Fort Ross, California Trivia Quiz

Answer: None

The Spaniards claimed Alta California but had no settlements further north than San Francisco. Russian exploration along the coast north of the bay indicated no occupation by other European powers.

Answer: Ivan Kuskov

Commandant Kuskov was Senior Assistant to Baranov, the Chief Administrator of the Russian-American Company. He was reputedly a zealous administrator, with a great interest in exploiting natural resources such as the local redwood trees.

Answer: 1812-1842

The changing political situation in California made it uncomfortable for the Russians to stay any later than 1842.

Answer: Cattle

The combination of coastal fog, gophers, wind, and a lack of agricultural training or interest on the part of the men serving there meant that the objective of providing produce for the Alaskan settlements was never achieved.

Answer: All of these

The Russians had brought with them many of the Aleutian hunters from Alaska, who foraged as far south as San Francisco Bay and north to Humboldt catching otters for pelts. The local redwoods were used for both shipbuilding and the windmills, as well as some of the earliest prefabricated houses.

Answer: One has seven sides and the other eight sides

There is no apparent reason for this asymmetry but I have always found it charming.

Answer: Kayasha Pomo

There were many different native tribes in Northwestern California, but the Kayasha Pomo were the ones who lived near the site that Kuskov chose to build the fort on. They largely lived peacefully together with the Russians, who had no interest in converting or subjugating them like the Spaniards.

Answer: All of these reasons

Mexico had declared independence from Spain and was now in charge of the area. An attempt was made to have the Mexicans give the Russians legal claim over the area at Fort Ross, but the Mexican demands in return were unacceptable to the Tsar.

Answer: John Sutter

Although offered to all of the above, it was John Sutter who bought the buildings, livestock, and implements (but not the land) for $30,000, most of which he never paid. Among the possessions were some redwood ships, which he hoped to have sailing on the American River in his new city of Sacramento.

Unfortunately, redwood becomes waterlogged after a few years, and his new ships quickly sank.

Answer: A State Historic Park

Over the past 100 years that the property has belonged to the State of California as an historical monument, the fort has been carefully reconstructed in part by volunteers. Today it is a beautiful place to visit, and part of the history curriculum for many schools in the area.