The Blue Wing Hotel or Tavern is an adobe building situated on Spain Street opposite the old Mission on property owned by Mrs. Rose Pinelli.

The first official record of the property in the Recorder's Office is a deed executed by General Vallejo to four Spaniards: Antonio Ortega, Antonio Pinia, Alvizo and Davila of lot No. 35. The deed was recorded in 1837.The lot was 300 foot square and takes in the Blue wing and Sonoma Mission Creamery on Spain Street and the Pinelli property and a vacant lot where the Von Geldren house used to stand on First Street East. In the deed, part of the property was designated as Casa El Mellar or Billiard Parlor, which was at the corner of Spain and First Street East. There is no direct reference in the first deed of the adobe building known as the Blue Wing.

The next official record of property is in August 15, 1849, when Antonion Ortega deeded a part of lot No. 36 namely 50 varra on Napa Street by 40 Varra in depth to James Cooper and Thomas Spriggs. M. G. Vallejo witnessed the deed and the notary was L. W. Boggs alcalde. These are all the official records I have been able to gathering regard to the property itself.

The James Cooper mentioned above was my maternal grandfather. He was born in Janetstown, the Carthness, Scotland in 1818 one of a large family. His people were fishermen and he, at an early age went to sea. In 1846 {this date is probably wrong by two years or so, for the reason cited below} he was mate on a vessel that came to California for many years we had his sextant but it has been lost and for some reason decided to leave the vessel at San Francisco. While in San Franciso he accumulated some property and was to some extent affiliated with McAllister and O'Farrell. In 1847 {1846? He had to be there before the Bear Flag Revolt of June 14, 1846, otherwise he wouldn't have met Sarah coming down from Bale's mill on that day.} he disposed of his San Francisco holdings and came to Sonoma. The same year he joined forces with Thomas Spriggs to establish a partnership under the name of Cooper and Spriggs. The evidently did not have the hotel property until 1849.

Thomas Spriggs was an Englishman and I am under the impression that he was unmarried. Where or how my grandfather and he met I do not know. Mr. Spriggs was at one time treasurer of Sonoma and the recorder's office is a bond posted for $1000 the bondsmen J. G. Ray and James Cooper. Arch. Tennent and Lewis Adler, dated Nov 5th 1849 witness the document.

The firm of Cooper and Spriggs engaged in the hotel business from 1847 {probably a year or two ealier, see above} and ran it, as I presume, all early hotels were run with gambling room and bar from which they reaped a golden harvest. They also seem to have had something of a merchandise business and also bought cattle.

The Blue Wing had in the bar room dial tables about the size of modern card table. There is or was one at the Cooper place. The upstairs rooms had poster beds of some light colored hard wood. On the front porch at the Cooper place are two settees, which were in the bar room at the hotel. The iron box now in the blue Wing Museum is the original safe in which the proprietors kept their gold dust. For many years the gold scales were kept in the safe but they disappeared.

Not long ago, Prof. Hendry of the University of California in looking over the building state his contention that the building as we know it is made up of at least two building built perhaps at different times. There are many stories about the hotel and it's part in the history of the town, some of which make us think that the "Roaring Forties" was a good name for the period and, that this younger generation did not get their proclivities from strangers.

Not long ago, an early resident told of going to peek in the windows of the gambling hall to watch the miners gambling. Mr. Adam Adler has a brass candlestick that came from the Blue Wing with a bullet hole through the brass. We are allowed to let our imaginations run riot with that as a starter.

My own family were more inclined to tell of the family experiences while they lived therein. One which was always popular was this: my uncles, when little chaps, wore aprons and the miners far from home would ask them to hold their aprons up to catch nuggets or coins which the miners would toss to them. I have heard that the floor sweepings of the bar room had enough gold dust in them to make pin money for the lucky persons.