Sonoma Train District and Maysonnave Train Cottage

Sonoma Train District and Maysonnave Train Cottage is a winner for the 2021 Preservation Design Award for Cultural Resource Studies, Reports. Award recipients are selected by a jury of top professionals in the fields of architecture, engineering, planning, and history, as well as renowned architecture critics and journalists. Tickets and sponsorship options are available at californiapreservation.org/awards.

About Sonoma Train District and Maysonnave Train Cottage

Researching the historic context of the Maysonnave Cottage (slated for demolition by the City of Sonoma), an architectural historian discovered an intact Victorian neighborhood and Train Depot, concluding that the buildings contributed to a previously unidentified historic “Train District.” A 2008 Report, using the context of ‘Residential Architecture, 1835-1950,’ determined the Cottage was insignificant under California Register’s Criteria. Concerned citizens requested a re-evaluation. The later  2016 historic Report determined the Cottage was eligible for the National Register as was its surrounding neighborhood and train depot.  These Victorian folk buildings were typical of rural American frontier towns and possessed a high level of integrity.  The 2016 Evaluation successfully used the more precise context of “Rural Victorian Railroad and Residential Development, 1879-1942,” to demonstrate significance. The revised report also found that 80% of the Victorian buildings around the Depot were intact and determined the “Train District” eligible for the National Register under the same Criteria.