Cooper's Sawmill is a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

located almost two miles north of

Forestville, California Forestville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, California, United States. It was settled during the late 1860s and was originally spelled Forrestville after one of its founders. The spelling long ago b ...

, and is located in the jurisdiction of

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was the site of the first power-operated

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

used for commercial purposes in California.

History

Cooper's Sawmill was built in 1834 by John B. R. Cooper. It was located on

Rancho El Molino Rancho El Molino was a Mexican land grant in present-day Sonoma County, California granted by Governor José Figueroa in 1833 to John B.R. Cooper. The grant was officially confirmed by Governor Nicolás Gutiérrez in 1836. "Molino" means "mill" in ...

. Cooper built the mill approximately two years before he received a grant to Rancho El Molino. It became the first water power-operated

used for commercial purposes in the state of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Redwood Sequoioideae, commonly referred to as redwoods, is a subfamily of Pinophyta, coniferous trees within the family (biology), family Cupressaceae, that range in the Northern Hemisphere, northern hemisphere. It includes the List of superlative tree ...

lumber was the primary wood used at the sawmill. Its power came from

Mark West Creek Mark West Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 9, 2011 stream that rises in the Mayacamas Mountains of Sonoma County, California, United States. Tributarie ...

. In early 1841, the sawmill was destroyed by a

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

California Historical Landmark

On November 3, 1969, Cooper's Sawmill was designated a

References

California Historical Landmarks History of Santa Rosa, California Buildings and structures in Santa Rosa, California Sawmills in the United States 1834 establishments in Alta California {{SonomaCountyCA-struct-stub