Read this to your employees in your group in the
classroom and bring this information with you for your onsite tour.
INTRODUCTION
The settlement of
Ross, the name derived from the word for Russia (Rossiia) was established by
the Russian-American Company, a commercial hunting and trading company
chartered by the tsarist government, with shares held by members of the
Tsar's family, court nobility and high officials. The Company controlled
all Russian exploration, trade, and settlement in North America and included
permanent outposts in the Kurile Islands, the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and
a brief settlement in Hawaii. From 1790 to 1818, Alexander Andreyevich
Baranov, the Company's chief manager, supervised the entire North Pacific
area. Trade was vital to Russian outposts in Alaska, where long winters
exhausted supplies and the settlements could not grow enough food to support
themselves. Baranov directed his chief deputy, Ivan Alexandrovich Kuskov,
to establish a colony in California as a food source for Alaska and to hunt
profitable sea otters. After several reconnaissance missions, Kuskov
arrived at Ross in March of 1812 with a party of 25 Russians, many of them
craftsmen, and 80 native Alaskans from Kodiak and the Aleutian Islands.
After negotiating with the Kashaya Pomo people who inhabited the area,
Kuskov began construction of the fort. The carpenters who accompanied
Kuskov to Settlement Ross, along with their native Alaskan helpers, had
worked on forts in Alaska, and the construction here followed models of the
traditional stockade, blockhouses and log buildings found in Siberia and
Alaska. Outside the main gate stood the dwellings of the Native Alaskans,
brought to the settlement as a labor force.
The history of
Fort Ross is a unique blend of diverse cultural groups. These groups
include the Russians, the Kashaya Pomo, Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo
Indians, the Aleutian and Kodiak Islanders, and the Spanish and Mexican
settlers. Their settlement included many more Native Alaskan people than
Russians. Creoles, the children of Russian men and Native North American
women, comprised a large group during this era.
ON THE TRAIL TO THE FORT
FROM THE
VISITOR CENTER
CALIFORNIA'S
FIRST WINDMILL
The site of
California's first windmill appears on the 1817 map of Fort Ross. From this
map the windmill is triangulated northwest of the fort on a rise midway
between the Northwest Blockhouse, the Visitor Center and Highway One. The
windmill is visible on the 1841 watercolor by Russian naturalist and artist,
Ilya Gavrilovich Voznesenskii. Two
windmills were still there in 1841, with their grindstones, along with an
animal powered mill. The original
Russian millstones are now inside the fort compound beside the west gate.
The windmills highlight the important
agricultural aspect of the Russian-American Company settlement at Fort Ross.
One important reason for the establishment of the colony was to grow wheat
and other crops for the Alaskan settlements. At Fort Ross the coastal fog,
wind, rocky terrain, gophers and lack of trained agriculturalists combined
to thwart this effort.
Although the
Company established three farms at inland sites between Fort Ross and Port
Rumiantsev (Bodega Bay), and agriculture intensified after sea otter hunting
diminished in the early 1820s, production was still insufficient. Trade with
Spanish and Mexican California was conducted to increase the food supply to
Alaskan settlements, and after 1839 a contract with the Hudson's Bay Company
supplied Russian Alaska with grain and other needed supplies.
On the hill to
the north just below the tree line, you can see the Russian orchard.
The
original Russian orchard encompassed two to three acres, and contained
approximately 260 trees at its peak. Fruit trees were planted to provide for
the Ross settlement in the early 1800s, and to supplement other agricultural
products such as wheat and barley grown in California and shipped to the
Russian colonies in Alaska. It has not yet been determined whether the
oldest surviving trees date back to the Russian settlement.
KASHAYA
POMO—THE FIRST INHABITANTS
The Kashaya Pomo,
who lived in this area when the Russians arrived, were a spiritual,
peace-loving people hunting game and gathering wild foods abundant in the
area.
The
Kashaya lived on the lands from the Gualala River to Salmon Creek located
just north of present day Bodega Bay. The name Kashaya, which means “expert
gamblers”, was given to them by a neighboring Pomo group. The Kashaya,
superbly matched to their environment, moved their homes from the ridges in
the winter to the ocean shore in the summer, hunting and gathering food from
the ocean and the land. Along the shore there were plentiful supplies of
abalone, mussel, fish and sea plants. Sea salt was harvested for domestic
use as well as for trading. Plants (acorns and seeds) and animals (deer, elk
and a vast number of smaller animals) provided abundant food inland. The
Kashaya created a wide variety of tools, utensils, basketry, and objects of
personal adornment which reflected a high degree of technical knowledge,
design and artistic ingenuity. Their basketry, a ritual art, has achieved
extraordinary respect. The Kashaya’s first encounter with Europeans was with
the Russians. They provided much of the labor for agricultural efforts at
Ross. The high land beyond the highway supported the villages of the Kashaya
Pomo while they worked at Ross.
