Heaven knows, Sarah Bigelow Flint and her husband at that time, Isaac A FLint, did not come out with the thought of "Free" Land. We're going to have to go out on a limb here, and be far more romantic than that...they came for what could be called Paradise on Earth.

As an aside, we offer a theory for migration, that is not "Free" anything; but something much larger, like dominion-over. And Paradise was certainly on the minds of those in the first wagon trains. There was a lot of miserable hard work for those coming across the plains. It had to be an image of Paradise to keep their minds focussed. Nobody would work that hard for the thought of some "free" commodity. Only capitalists think that way. We don't think the wagoneers were capitalist; they seemed more like free-masons and ranchers. In addition, if there was some truth in the "Free Land" theory, then there's a whole lot of explaining that has to be done about all those who left the Oregon Territory (where free land was a fact) and headed south.

Nope, Paradise is what done it. Pure and simple.

But Mr. Parmelee got a lot of things right, too. That's what gets him up to four flags. Not an easy feat.

We like Mr. Parmelee's chapter on the US Army. This was an added feature to the history of the place, which makes a lot of sense. Especially in how Sarah Bigelow Cooper, and her husband James, made a lot of money at their Sonoma Hotel or Blue Wing Inn as it was later called. The influx of the military in a small town raises the standard of living for a lot of folk, and this explanation for some of the interesting artifacts, works well.

We find fault, in Mr. Parmelee's chapter on Land Titles. But only in small part. The general view of the problems was summarized well, but the particular problem of Sarah Bigelow (Flint) Cooper, was not. That is, when her husband James Cooper was murdered, she had no claim to the property, and with the good connections of friends, and old pioneers, half of the original square mile from Vallejo's Petaluma Ranchero was kept in the family until her oldest son, Thomas Spriggs Cooper, turned twenty-one. At that time, he could administer the estate, and keep the land vultures, such as Nicholas Carriger and Sears at bay.

Pioneer Sonoma was not the Paradise one had hoped for, but, in fact, during this turbulent time, Sarah kept her family together, and educated them all, and in their text books we find their reference to the house Cooper built, "Rose Vale." The town square may have turned to dust, and the houses burned in several fires, but Cooper's place withstood it all.