Road to Sabastapol

Road to where?

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Why?

The apples?

Although,  Sabastapol was originally famous for apples, we came for the wine, food and a working steam mill.

We were on the road in Marin County and heading for a couple days in Sonoma.    We stopped over in Sabastapol because everything was booked in wine country.

Sometimes the best adventures are in unexpected locations.   The steam mill was calling my name.

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The Steam Donkey pulled the logs into position.

That’s right, a working steam driven saw mill!   It was assembled from  used equipment from various sources dating from the 1880’s.  Sturgeon’s Mill started in the Coleman Valley in 1912.

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I love machines. The simplicity and functionality of these early inventions are being preserved at the Mill.
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Being here is like going back in time.

When the wood ran out in Coleman Valley, the mill  was shut down, dismantled and moved to Sabastapol.  Today it operates four weekends a year during the fall  with volunteers demonstrating how lumber was made in the early days of California.  It  provides a great resource for students and the public to experience this unique time in our history .

Sturgeon’s Saw Mill is must see if you find ourself in Sonoma Wine Country in September.

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Think I will take the coil wire to Cassie.
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A sixteen foot diameter tree would take two men a week to ax the fall hinge.
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Circular Saws are 60 and 42 inches in diameter.

 

 

 

 

 

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Logs are staged and fed into the saw on a rail track.

 

 

 

 

 

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Onsite blacksmith shop has demonstrations.

 

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Tools of the Trade
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Length and sizing station prepare boards for market.

 

 

 

 

 

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If only they had chainsaws in the 1800s.
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Everything had to be moved by hand.
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If a log was too big for the mill, they would drill and blast it in half.

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Well worth a visit.   What can be more cool than steam, machinery and sawdust?!

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If only they had one of these in 1850.
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I love gears, pulleys and anything that moves.
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