Gaye LeBaron: Dabbling in History

Map of Sonoma County
1877 map of Sonoma County. View in our Digital Collection

One of the things you learn when you dabble in history, either world or local, is that nothing ever really goes away. The search for a perfect world is … a perfect example. In Sonoma County’s history ‘ancient’ and recent, from the Utopian movement of the 19th century to the smoky uber-rural clusters of homemade homes in the coastal mountains, there are many stories to be told.

— LeBaron, Gaye. “Remembering Sonoma County’s Utopian Communities.” Santa Rosa Press Democrat, January 26, 2019.

Meet Gaye LeBaron, journalist, columnist and (though she would not say so) historian, and explore how she took decades of community stories and helped to amplify them, sharing with her audience some of the unheard voices of Sonoma County.

When Gaye tells a story, she keeps the focus on the topic at hand. She provides a roadmap to discovering how our land has been shaped and reshaped by the people and communities of the North Bay.

Her stories remind her readers that our past, present, and future are all interconnected. By drawing our attention to the stories that shape our community, she provides a way for us all — from indigenous people to descendants of 19th century settlers to new arrivals seeking a better life — to share and shape the North Bay’s future.

Further Reading