was demolished in 1970.

Modern neighborhood

Harris' community left a significant stamp on the history of Santa Rosa, and today that part of town is still called Fountaingrove, and a street, Thomas Lake Harris Drive, is named for Harris. The

round barn A round barn is a historic barn design that could be octagonal, polygonal, or circular in plan. Though round barns were not as popular as some other barn designs, their unique shape makes them noticeable. The years from 1880 to 1920 represent th ...

that was part of the winery was a noted landmark in the area until its loss to fire in 2017. The former Fountain Grove Winery buildings, now owned by Medtronic, are slated for demolition. The original winery was founded in 1882 and ceased operations in the early 1940s. Today the neighborhood is known to be home to some of the city's wealthiest residents. Fountaingrove and Skyfarm together comprise the most expensive neighborhoods in the city and the county as a whole. The neighborhood was severely affected by the 2017

, which destroyed many homes, along with the Fountaingrove Inn and the round barn.

References

External links

Fountaingrove Golf Course History
{{authority control Populated places established in 1875 1900 disestablishments in California Swedenborgianism Utopian communities in California Former populated places in California 1875 establishments in California Religion in the San Francisco Bay Area History of the San Francisco Bay Area Neighborhoods in Santa Rosa, California

History

Modern neighborhood

See also

References

External links