THE VILLAGE
COMPLEX— SLOBODA
Most of the
Russian-American Company population lived outside the fort. Only the higher
ranking officials and visitors lived inside. Lower-ranking Company employees
and people of mixed ancestry lived in the village complex of houses and
gardens that gradually developed outside the northwest stockade walls.
Intermarriage between Russians and Alaska Natives was commonplace. Their
children, known as Creoles, formed a large part of the colony's population.
Population varied over the years. In 1836 Ioann Veniaminov reported:
"Fort Ross contains 260 people: 154 male and 106 female. There are 120
Russians, 51 Creoles, 50 Kodiak Aleuts, and 39 baptized Indians."
Vallejo in
1833 describes the village outside the fort: "The village of the
establishment contains 59 large buildings… They are without order or
symmetry and are arranged in a confusing and disorienting perspective.
Inside the walls there are nine buildings, all of them large and attractive,
including the warehouses and granaries." Later, the inventory for Mr.
Sutter in 1841 lists: "twenty-four planked dwellings with glazed windows,
a floor and a ceiling; each had a garden. There were eight sheds, eight bath
houses and ten kitchens."
[Graphic:
Superimposed on portion of Settlement Ross, 1841by I.G. Voznesenskii.
GRINDING STONES
These grinding stones up to three feet in diameter and one foot thick were
made of indigenous stone. They were once used for grinding flour in
California's first windmills.
ROTCHEV HOUSE
Of the
six buildings presently within the fort compound only one, the Rotchev
House, is an original Russian-built structure. It is a National Historic
Landmark. The Rotchev House is unique and nationally significant because it
is one of only four surviving buildings built in the Russian-American
colonial period, and the only surviving Russian-built structure outside of
Alaska.
The exterior of the Rotchev House was restored to its late-1830s appearance
in a series of modifications between 1925 and 1974.
Numerous
rare examples of original Russian building techniques are visible.
The interior is
now the focus of a five-year preservation and furnishing project.
The Rotchev House was constructed circa
1836 to serve as the home of Alexander Rotchev, the Russian-American
Company's last manager at Fort Ross, his wife Elena, and their children.
Alexander Rotchev was an intelligent well-traveled person and a poet. His
wife, Princess Elena, a descendant of the titled nobility, was also
accomplished in the arts and conversant in several languages. Accounts
indicate that the Rotchev House was considered a relatively refined and
properly furnished residence, given its location on the frontier. A French
visitor remarked that the Rotchevs possessed a "choice library, a piano, and
a score of Mozart." The hospitality of the Rotchevs was highly regarded.
They lived in their Fort Ross home until July
of 1841.
During
the American ranching era following the Russian settlement, the Rotchev
House was enlarged with a two story addition and a long front porch by the
owner William Benitz. It is possible that the existing fireplace was added
at that time. Later, when Fort Ross was part of the George W. Call Ranch,
the enlarged structure became the Fort Ross Hotel.
OFFICIALS'
QUARTERS
This building was built before 1817 and was originally the site of company
workshops. On the 1817 map it was referred to as "house of planks
containing a foundry and workroom for medical aide". It was refurbished
in 1833 to
provide Company
officials and visitors with accommodations. Reconstruction of the
Officials' Quarters, demolished during the 1916-18 Chapel reconstruction,
was completed in 1981.
SOUTHEAST
BLOCKHOUSE
The
original blockhouses were built prior to 1817.
The southeast
blockhouse was reconstructed in a number of phases between 1930 and 1957.
Original floorboards from the Officials' Quarters were used for flooring.
This southeast blockhouse has eight sides
and offers a clear field of fire, protecting the south and east stockade
walls from possible attack. The Spanish were a potential threat to the
colony, and the armaments were always ready, but the defensive value of the
fort was never tested. The naval cannons in this blockhouse were used to
signal and welcome visiting dignitaries.
Historical
accounts of the numbers and distribution of the Fort Ross cannons varied
over the years. The 1822 the diary of Fr.
Mariano Payeras
mentions: "...two bastions, one in the
northern corner with five guns on two floors, and another on the south with
seven guns… Also within the presidio they have four mobile cannons with
their gun carriages."
Mariano G.
Vallejo in 1833: "12 pieces of artillery on two towers … of 8 caliber,
six in each one… All of these pieces are mounted on naval gun carriages
except for two "violentos" of 3 caliber…" In 1836 Sir Edward Belcher
states "These towers, armed with three guns each… In the center of the
yard or square, in front of the governor's staircase, a brass nine-pounder
gun commands the gateway…" 1837 William A. Slacum "…mounts four 12
lb. carronades on each angle, and four 6 lb brass howitzers fronting the
principal gate…" 1841 John A Sutter: "From the Russians I have got
only one fine brass field piece (mounted with caisson)… This piece has been
cast in St. Petersburg, 1804."
