Church of One Tree

{{short description|Historic wooden building in Santa Rosa, California}}

File:Church of One Tree - Circa 1918 image.jpg

The Church of One Tree is a historic building in the city of Santa Rosa, California, United States. It was built in 1873/4{{cite book|author=Paul T. Hellmann|title=Historical Gazetteer of the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=REtEXQNWq6MC&pg=PA118|date=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=1-135-94859-3|pages=118–}}{{cite book|author=Sandra Gurvis|title=The cockroach hall of fame: and 101 other off-the-wall museums|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4-6BGuQaQ-MC|date=1994|publisher=Carol Pub. Group|isbn=978-0-8065-1501-4}} from a single redwood tree milled in Guerneville, California.

Guerneville was the site of an ancient coastal redwood forest, much of which was logged for the rebuilding of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and fire. Prior to being renamed for one of the local milling families, Guerneville was called Stumptown for the giant redwood stumps left by the loggers.

The tree used to construct the church stood {{convert|275|ft|m}} high and was {{convert|18|ft|m}} in diameter. The single tree, when milled, produced {{convert|78000|board feet|m3}} of lumber, with the lumber costing a total of $3,000.{{cite web|last=Scott|first=Sam|date=February 22, 2011|title=One church, one tree, third incarnation|url=http://www.pressdemocrat.com/csp/mediapool/sites/PressDemocrat/News/story.csp?cid=2291565&sid=555&fid=181|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140901053027/http://www.pressdemocrat.com/csp/mediapool/sites/PressDemocrat/News/story.csp?cid=2291565&sid=555&fid=181|archive-date=September 1, 2014|access-date=February 1, 2021|work=Santa Rosa Press Democrat}}Sonoma County Library Heritage Archives The church was the original home of the First Baptist Church of Santa Rosa, located in downtown on B Street.{{cite book|author=Bob Voliva|title=Santa Rosa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5udqtORJILAC&pg=PT73|year= 1999|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-1-4396-2711-2|pages=73–}} It was moved to its current location to avoid destruction.{{Cite web |url=http://heritage.sonomalibrary.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15763coll2/id/16267/rec/311 |title="Raising the steeple of Church of One Tree at its Juilliard Park (Santa Rosa, California) location" |access-date=2013-03-24 |archive-date=2014-12-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231101448/http://heritage.sonomalibrary.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15763coll2/id/16267/rec/311 |url-status=dead }}

In recent decades, the building has been used for several other unique purposes. Robert Ripley, a native of Santa Rosa, wrote about the Church of One Tree – where his mother attended services – in one of his earliest installments of “Believe It or Not!” In 1970, the Church of One Tree was repurposed as the Ripley Memorial Museum which was stocked with curiosities and “Believe it or Not!” memorabilia for nearly two decades.[http://www.pressdemocrat.com/csp/mediapool/sites/PressDemocrat/News/story.csp?cid=2291846&sid=555&fid=181 "SR's one-tree icon gets new life, thanks to patience, hard work"]. Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Feb 24, 2011 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231095446/http://www.pressdemocrat.com/csp/mediapool/sites/PressDemocrat/News/story.csp?cid=2291846&sid=555&fid=181 |date=December 31, 2014 }}{{cite book|author=Stephen Metzger|title=Day Trips® from Sacramento, 2nd|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HBkiYKy9Ah0C&pg=PA156|year= 2005|publisher=Globe Pequot|isbn=978-0-7627-5208-9|pages=156–}} From the 1950s until 1998 it was the Ripley Memorial Museum.{{cite web |author=Rec & Parks |url=http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/news/Pages/ChurchofOneTreeGrandOpening.aspx |title=Church of One Tree Grand Opening |publisher=Ci.santa-rosa.ca.us |date= |access-date=2013-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608222619/http://www.ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/news/Pages/ChurchofOneTreeGrandOpening.aspx |archive-date=2012-06-08 |url-status=dead }}{{cite book|author=Jean Doppenberg|title=Insiders' Guide to California's Wine Country|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bhaZAlmz3y4C&pg=PA346|date=2005|publisher=Globe Pequot Press|isbn=978-0-7627-3688-1|pages=346–}}{{dead link|date=April 2023}} Starting in 2008 and continuing through 2009, the City of Santa Rosa utilized grant funding to re-lead the stained glass windows, as well as repair, paint and renovate the interior of the church, and the Recreation and Parks Department rents out the space for events. It is located adjacent to Juilliard Park{{cite book|author=Don Edwards|title=Making the Most of Sonoma County: A California Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DKGaKnEXQckC|date=1986|publisher=Valley of the Moon Press|isbn=978-0-9615030-0-0}} and less than one block from the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens historic site.{{cite book|author=Shirley Carter|title=The First Baptist Church of Santa Rosa: The Church of One Tree|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tpRgQwAACAAJ|year=1986}}