CALISTOGA

I LOVE TO GO TO THE HOT SPRINGS OF CALISTOGA AND USE THEIR HOT POOLS AND MUD BATHS. THEY ARE VERY HEALING. THE INDIAN SPRINGS RESORT AND SPA IN NAPA VALLEY HA BEEN OPERATING SINCE 1862. HOWEWVER, THE WAPPO USED THESE SPRINGS FOR HEALING EVEN IN PREHISTORIC TIMES THERE ARE ABOUT 5000 PEOPLE HERE.

THE UPPER VALLEY WAS HOME TO A SIGNIFICANT POPULATION OF INDIGENOUAS FOLKS PRIOR TO THE LATE 1800'S. THERE WERE ABUNDANT OAK TREES AND ACORNS AS WELL AS BUCKEYES IN CALISTOGA. THEWAPPO HAD SEVERAL VILLAGES IN THE TOWN AREA. IN THE 1830'S -40'S THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT CAME HERE AND PARTITIONED THE LARGE RANCHOS AND THEY DISPOSED OF THE MISSION PROPERTIES.

SAMUEL BRANNAN WAS A LEADER OF A SHIP CALLED BROOKLYN IN SAN FRANCISCO IN 1846. HE PUBLISHED A SAN FRANCISCO NEWSPAPER AND PURSUED MANY BUSINESS VENTURES MAKING HIM THE 1ST OF CALIFORNIA'S MILLIONAIRES. HE WAS FASCINATED BY CALISTOGA 'S MINERAL SPRINGS AND PURCHASED 2000 ACRES HERE. HE WAS THE FIRST OWNER OF CALISTOGA'S INDIAN HOT SPRINGS RESORT.
THE RICH AND FAMOUS STAYED HERE INTHE 1860'S IN 1868 HE BUILT A RAILROAD TO CALIFORNIA FROM SAN FRANCISCO. THIS TOWN'S ECONOMY WAS BASED ON MINING SILVER AND MERCURY ON MT SAINT HELENA, AS WELL AS GRAPES, PRUNES, WALNUTS AND TOURISM..

ROBERT LEWIS STEVENSON WAS A VISITOR HERE BEFORE HE BECAME FAMOUS. HE HAD NOT WRITTEN HIS NOVELS YET. HE MET HIS WIFE IN SAN FRANCISCO IN 1880 AND THEY HAD THEIR HONEYMOON IN CALISTOGA. WHILE WRITING HIS STORIES THEY LIVED IN AN ABANDONED CABIN AT SILVERADO MINE ON MOUNT SAINT HELENA. HE KEPT A JOURNAL WHILE LIVING UP THERE.

CALISTOGA IS A DINSTINCT DESTINATION AND IS ON THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION. THEY HAVE NO FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS THERE - IT IS BANNED!

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