The four cannons
now in the center of the fort compound are contemporary reproductions; two
are capable of firing. They are 5 ½ inch howitzers mounted on field
carriages. In the southeast blockhouse there are 12 pound carronades on
naval carriages, as well as a [two?] reproduction 4 pounder bronze Russian
cannon[s].
STOCKADE WALLS
The original
stockade walls and sally ports deteriorated rapidly. They were reconstructed
several times on a piecemeal basis between 1929 and 1989. After Highway One
was rerouted to bypass the Fort in 1972, the stockade was finally
re-enclosed for the first time since the 1800s.
The original walls of the fort were
approximately 1204 feet long (172 Russian sazhens) and 14 feet high
(2 sazhens). They were held together by a complex system of mortised
joints locked by wooden pins. The top truss and the sills were locked into
main posts spaced about 12 feet apart extending about 6 feet into the
ground.
CHAPEL
The
Chapel was originally built in the mid-1820s. It was the first Russian
Orthodox structure in North America outside of Alaska, although Ross had no
resident priest. The chapel was probably built by the settlement's
shipbuilders. In 1836, Father Ioann Veniaminov, who later became Bishop of
Alaska and then Senior Bishop of the Russian Empire, visited the settlement
and conducted sacraments of marriage, baptisms, and other religious
services. Father Veniaminov had been an active missionary among the native
Alaskan people. Unlike the Spanish, the Russian priests in North America
baptized only those natives who demonstrated a knowledge and sincere
acceptance of Christian belief.
The
chapel is constructed from wooden boards... It has a small belfry and is
rather plain; its entire interior decoration consists of two icons in silver
rizas. The chapel at Fort Ross receives almost no income from its members or
from those Russians who are occasional visitors.
Journal of Father Ioann Veniaminov, 1836.
The
chapel was partially destroyed in the 1906 earthquake.
The foundation
crumbled and the walls were ruined; only the roof and two towers remained
intact. Between 1916 and 1918, the Chapel was rebuilt using timbers from
both the Officials' Quarters and the Warehouse.
On
October 5, 1970 the restored Russian chapel was entirely destroyed in an
accidental fire. It was reconstructed in 1973.
Following Russian Orthodox tradition, some lumber from the burned building
was used. The chapel bell melted in the fire, and
was
recast in Belgium
using a rubbing and metal from the original Russian bell. On the bell is a
small inscription in Church Slavonic which reads "Heavenly King, receive
all, who glorify Him." Along the lower edge another inscription reads, "Cast
at the foundry of Michael Makar Stukolkin, master founder and merchant at
the city of St. Petersburg."
According to Russian Orthodox tradition, the cross on the chapel cupola has
a short bar on the top representing a sign nailed to the cross: "Jesus of
Nazareth-King of the Jews"; the middle bar represents Christ's crucifixion;
the bottom bar, to which Christ's feet were nailed, points toward heaven
(signifying the thief on the right who repented) and downward (signifying
the disposition of the mocking thief).
In 1925,
the Chapel began to be used for Orthodox religious services, and it
continues to be used for such services every Memorial Day and Fourth of
July.
KUSKOV HOUSE
The Kuskov
House was the residence of Ivan Alexandrovich Kuskov, who founded Ross and
was the first manager. It served as the manager's house from before 1817
until 1838. In the upstairs were living quarters, downstairs an armory.
Four of the Fort's five managers lived here.
First hand accounts describe its
historic use: The first room we entered was the armory, containing many muskets, ranged
in neat order; hence we passed into the chief room of the house, which is
used as a dining room & in which all business is transacted. It was
comfortably, though not elegantly furnished, and the walls were adorned with
engravings of Nicholas I, Duke Constantine, &c...
An (anonymous) Bostonian’s
description, 1832. The old
house for the commandant, two stories, built of beams, 8 toises [sazhens] long by 6 wide, covered with double planking. There
are 6 rooms and a kitchen. Inventory for Mr. Sutter, 1841. The
Kuskov House reconstruction was completed in 1983, based in part on the plan
of 1817.
The
Voznesenskii Room is in the upstairs of the Kuskov House on the northeast
corner. Among the later visitors to Ross was the naturalist and artist, Ilya
Gavrilovich Voznesenskii. A trained scientist and competent graphic artist,
Voznesenskii was sent by the Imperial Academy of Sciences to explore and
investigate Russian America. Many important sketches of the Ross Settlement
and its surrounding area come from Voznesenskii’s hand, the result of a
year-long visit to Northern California. His avid interest in California’s
flora and fauna, as well as Indian life, took him far afield by foot, boat,
and horseback. On these and other expeditions, Voznesenskii was able to
gather an ethnographically invaluable collection of California Indian
artifacts.
