Eighteen twelve was a busy year for the Tsarist Government in Russia. Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Borodino, commemorated the same year by Tchaikovsky in his 1812 Overture; Moscow was significantly destroyed in a fire; and the Russian-American Company, a mercantile firm chartered by the Tsar, established  Fort Ross, the only Russian colony in the contiguous United States.

Tucked away in the woods in Sonoma County, California, Fort Ross (the name is said to derive from the Russian word “rus” for “Russian”) is about 11 miles north of Jenner on Highway One, one of the most scenic coastal roads in the world.

Perched on a bluff overlooking a cove on the Pacific Ocean, the Fort is surrounded by redwood trees. Originally, the land belonged to the Kashaya Native American tribe who signed a treaty with the Russians, allowing them to use a tract of their land. The Kashaya continued to live in the area of the fort as did a number of Alaskan Aleuts who were hired by the Russians to fish and hunt for sea otters.

Skip ahead two hundred years to what is now 3,200 acre Fort Ross State Park. The fort (which was reconstructed several times to repair damage from earthquakes and fires) is preserved essentially as it was in the 1820s.

As you walk through the trees towards the ocean, a stout, weathered, stockade wall appears, constructed of redwood timbers; at the northwest and southeast corners stand two blockhouses. The southeast blockhouse has eight sides and provides a clear field of fire to protect against attack. In all the years, however, the Fort’s defenses of between 12 and 40 cannons were never tested.

Inside the stockade stand five structures, only one of which is original (the rest are replicas). In the back, at the highest part of the compound with an open view of the entire area, is the house of the first Russian administrator (now named Kuskov House in his honor). The living quarters are upstairs; downstairs is an armory, lined with muskets.

In the northeast corner stands the small chapel, the first Russian Orthodox structure in the US outside of Alaska, adorned with a small belfry and a traditional onion dome. The Chapel was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake as well as by a fire in 1973. It was rebuilt, using some of the lumber from the burned building, as required by Russian Orthodox tradition. The original bell melted in the fire. The one outside the entrance was recast using a rubbing and metal from the original.

The Magasin, (a two-story warehouse)  stored the goods that Russia traded with Spanish and later Mexican California, as well as Britain, France, China and the rest of the US. Inside the barracks are samovars, pots and pans, dishes, and small icons replicating what the inhabitants would have used.

The only original Russian-built structure still standing in the fort is the Rotchev house. It was the home of the Russian-American company’s last administrator at Fort Ross, Alexander Rotchev, who lived here together with his noble wife, Princess Elena, and their three children, Olga, Elena and Konstantin. Stories from visitors relate how the Rotchevs filled their house with music and books as an antidote to the isolation and loneliness. Their story reminds us of the Siberian exiles, the Volkonskys, and how they lived in Irkutsk (see our earlier post about their story).

Outside the walls stands a reconstructed windmill — the first in California’s history — used to grind grain for bread to provision the Russian settlements in Alaska, as well as provide for the needs of the inhabitants of Fort Ross.

Across the gulch behind the Fort is a cemetery, marked with a Russian Orthodox cross. With a growing multi-ethnic community living around the Fort, a sacred spot was required for those who lost their lives. Over 131 men, women, and children are buried here.

The Russian-American company survived here until 1841 when it went bankrupt, and its Russian managers left to return home. Fort Ross still stands in remembrance of those Russians who were a part of California’s history.

PHOTOGRAPHIC TIP
As with all day trips along the California coast in the summer, gray skies and fog are a reality. The best light on the fort is in the afternoon. A wide-angle 14-24mm lens was useful as was a 28-300 lens for capturing detail. If you want to photograph details inside the buildings, a flash is required.

IF YOU GO
Fort Ross is located at 19005 Coast Highway One, Jenner, California; Tel 707-847-3437; www.fortross.org and www.fortrossstatepark.org. Like many state parks in California, due to budget cuts, it is only open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and major holidays. This will probably change as the State’s financial situation improves.

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