In Northern California we'll be holding our conference at the lovely coast town of Gualala. The historic town of Gualala is located 100 miles north of San Francisco. The Pomos who lived in the area gave the Gualala River a name that meant "water coming down place." The town took its name from the river. The word the Pomos used was very similar to the present day pronunciation of Gualala. People from many different parts of the world came to this area to work and live. They each gave the name their own variation of spelling and pronunciation. The Southern, Central & Northern Pomo Indians were inhabiting the Mendocino Sonoma coast when trappers & settlers started arriving in this area. The Southern Pomo are called the Kashia. The Central Pomo are called the Yokiya. And the Northern Pomo are called the Bokeya. They territory ranged from about the Russian River on the south to the northern border of Mendocino county on the north and extended into Lake county on the east. Different tribes had different resources which they traded with other tribes. The coast region provided recreation and all kinds of edibles. By 1811, when 95 Russian trappers, accompanied by 40 Aleut and Kodiak Indians, arrived from Alaska and established a fur trading colony at what is now Fort Ross, many Pomos had already been forced into Spanish missions or onto White reservations. Also, during the 1820’s & 1830’s, the Pomos were subjected to ever increasing raids by Mexicans to secure slaves, and epidemic diseases such as smallpox and cholera. In contrast, the Pomos found the Russian traders to be friendly. The Russian trappers had found that having the local Indians on their side was to their advantage. Many of the Pomos worked for the Russians. There was also an intermingling of the two cultures, religions & languages. Some of the Pomos also married Russians. The Russian trappers only stayed until 1842. When the Russians returned to Russia some of the Pomos went with them.

Gualala

During the 1840’s & 1850’s the large numbers of settlers and fortune seekers moved into this area. Some of the Pomo worked for them. Others were enslaved. From the 1860’s on, tourists have been coming to Gualala. They came to hunt, to get away from the crowded cities and relax, to enjoy an area where flowers are blooming all year, to fish for steelhead or salmon and to dive for abalone. In the late 1800’s Gualala was a major commercial hub for the entire area. People came from miles away to sell what they had produced and buy supplies. By 1895 there was a dancing school. the Gualala Municipal Brass Band and an Opera House in Gualala.

We are offering 4* housing at select homes at: Sea Ranch