NORTHWEST
BLOCKHOUSE
The
original was built in 1812. In 1948 ruins of the blockhouse were removed,
and it was reconstructed in 1950-1951.
The Northwest
Blockhouse has seven sides. As a watchtower for sentries with muskets and
cannons, it protected the north and west stockade walls from potential
attack by land. Each blockhouse carried a flagstaff, used to signal
colonists in case of attack or provide a navigational aid for ships
approaching Ross. From this blockhouse could be seen the two windmills
which were located beyond the fort compound.
The three cannon
in this blockhouse are of unknown provenance.
WAREHOUSE or
RUSSIAN MAGAZIN
This two-story
Russian-American Company warehouse, or magazin, functioned both as company
store and as a warehouse where supplies for agricultural operations and
hunting were documented, assessed and stored for distribution.
Reconstruction of this warehouse is being conducted by California State
Parks.
Goods stored in
the warehouse reflected extensive Russian trade with Spanish and later
Mexican California, as well as Britain, the United States, Europe and China.
The Pacific Coast as far north as the northern boundary of the current state
of Washington was claimed by the Spanish, though in 1812 they had no
settlement north of the Presidio of San Francisco. The Governor of Spanish
Alta California, Josė Joaquin de Arrillaga, was friendly with the Russians,
and profited by trade. After his death, the Spanish took a harder line,
demanding the removal of the Russian colony. While trade with the Russians
was strictly forbidden by Madrid, the Spanish colonists found ways to get
around the rules, and trade between Settlement Ross and the Spanish colonies
continued. Eager to buy goods made by the Russians, the Spanish traded
food, which was sent to the Alaskan settlements. When Mexico separated from
Spain in 1821, trade with Ross assumed greater importance as the Russians
provided military goods to the former Spanish colony, which no longer had a
mother country to supply it.
WELL
Archaeological
excavations indicate that the original well cribbing was 34 feet deep.
Though there was a nearby creek, the well inside the fort compound offered
security in case of attack. The site for the settlement of Fort Ross was
partially selected because of the proximity of water. The site was also
chosen because of nearby timber for construction, the flat coastal terrace
surrounding it on which to grow crops, and because it was a defensible site
with inaccessible ridges protecting the rear, and a small defensible harbor
below.
NATIVE
ALASKAN VILLAGE SITE [Also an interpretive panel]
Outside the
main gate of the fort stood the dwellings of the Native Alaskans who were
brought to the settlement by the Russian-American Company to hunt sea
mammals and provide a work force for the colony. The Native Alaskan Village
Site was the primary residential area for single Native Alaskan men, Native
Alaskan families, and interethnic households composed of Native Alaskan men
and local Native Californian women. The village was situated on the marine
terrace directly south of the stockade walls. The extensive archaeological
deposit sits on approximately one-half acre, and was investigated by
archaeologists from State Parks and University of California, Berkeley, in
the summers of 1989, 1991, and 1992.
The Alaska
Natives brought their native baidarkas, swift maneuverable kayaks,
used for hunting and transport. From these baidarkas they hunted the
valuable sea otter and other sea mammals along the California coast and from
a base on the Farallon Islands. Hunted by the Spanish, English, Americans
and Russians the number of sea otters was greatly diminished by the early
1820s. The Russian-American Company made the first efforts at marine
conservation in the North Pacific when they established moratoriums on fur
seal and sea otter hunting. In 1834 the Company stopped the harvest of sea
otters for 12 years, and then imposed a strict yearly limit.
SANDY BEACH
COVE
Sandy Beach
Cove lies below the fort. The principal port of the settlement remained 19
miles to the south at Port Rumiantsev (Bodega Bay). There was frequent
travel and transport of goods between Sandy Beach Cove and Port Rumiantsev
in Russian launches and Native Alaskan baidarkas (kayaks) and
baidaras (large, open skin boats used to carry cargo and up to 15
passengers).
In the cove
area below the settlement were a number of buildings including a shed for
the baidarkas, a forge and blacksmith shop, tannery, cooperage and a
public bath. There was a boat shop and shipways for building ships. Farm
implements and boats were sold and traded to the Spanish, and four
Russian-American Company ships—three brigs and a schooner—were the first
built on the California coast. The shipyard was abandoned by 1825, but
smaller boats continued to be built.
[Graphic?
Perhaps superimposed on Plan of Fortress Ross (1817) Detail from the
Russian-American Company map sent to Madrid. Original map in State Naval
Archive, St. Petersburg, Russia. By 1817 the Russian Cemetery is marked as
well as a number of structures in the cove and the brig Rumiantsev built in
1816. Also include graphic of brig Buldakov in Sitka Harbor,
Mikhailov, 1827.]
