Editing Cloverdale, California (section)

==History==
Cloverdale began as an early [[stagecoach]] stop, known as Markleville, on the [[Rancho Rincon de Musalacon]] Mexican grant.  In 1856, R.B. Markle and W.J. Miller bought {{convert|759|acre|km2|1}}, which included the present site of the town, from Johnson Horrell. In 1859, James Abram Kleiser bought Markle's interest, and the town was laid out. The town was incorporated when the [[San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad]] arrived in 1872. By 1878, the railroad service provided three trains a day between Cloverdale and [[Ferries of San Francisco Bay]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://www.cloverdale.net/DocumentView.aspx?DID=297 |website=City of Cloverdale |title=General Plan }}{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
[[File:Cloverdale, California (circa 1871-1880).jpg|thumb|left|Cloverdale's first post office (c. 1871–1880)]]

In 1881, Jules Leroux and Armand Dehay established a colony south of Cloverdale named "Icaria Speranza", based on the French Utopian movement, the [[Icarians]]. The settlement ended in 1886 and today, there is a marker south of town where the schoolhouse was located.

Cloverdale Citrus Fair began in 1892.<ref>https://cloverdalecitrusfair.org/</ref>

The [[San Francisco Chronicle]] Wine Competition is run by the Cloverdale Citrus Fair. Since 2000, the San Francisco Chronicle has been its title sponsor.<ref>https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/nonalcoholic-wine-competition-20047118.php</ref>

Cloverdale suffered severe economic hardship, losing 500 to 600 manufacturing jobs between 1988 and 1994, with the closing of a fire equipment factory and the shrinking of the logging industry. On July 6, 2005, Cloverdale began its economic reform with the "RTB" (Real-Estate Transfer Bureau) plan granting money for businesses and commerce to return to the city. This plan fell through as the grant was moved to [[Los Altos, California]] and changed to the "1750" plan.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/05.02.96/cloverdale-9618.html | title=MetroActive &#124; Sonoma &#124; Cloverdale}}</ref> In 1993, 300 jobs were eliminated alone when Louisiana-Pacific closed its lumber mill. In 1994, Highway 101, which formerly bisected the town, was rerouted around town with a bypass. Some businesses closed, and many natives believed the bypass radically changed the town's character.<ref name="cloverdale.towns.pressdemocrat.com">{{Cite web | url=http://cloverdale.towns.pressdemocrat.com/2011/03/news/cloverdale-fights-economic-blahs/ | title=Towns, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Bay Area Newspaper, CA news| date=March 29, 2011}}</ref>

Since the bypass, signs of civic revival have occurred with the development of pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, a performing arts center, a brewpub, and a downtown plaza hosting live concerts and a farmers' market.<ref name="cloverdale.towns.pressdemocrat.com"/> In 1997, Clover Springs, a development with 362 houses, was opened on the south end of town. In 2011, the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District transferred {{Convert|250|acre|km2}} of former ranchland to the City of Cloverdale for use as a park and open-space preserve.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sonomaopenspace.org/docManager/1000001999/cloversprings.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=September 29, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140816152739/http://www.sonomaopenspace.org/docManager/1000001999/cloversprings.pdf |archive-date=August 16, 2014  }}</ref>