Our History
As part of our baptismal covenant to strive for justice and peace among all people, we recognize that we stand on unceded tribal land. We worship on ancestral Southern Pomo territory, and many of our members reside in the homelands of the Southern Pomo, Coast Miwok, Kashia Pomo, and Wappo peoples. Our beloved oak tree began its life on these lands, and it provided sustenance for their ancestors as it now graces our worship and fellowship gatherings, thus giving us a historical bond. Their stories and ours are intertwined.
With God’s help, we commit ourselves to acknowledging the truth of California’s history, as well as strengthening existing relationships. This acknowledgment is a first step in improving our efforts to build collaborative relationships with Native peoples.
Incarnation’s Land Acknowledgment Statement (adopted April 2025)
Sometime between ten thousand and thirty thousand years ago, Native peoples came to this part of what would become Northern California and made it their own. The portion of what is now Sonoma County from Santa Rosa north to beyond Cloverdale, including the land on which Incarnation was built, forms the traditional homeland of the Southern Pomo people. Many of today’s parishioners also live and work in Wappo territory (to the east), Coast Miwok territory (to the south), and Kashia Pomo territory (to the northwest).
Colonization by Russian, Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo-American settlers would devastate local Native life. The massive influx of American settlers following the 1849 gold rush brought disease, military and private violence, enslavement, child separation, and displacement. Yet Native people remained in Sonoma County and remain important members of our communities today.
Permanent European settlements in Sonoma County began with the Russian arrival at Fort Ross in 1812. In 1823, the Spanish followed suit and founded Mission San Francisco de Solano in Sonoma. American settlers trickled into Sonoma County in the 1830s and 1840s. After the Mexican War of 1846-48, statehood, and the Gold Rush, the trickle became a flood. In Santa Rosa, Episcopal services were held sporadically from 1860 to 1868 in homes as well as public buildings such as the Santa Rosa Academy building. Father William Jackson is credited as the first clergy person to conduct an Episcopal service in Santa Rosa in either 1860 or 1861. In 1868, a fledgling Episcopal mission was first organized in Santa Rosa under the auspices of the Benicia Episcopal Mission, founded by prominent missionary James Lloyd Breck.
Our building was begun in 1872 and completed in 1873. It’s said that the church was built from the wood of two redwood trees. It is the oldest church structure in continuous use in Santa Rosa. The Church was declared debt free in 1876 and consecrated in November 1877. The cost for church, furniture and equipment was $3,000.00!
In 1885, a larger church was needed, so the building was quartered and drawn apart to essentially its current size.
Incarnation was officially incorporated as a parish of the Episcopal Church in 1895.
In the earthquake of 1906, the sidewalls bulged out about eight inches off the foundation, but otherwise the church was undamaged. It and the nearby rectory served as a hospital and morgue for the devastated city of Santa Rosa.
From 1943 until 1953, ten Sisters of the Transfiguration, an Episcopal order of nuns, were devoted workers in the parish. They served as Sunday School teachers, ran an excellent nursery day school and even filled in as organists at times.
Much of the carving in the church, including the altar, choir stalls, reredos and litany desk, was the work of two women of the parish, Augusta C. Collett and Anna Finlaw.
The Stations of the Cross on the side walls of the church were carved by Elwin Millerick, a Santa Rosa carver. During the Desert Storm War in 1990, when the church was kept open for prayer, the soldier in the first station disappeared. Mr. Millerick carved a replacement within a week. Each station was donated by an individual or family as a memorial gift.
- View the visual timeline of our church’s history here: “Our Story”
- Learn more about the church building and our campus here: campus tour videos
- We are currently in a process to develop a vision for the future of our buildings and grounds. Read more about our Imagine Incarnation process.