THE RUSSIAN
CEMETERY
Across the
gulch to the east Russian Orthodox crosses mark the site of the settlement's
cemetery. Over 150 people were buried in the cemetery during the
Russian-American Company's thirty-year settlement here.
“To the northeast at a cannon
shot’s distance they have their cemetery, although unfenced. In it there is
a noteworthy distinction... [a] mausoleum atop a sepulcher of three square
steps, from larger to smaller. Above these was a pyramid two yards high,
and over it a ball topped off by a cross, all painted white and black, which
is what most attracts one’s attention when you descend from the mountain.
Over another burial… they placed only something like a box, and over the
Kodiaks a cross... All of the crosses we saw are patriarchal; a small cross
above and a larger cross nearby like arms, and below, a diagonally placed
stick...”
Payeras, 1822.
In 1990 the University of Wisconsin
Milwaukee assisted the California State Parks in a project intended to
better understand the boundaries and composition of the historic Russian
cemetery. Excavations to locate and identify the individual Orthodox burials
were conducted. The names of individuals associated with specific burials
are not known, although researchers have identified a lengthy list of people
who died at Fort Ross and were most likely buried here. The Ross settlement
was a mercantile village with many families, and there are a large number of
women and children buried in the cemetery. Remains have been re-interred and
given last rites by priests of the Russian Orthodox Church. Artifacts, such
as beads, buttons, cloth fragments, crosses and religious medals found in
the cemetery restoration project, will help researchers better understand
the Russian settlement’s culture.
Excerpted from A
Guided Walk at Fort Ross State Historic Park – published by Fort Ross
Interpretive Association – 2004.
The following contracts for Promyshlenniki, Creoles, and Aleuts, provide a
very clear picture of the advantages and disadvantages of working for the
Russian-American Company. Have the students compare this to their own
contract.
Russian-American
Company, 1820
(Money is converted
from Rubles & Piasters to Circa 1820 United States Dollars)
The Company Will
Provide:
1. A seven-year
passport allowing you to reside in the American Settlements.
2. Legal payment of
your taxes to your home province.
3. Transportation to
your assigned post and return to point of departure. You
will be paid 50¢ per
day for food and must perform shipboard duties during your passage.
4. Free medical
care. The sick in the infirmary will receive fresh food, tea and sugar
and medication without cost.
5. Housing is
provided to bachelors at company expense.
Your Responsibility
to the Company:
6. The term of this
contract is seven years.
7. You pledge to
obey the colonial administration and your superiors at all times.
8. You promise not
to trade for your own gain with foreigners or American natives during
the terms of this contract.
9. You must not use
furs that are valuable to the company as articles of personal clothing.
10. You pledge to
avoid the following vices: drunkenness, extravagance, quarreling and
accumulation of large debt.
Compensation:
11. As agreed
between the Promyshlenniki and the company, each hunter will
receive $175.00 per year to be paid monthly in Russian-American Company
scrip.
12. At the
beginning of each year, you will be paid $25.00 for necessary tools and
equipment for your trade and $10.00 per month to keep your gear in good
condition.
13. Each
promyshlennik will receive thirty-six pounds of flour per month at
company expense.
14. Taxes to your
home district will be automatically deducted from your salary up to
$25.00 per year.
15. Up to one-third
of your salary may be deducted each month to pay debts owed to the
company.
16. Employees are
required to pay for their own clothing and footwear. Goods Available
at the Company Store:
17. Each month you
are allowed to buy one pound of tea, three pounds of granulated sugar,
one bottle of molasses, and one pound of tobacco.
18. Unmarried men
are allowed to buy fifteen pounds of flour, six pounds of groats, and
six pounds of peas each month.
19. Married men
without children are allowed to buy thirty pounds of flour, eight pounds
of groats, and ten pounds of peas each month.
20. Married men
with children are allowed to buy the same quantities as above with an
additional four pounds of groats and six pounds of peas per child.
21. Flour, groats
and peas will be sold to Promyshlenniki at the usual 10-15% mark
up from company cost.
22. Tea, sugar,
molasses and tobacco will be sold at the usual 40-45% mark up from
company cost.
23. Married men
with families may purchase bread according to the size of their
families. Bread is priced at company cost with no mark up.
24.
Promyshlenniki are allowed to buy all other goods in the company
store at the prevailing mark up, except those items that are reserved
for superior classes.
Holidays:
25. One cup of rum
and 1/2 pound of meat will be given to each man on the following
holidays: 1) Epiphany 2) Archangel Michael's Day 3) Easter 4)
Christmas 5) The Czar's birthday 6) The Czar's Saint's day 7) The
anniversary of the Czar's ascension to the throne and 8) The
anniversary of the Czar's coronation.
26. On the above
holidays each man is allowed to buy one bottle of rum at the usual mark
up.
