The Sonoma List: 5 historic visitors to Sonoma

Modern day Sonoma is known as a tourist destination, receiving visitors from all over the world, including the occasional celebrity or national politico. But decades ago, our small-town charms weren't as universally recognized as they may be today – rendering it all the more impressive when people of stature made the trek across the Golden Gate to enjoy the charms of the Valley of the Moon. Here are five visitors to Sonoma worthy of the history books.

Kit Carson

Frontiersman Kit Carson's renowned Wild West legend was cemented via his oft-reported exploits as a guide for Army topographer John C. Fremont. In 1846, Carson and Fremont came to Sonoma and galvanized a nefarious group of local settlers, trappers and traders later dubbed the 'Bear Flaggers' – that motley crew who, on June 14 of that year, arrested Sonoma-founder Gen. Mariano Vallejo and raised the makeshift Bear Flag over the Plaza.

The Father of Motion Pictures

This circa-1870s photo of vineyard workers outside Agoston Haraszthy's Buena Vista estate wouldn't be particularly notable if it weren't for its photo credit: Eadweard Muybridge. Muybridge's pioneering 19th century experiments in stop-motion photography laid the groundwork for the invention of modern cinema, earning him the moniker: 'the father of the motion picture.' Those phenakistoscopes your kids spin at science fairs are his invention.

The Gipper

While his years as leader of the free world were still decades away, youthful thespian Ronald Reagan joined fellow actors Edward G. Robinson, John Garfield and others at London Ranch in Glen Ellen before making their way downtown to the Sebastiani Theatre for the premiere screening of 'The Sea Wolf,' the movie based on the book by Jack London.

The Yankee Clipper

By the time Joltin' Joe DiMaggio paid a visit to Hanna Boys Center in the 1950s, he was not only a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, but a former husband of actress Marilyn Monroe – two equally noteworthy accomplishments. But that didn't stop the Yankee Clipper from taking a few fastballs from the boys at Hanna.

Mr. Smith goes to Glen Ellen

No doubt the highlight for acting legend James Stewart in making his penultimate final live-action film – the critically drubbed 'The Magic of Lassie' – was a trip to Glen Ellen, where a scene from the 1978 box office bomb was filmed at the Glen Ellen Grocery on Arnold Drive.