AbstractsHistory

The 28.5-mile long Kelly Road was constructed in 1953 by Paul Kelly and his wife to allow the transportation of lumber through the rugged mountains of northwestern Sonoma County from Annapolis to Cloverdale. For this study, Kelly Road was viewed as a transect through adjacent landholdings and an overview of historic-period land use, settlement history, and demography was prepared for the resulting corridor. The history of Euro-American settlement in the area mirrors certain trends identified nation-wide by rural historians and demographers. Briefly, there was a shift from semi-subsistence to commercial agriculture occurring con-commitantly with a population decline which resulted from out migration and a drop in fertility. During the period of Early Settlement, from 1865-1875, much of the land was claimed, some patented, by agriculturalists and sheep and cattle ranchers. Between about 1876 and 1890, these families enlarged their holdings, and the area experienced something of a fluorescence and its population increased in size and diversity. Following this optimistic time of Family Tenure, economic decline marked by Foreclosure and Speculation set in (1891-1900); many family enterprises failed during this period or were sold on the death of the head of the family. Next followed Corporate Investment (1901-1934), which was characterized by the consolidation of many family holdings by corporations, extensive land use, and stabilization of the area's population at a low level. The household formed the basic unit of analysis for the Kelly Road study. Project-area households were viewed from a number of perspectives to elucidate both local patterns and the participation of the area in national cycles.