27. On each man's
own birthday, he is allowed to buy one bottle of rum at the usual mark
up.
Bonuses:
28. The chief
Manager has the right to give bonuses, beginning at $2.50 per man.
Bonuses will be paid at the end of the year and can reach as high as
$50.00.
Debts:
29. Those who
accrue debts to the company must pay them through service, and must
neither ask nor petition to be released from this portion of the
contract.
WALKING IN FROM THE FORT ROSS REEF CAMPGROUND:
By the time the long and winding car ride is over (you may want to supply
each car with a few plastic bags in case of car sickness emergencies), the
students are truly excited. It is a VERY good idea to burn off a bit of that
energy before they arrive at the fort itself.
The walk from the Reef Campground to the fort is a wonderful experience. It
is a short walk (only about a mile, 15-30 minutes), safe away from the edge
of the cliffs, beautiful and a great way to begin the students’ historical
experience. It is a wonderful visual experience to see the fort looming
ever larger on the coastline as you get closer and closer.
The campground is about ten miles north of Jenner. It is a good idea to plan
for a snack when you arrive. When everybody has arrived, all cars will drive
to the fort to quickly unload the gear, leaving behind the teacher, children
and enough adults to make the walk safely. Note: The campground is closed
December 1 through March 31. Please walk around the gate. There is a pay
phone at the campground entrance. You must monitor the students at all
times, to avoid misuse of this phone.
Walk downhill through the campground until you get to the parking
area/turn-around at the bottom of the road. Look up the hill to the North
for the trail to Fort Ross. The trail is marked. Follow the trail to the
Sandy Cove; descend to the sand, cross the creek, and up to the fort. Don’t
rush on the hike. Encourage them to ask questions. Look at the local flora
and fauna on the marine terrace and out to the sea for ships or whales.
Taking your time to enjoy and learn gives the drivers more time to unload.
If the cars are still unloading in front of the fort, then slow your walk or
spend some time at the cove.
WARNING:
On very rainy days or on days just after heavy rains, the creek may be
impassable. If it has been raining, please call us at the fort a day or so
before your program date to ask if it is possible to safely cross the creek.
Drive from the campground a few miles north to the fort entrance. Go past
the entrance kiosk (get a parking pass from the kiosk or the Interpretive
Specialist at the fort) and drive to the dirt road at the end of the parking
lot. Follow this road to the fort itself. The speed limit on this road is 10
mph. Please drive slowly.
Please find the Park Interpretive Specialist inside the Officials’ Quarters
for instructions. It works best to take personal gear out of the cars and
put it just inside the fort wall or if the ground is very damp to pile it up
on the benches or the picnic tables inside the fort. If it is raining all
the personal gear will go in the Rotchev House for the day. Do not put gear
into the buildings in which the children will be sleeping. Personal gear
will be moved into sleeping quarters after the fort is closed to the public
at 4:30. Food and kitchen gear can be carried to the kitchen area by the
fire pits in front of the Officials’ Quarters. You will need to unload very
quickly to insure that cars are moved and drivers are back at the fort
before the children arrive from their walk. As soon as the vehicles
are unloaded, drive your car back to the Visitor Center Parking lot.
Cars must remain in the upper parking lot during your visit!
The next morning when you are ready to leave Colony Ross, you may
bring cars to the front gate of the fort only long enough to load supplies.
For groups who cannot
walk from the campground
(light rain, heavy mist, creek too high) we request that you let the
children off at the end of the parking area with supervision. It is best not
to stop at the Visitor Center when you arrive in the morning because it can
detract from the historical experience of the fort. Parents drive the cars
down to the fort, unload gear, and then drive back to the parking area.
When everyone has reunited, walk to the fort compound together to be greeted
by the Interpretive Specialist. If it is raining hard please drive directly
to the Fort and unload gear.
Militia Onsite Task Sheet
Officers: 1.) ________________________ 2.)
_________________________
Fort Ross Militia:
1. ______________________________ AKA
______________________
2. ______________________________ AKA
______________________
3. ______________________________ AKA
______________________
4. ______________________________ AKA
______________________
5. ______________________________ AKA
______________________
6. ______________________________ AKA
______________________
Tasks:
-
Meet at the Flagpole after lunch
with the entire Company for the flag raising ceremony.
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Help the cooks in the kitchen in
their initial set up: carry water for big pots, carry wood from
woodpile. With adult supervision, get fires made. Use large spider
pot for heating water. DO NOT put tin washtubs on the fire to heat
water. After the initial set up in the kitchen you are not
responsible for keeping the fires going.
-
Meet with the Interpretive
Specialist to be issued muskets and do marching practice. You will
be issued your weaponry after the kitchen tasks have been completed.
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Patrol fort, inspect passes, and
kindly make sure everybody is following company rules. Check in at
kitchen from time to time to be sure they have all they need.
