Research/Resources
Santa Rosa’s Early Communities
Historic Districts:
- Map of Santa Rosa Historic Districts: https://srcity.org/DocumentCenter/View/13883/Historic-Preservation-Districts?bidId=
- Walking Tours – Historic Neighborhoods: https://visitsantarosa.com/neighborhoods-and-walking-tours
- Railroad Square Commercial Historic District: https://www.railroadsquare.net/
- McDonald Historic District video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw8S0r2yAew
- St. Rose Historic District: https://strosedistrict.org/
- West End Historic District: https://srwestend.com/
Santa Rosa Buildings on the National Historic Register
- Carrillo Adobe
- Church of One Tree
- Comstock House
- De Turk Round Barn
- John Cnopius House
- Hotel La Rose
- Luther Burbank House and Gardens
- McDonald Mansion
- Old Post Office
- Park Apartments
- Rosenberg’s Department Store
- Sweet House
- Wasserman House
- W. H. Lumsden House
- William Hood House
Early Santa Rosa Photographers
Below is an alphabetical list of identified Santa Rosa photographers active in Santa Rosa during the 1800s and early 1900s. There are links for those with photographs available on our website. By clicking on a photographer’s name, you will access a page containing biographical information pertaining specifically to the photographer’s time in Santa Rosa and images of the portraits by that photographer within this archive.
| Name | Studio Name | Business Address | Start Date | End Date |
| Beck | 1911? | |||
| Briggs, Egbert Thomas | Briggs Photo Gallery | 126 Fourth Street, 225 Fourth Street | 1899 | 1909? |
| Britton | 1908 | |||
| Davidson, Norvell Rice | N.R. Davidson Gallery | 219 Fourth Street | 1886 | 1908 |
| Donnel, J.W. | Fourth and B Streets (corner of) | |||
| Downing, Joseph Henry | See w/Rea, Rauscher | 1873 | 1878 | |
| Downing, Rea, Rauscher | Downing, Rea, Rauscher | Third Street (Third Street Gallery) | 1875 | 1884 |
| Hall, Fred | Elite Studios | Fourth Street | Before 1910 | Before 1910 |
| Hartsook, Freedom “Fred”* | Hartsook | 523 Fourth Street | 1910 | 1930 |
| Kemp van Ee, H. /Kempvanee | 410 Fourth Street (Glenn’s Block) | 1886 | 1902 | |
| Kraft, E. | Sun Beam Gallery | Third Street opposite the Plaza over Farmer’s Store | 1870 | 1879 |
| Kuykendall, Frank | Downings Bldg, East side of Plaza, Healdsburg | 1878 | 1879 | |
| Kuykendall, Frank (& Piggott) | 1886 | 1888? | ||
| Ley, Thomas Allen/Mary (wife) | Fourth and B Streets | 1893 | 1894 | |
| McClaire, Mort S. | Souvenir Gallery | Third Street, Corner 4th/B | 1889 | 1890 |
| McClearie, Joseph William | Elite Studios | 323 Fifth Street and 359 Fifth Street. (Beaver Street is listed in some ads.) | 1905 | 1909 |
| Miltz (Theodore) & Overton (Nicolas R.) | 186 Fourth Street | 1879 | 1880 | |
| Miltz (Theodore) & Swart (John) | San Francisco Gallery | 180 Fourth Street (Rendall’s Gallery) | 1876 | 1878 |
| Miltz, Theodore Grams | 186 Fourth Street | 1876 | 1878 | |
| Nelson, Theodore Julius | Nelson Studios | 539 Fifth Street (Upton Building) | 1914 | 1953 |
| Overton, Nicholas Ragan | Worked with Miltz | 186 Fourth Street | 1879 | 1880 |
| Piggott & Sheppard (1885) | Piggott & Sheppard | 1885 | ||
| Piggott & Sheppard (1885) Continued- | Piggott & Sheppard | 1885 | 1885 | |
| Piggott& Shaw (1885-1888) | Third Street Gallery | 1888 | ||
| Piggott, Harold Boyce (son of J.K.) | J.K. Piggott Co. | 667 Mission, 1057 Howard, San Francisco | 1942 | |
| Piggott, James Kenneth | Piggott’s Souvenir Studio | Fourth & B – Rendall Block | 1885 | 1935 |
| Piggott, James Kenneth (1890) | 1890 | |||
| Piggott, James Kenneth (1892) | Cloverdale | 1892 | ||
| Piggott, James Kenneth (1914) | Personal studio (SF) | 86 Third Street, San Francisco | 1914 | |
| Rauscher, Henry | Downing, Rea, Rauscher | 1875 | 1876 | |
| Rea & Piggott | Third Street Gallery | Third Street (Opposite Court House) | 1885 | 1885 |
| Rea & Wright (1889-1890) | 1889 | 1890 | ||
| Rea, Thomas Laughlin | T. L. Rea & Co. Gallery | Third Street (Third Street Gallery) | 1875 | 1890 |
| Reid | Fourth and B Streets | |||
| Rendall, Stephen Arthur | Fourth and B Streets | 1872 | 1874 | |
| Rey | 1908 | |||
| Ross & Piggott (1890) | 519 Fourth Street | 1890 | 1890 | |
| Ross, George W. | 1908 | 1910 | ||
| Ross, John | John Ross Studio | 517A, 519 Fourth Street, later 5th Street | 1890 | 1904-1906 |
| Sackrider | 1908 | 1909 | ||
| Scholz & McClearie | 323 Fifth Street | 1911 | 1912 | |
| Scholz, Julius F. | 410 Fourth Street | |||
| Schramm, Mathieu | 186 Fourth St., 520-522 Fourth St., 520-1/2 Fourth St. | 1881 | 1889 | |
| Shaw, Thomas George | Shaw Studio | 647 Cherry Street | 1894 | 1915 |
| Shaw, William | Third Street Gallery | 532A Third Street | 1888 | 1907 |
| Sheppard-Shepherd, Lafayette F. | Third Street Gallery | 1884 | 1886 | |
| Slade, A.H. | A.H. Slade | Corner Fourth and B Streets | ||
| Swanets, Oscar G. | Swanett’s Elite Studio | 459 Fifth Street | 1919 | |
| Swart, John Simeon | 1876 | 1878 | ||
| Thompson | Santa Rosa | |||
Local, State, and Federal Resources:
- Santa Rosa Cultural Heritage Board: https://srcity.org/585/Cultural-Heritage-Board
- Santa Rosa Review Procedures for Historic Property Owners: https://srcity.org/DocumentCenter/View/13891/Processing-Review-Procedures?bidId=
- Sonoma County History and Genealogy Library: https://sonomalibrary.org/locations/sonoma-county-history-and-genealogy-library
- New Deal Projects: https://livingnewdeal.org/us/ca/
- Charles M. Schulz Museum
- History Museum of Sonoma County
- Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery
Other Preservation Organizations:
- American Architectural Styles: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/21018307/american-house-styles
- Sonoma County Historical Society: https://www.sonomacountyhistory.org/
- California Preservation Foundation: https://californiapreservation.org/
- National Trust for Historic Preservation: https://savingplaces.org/
