Rother's Corner

Rother's Corner. . The corner property was originally called Patrick’s Corner, after George Washington Patrick, an early settler of Sonora and one of its first mayors. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Patrick left Sonora to volunteer his services to the Confederate Army. Although he was refused a commission and did not serve in the army, he remained in the south until his death in 1886., William Rother, Sr., acquired the property in 1870 at a sheriff’s sale. Rother was born in Germany in 1809, later coming to the United States and settling in Louisiana before coming to Sonora in 1857. He and his wife, Sophia Wilde, had seven children, five of whom were born in Sonora. After the death of the senior Rothers, their sons John and William continued to live in the home, William and his family upstairs and John and his family downstairs. John later moved from Rother’s Corner and William remained in the home until his death in 1928., William Rother, Jr. was very active in the Eureka Engine Company, one of Sonora’s volunteer fire companies, which was located across the street from his home. He served as fire chief during most of the years from 1894 to 1911., Rother’s Corner continued as a home to the Rother Family after the death of William. It wasn’t until the Union Oil Company acquired the property in 1954 that the buildings were torn down and Washington and Elkin Streets reconfigured. For over 80 years the corner property was referred to as Rother’s Corner.