-
Rope making: We supply materials
and machine for rope making.
-
Make map of fort. Pace to scale;
draw in buildings, burn edges for aging.
-
Prepare a group skit, song or
presentation for the evening, which will communicate what your group
did and experienced.
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After 4:30, move personal sleeping
gear into Southeast Blockhouse. Make sure the kitchen is adequately
supplied with firewood and fires are started.
-
Know when to stand your night watch
and what your morning clean up chore will be.
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Plan and execute a flag lowering at
sunset and a flag raising at 8 a.m. You may use the Fort’s flag or
one that your class makes.
-
Militia may keep their gear in their
sleeping quarters under the officers’ supervision or ELP closet. The
officers may collect the gear for safe keeping before nightfall. The
gear may be handed out after the morning responsibilities are
complete.
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Evening Dishes
Rules and Responsibilities:
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Follow the Officers’ instructions at
all times.
-
Obey all safety rules.
-
Check in at the kitchen to make sure
they have enough wood and water.
-
Clean up work areas when finished.
Wash pots and pans after dinner.
Night watch:
5:00 AM-700 AM. Wake up Cooks in the Kuskov house for breakfast.
Morning
Responsibilities:
Morning: Pack personal
gear, parents clean and sweep Southeast Blockhouse (8 sided). Return axe and
maul to ELP closet. Re-stack woodpile. Rake around woodpile, fire pits,
three legged pot, and pick up any foil or trash that is in the fire pits,
clean off fire pit rocks. Check for wax and litter in fort compound. Inspect
the buildings with the staff to make sure they are well swept. Help load
cars. If your group is finished and another group is not, ask: “What can I
do to help?”
Stockade Litter Pick Up
– All groups line up shoulder to shoulder and walk the inside of the fort
for a full stockade cleanup.
Morning Hike: Orchard, Beach, or Cemetery
Hike.
ON-SITE:
The fort is strongly guarded. Everyone relies on the militia, who must be
attentive at all times. The militia shall inspect the weapons to see that
they are clean, the powder is dry, flints and all equipment are in
readiness.
The militia may post themselves at the main gate. The militia shall inspect
the passes of those wanting to enter. Passes should be made as a part of
classroom role-development and should be carried by the students at all
times.
The Militia is also responsible for checking on any sort of commotion,
quarrel or disorder. Persons committing infractions should be put under
guard. An immediate report must be made to the manager detailing what
happened during the disturbance. Once again the taking away of rubles is a
good punishment or student placed with the manager for extra duties – BUT
only at the discretion of the manager.
The Campfire
Use only the fire pit in the compound to make fires.
The fire should be no larger than is necessary for cooking and keeping warm.
Before leaving the area, be sure the fire is completely out. Pick up any
debris such as foil from in and around the fire pits.
Use of an Axe or Hatchet
An axe or hatchet is made for chopping or splitting
wood and should be used for that purpose only. Before using such a tool, it
should be checked carefully to be sure that the head of the tool is securely
fastened to the handle and that the handle is firm and sound with no cracks
or splits. Any person chopping wood should maintain a six-to eight-foot
circle around him/herself in which no other person may stand. Adult
supervision is mandatory during wood-chopping activities. The woodcutter’s
own feet and knees should be well away from the swing of the axe. Axes can
be dangerous tools--make sure anyone using one has been well briefed on
their safe use. DO NOT USE ONE MAUL TO POUND ON ANOTHER!
·
2 Flintlock Muskets
·
3 Sabers with sheathes
·
1 Bayonet with sheath
·
1 Marching Drum
·
1 Cartridge Bag
·
1 Musket ball bag
·
1 Powder horn
·
6 Possibles bags w/ gloves
·
1 Maul
·
1 Hatchet
·
Materials for Rope Making
Military Commands
·
Smirna!
- Attention or fall in line
·
Sha
gam Marsh! - Forward march
·
Levooee, Levooee, Levooee Left, left, left—(repeat in march time)
·
Stoi!
- Stop
·
Val’no!
- At ease
·
Plee!
- Fire musket
·
Agon!
- Fire cannon
History of Rope
The People:
Primitive people twisted strips of hide, sinew, hair,
vines, and plant fibers into rope long before they learned to spin and
weave. Rope making was a universal skill known in all tribes and
civilizations. Braided ropes were used in Asia before 4000 BC. Ropes were
used to decorate pottery southeastern Europe in 3000 BC. The Mayas used
rope to move the large blocks of stone they needed for building their
marvelous temples. The ancient Egyptians developed rope making techniques
in 2500 BC which they still use today. Some tribes of American Indians
chewed hide and sinew into strands that could be used for rope. Rope making
in Ancient India was so unique that only a special class of people made
ropes. Homer frequently mentions rope in his "Odyssey". The Romans even
fabricated rope out of thin copper wire. In the 14th century
England, first guilds of rope makers were established. Medieval monks made
ropes to ring monastery bells and to use as belts. But it was the age of
sailing ships that turned rope making into a vital industry. Phoenician
ships were held together by rope. Columbus had 15 miles of rope on his
ship. Records indicate the Emperor of China had rope made from ladies
hair. In Northern America hemp was planted along the watering holes of the
western trails so that future pioneers could harvest it. Pioneers carried a
rope machine when they came west for this purpose.
