Hundreds of pallet loads of Sonoma County's historical records dating back to the mid-19th century have been removed from an outdated, fire-prone facility and transferred to a Santa Rosa warehouse.
The Sonoma County Archives are now in a safer location, following close calls during two recent wildfire seasons.
The pallets, loaded with hundreds of banker boxes, now pile halfway up to the ceiling at their new home in a Santa Rosa office building.
Ann Hammond, Director of the Sonoma County Library, said curators have sorted, catalogued and helped pack up the documents since April.
"It's not all really intensely historical, some of it's more routine," Hammond told KCBS Radio. "But it is important to maintain them."
There are county court records dating back to 1868, tax assessments from 1878, blueprints for century-old public buildings and even surveyor maps from before the Civil War.
Hammond said it was critical to move the collection from its former Sonoma Valley location in a county-owned storage facility. The documents almost went up in smoke – twice – during wildfires in 2017 and 2019.
The archives "came dangerously close to burning," Hammond said.
"(The fire) came within 400 hundred feet," she said of one wildfire. "It was pretty scary."
Now, the slice of Sonoma County history is safe and sound. The records' new home isn't permanent, however, as the county and the library hope to now have more time to collaborate on a long-term solution.
The relocated collection won't be accessible to researchers and historians until sometime in October.
