Editing Sonoma, California (section)

===Post-Conquest era===
[[File:The Plaza of Sonoma, ca.1874.jpg|thumb|left|View of [[Sonoma Plaza]], {{circa|1874}}]]

Following the American [[Conquest of California]] and the advent of the [[California Gold Rush]], local businesses prospered with the business brought by the soldiers as well as miners traveling to and from the gold fields. The prosperity and optimism about Sonoma's future promoted land speculation which was particularly problematic because of the cloudy records regarding land ownership.

Vallejo had granted land by virtue of his office as Director of Colonization before the pueblo was organized. Among the traditional duties of Alta California's ''alcaldes'' was the selling of town lots. Political factions backed different Sonoma ''alcaldes'' (John H. Nash, supported by American immigrants, and [[Lilburn Boggs]] (1796-1860), supported by Vallejo and the [[Californios]]) made the situation more complex.<ref>Parmelee p. 90-93</ref> Some property was sold more than once.<ref>Bancroft V:668-670</ref> A valid land sale depended on proof of the seller's [[chain of title]]. Over thirty subsequent years of lawsuits and land disputes were required before land owners in Sonoma were able to obtain clear titles.<ref>Parmelee p. 94</ref>
[[File:P15763coll2 5298 large (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|[[Sonoma Valley Unified School District|Sonoma Valley High School]], 1910]]
When the [[California interim government, 1846–1850|California interim government and U.S. military occupation]] beginning 1846, finally ended after four years in 1850, when California was admitted as the 31st [[U.S. state|state]] to the federal Union by act of the U.S. Congress, approved by the [[President of the United States|President]], on September 9, 1850, Sonoma was then named the first [[county seat]] town for [[Sonoma County, California|Sonoma County]]. About that time the flow of miners had slowed and the U.S. Army was soon leaving Sonoma. Business in Sonoma moved into an economic recession in 1851.<ref>Parmelee p. 101</ref> Surrounding towns such as Petaluma and Santa Rosa were developing and gaining population much faster than Sonoma. An 1854 special election then moved the county seat and courthouse and its legal work and entailed economic activity to [[Santa Rosa, California|Santa Rosa]].