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           Napa Valley | Calistoga | History

Sharpsteen Museum - Rich in history Calistoga has worked diligently to incorporate the new with the old, and has successfully melded the historical concept of Americana-small-town with the currency of the computer and the information age. Side-by-side with million year old geysers are the spas offering mineral soaks or mud baths, Aromatherapy and masseuses trained to soothe the sore muscles of a rush-rush world. Also found are the shops offering herbal and natural products from green-grocers to mineral soaps, natural cottons and silks to rayon and polyesters. And, of course, Calistoga is the home of Calistoga Mineral Water and Crystal Geyser Water, those bottled natural compounds that refresh and sustain life.

The Legend of the Geysers - Long, long ago, the peaceful Ashochimi Indian tribe inhabited a rich and luxuriant valley on both sides of a river, now known as the Russian River north of San Francisco.

Wappo Indians of Napa County - This myth was told by Joe McCloud, age 65, in the year 1918. He grew up in a Wappo village in the Napa Valley.
The Wappo Indians had no written language. They shared their ideas, stories, and feelings by speaking only. Stories and customs were passes down by parents to their children. Their name has been spoken and written many way. Here are a few: Ashochimi, Caymus, Guapos, Mayacama, Mishewal, Rincon, Wapo, Wappa, and Wattos.

Indian Springs - This land was nameless millions of years ago, when a volcano (Mt. Konocti) erupted twenty miles away creating fissures in the earth and depositing many layers of volcanic ash. Ancient waters deep in the earth were heated by the earth's magma at 4,000 feet and escaped as geysers through the fissures.

Mishewal Wappo Tribe - At first white contact, the Wappo inhabited a mountainous territory with the northernmost village, Tekenantsonoma, (today the Geysers) marking the northern limit and the southern boundary marked by the bay below the present day city of Napa.

Silverado Trail - Strolling through the meadows of wild flowers, grasses and grains, the native Indians must have lived in paradise. The volcanic activity that formed the valley left it fertile, protected by mountain ranges and stunning to the eye.

Sam Brannan - It could be said that Sam Brannan truly believed that the Lord helps those who help themselves. After all, it was Brannan who -- when confronted with the fact that he was pocketing tithes earned through Mormon gold mining operations and meant for the church in Utah -- replied, "I'll give up the Lord's money when he (Brigham Young) sends me a receipt signed by the Lord."

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