The Place:
Rope making was
common place. Every community of any size had its rope walk (places where
ropes could be made by laborers who "walked" out the twists in the
strands). The first American ropewalk was founded in Salem, Massachusetts
in 1635. Rope making was a common colonial pursuit by 1700. Most ropewalks
during this time were along the coast or in port towns because the greatest
need for rope was in the fishing and sailing industries. Walks were often
900 feet or more. South England boasted a 2,000 foot ropewalk.
Philadelphia had several competing ropewalks. Although smaller rope walks
served the rural areas, farmers made some ropes for their own use out of
flax; but they were of a lesser quality than those made in colonial
ropewalks. The first ropewalk in the west was established by Hiram and
Alfred Tubbs in San Francisco. Ropewalks were found indoors and out and on
sailing ships. Later narrow sheds were built that were over 1,000 feet long
and 30 feet wide. Three or four rope makers worked side by side in these
ropewalks. Sheds were not heated in winter, not they were closed during bad
weather. The long wooden sheds, filled with dry fibrous material, were
moved to locations outside of town, which was an added hardship for those
who worked there. Rope makers had to be skilled artisans to produce quality
ropes under these conditions. The entire rope making process was influenced
by the ability and experience of the rope maker. Although machines
gradually replaced skilled rope makers, traditional techniques survived
until after the Civil War.
The Craft:
Rope was one of man's earliest tools. History records
rope making as far back as 7,000 years ago, and is one of America's oldest
industries. The materials that man used to make rope varied and depended on
the locality and use of the rope. Rope has been made out of many things
(hide, hair, plant fibers, tree bark, cotton wire, silk, simple vines to
name just a few). Twisting or braiding strands of these materials together
made them stronger than single untwisted cords. The first methods of rope
making were similar to weaving plant fibers into mats and baskets. Fibers
are spun into twine, and twine is used to make rope. The rope making
operation is "laying". In laying, the twine is led from a block (paddle)
for the desired length to the laying machine (rope maker) and back to the
block. This is repeated until the desired thickness is achieved. Rope was
(and is) used to build, hoist, haul, cross obstacles, support, tie, fish,
hunt, snare food, fight, furnish, clothe, and transport. Today there are
hundreds of different types of ropes for a great variety of uses.
Since the ancient times, virtually every city and town
in the world had an industry making rope. Russia, however, was the world’s
largest producer and best-quality manufacturer, supplying 80% of the Western
world’s cordage from 1740 to 1940.
At Colony Ross we know that there was a “machine for
making cordage” listed in the Inventory and Bill of Sale from the Russian
American Company to John A. Sutter, the buyer of the settlement. There are
also several sheds and barns listed in the Inventory; one of which may have
been used as a ropewalk.
It was not until around 1830 that matches of wood tipped
phosphorous were introduced. Until that time, tinderboxes were the most
convenient method of obtaining a fire to light the candles in the home after
dusk. After the advent of convenient matches tinderboxes began to lose their
popularity and use. Before long the tinderbox was an implement of the past.
Personal gear removed, floors swept, candle wax scraped
off, mud/dirt swept out, litter picked up.
Rake around the fire pit, put away axe/hatchet, pick-up any
foil or non-burnable debris in fire pits.
Use large spider pot for heating water. Do NOT put tin
washtubs on the fire to heat water.
Militia will wash dishes after dinner. For washing dishes,
we provide three large washtubs: one for soapy water, one for sterilizing
bleach rinse, and one for a clear water rinse. The first washtub should contain
hot water and dish soap. The sterilizing solution should contain warm water
with 1 tablespoon of 5% chlorine bleach to each 2 gallons of water. The
utensils should be soaked for 30 seconds or more, and then rinsed in the third
tub of hot, clear water. Please dry all the utensils before putting into boxes
or sending them to the ELP closet. Use ash to get the soot off the pots and
pans. It really works!
All of the items we provide for the ELP must be put back
into the ELP storage closet by the group. One Artisan Officer is in charge of
looking at the items in the closet before they are taken out, and helps to
direct them back in the next morning. The completed check out list is to be
returned to the Interpretive Specialist.
Please let the Park Interpretive Specialist know if
anything is broken so we may be able to replace it before the next ELP group
arrives.
