 When the forward thinking citizens of our community got together in the early 1900's they envisioned a modern electric rail that would help carry fruit, poultry, hops and lumber in and out of the area. The new system would also help to better link the people of Sebastopol, Graton, Forestville, Santa Rosa and Petaluma. The Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway (P & SR) was incorporated in 1903, with plans to make transportation easier for goods and citizens that earlier had to travel by slower horse drawn means.
The P & SR also provided passenger service. Businessmen rode the train to downtown Santa Rosa or Petaluma and children took the trains to school. A passenger could ride from Santa Rosa to Sebastopol in 15 minutesfor 25 cents in the days before automobiles took over the roads.
Our building was the original "Power House" supporting the P & SR. It was constructed primarily with stonefrom the local Stony Point Quarry and originally housed "step-down" transformers and massive batteries. This was one of two substations that powered the electric railway. Later, the building helped put our famous Gravenstein apples on many store shelves when it served as a freight depot for locally grown produce.
