Adventure 051, Site 144 – Thompson Corner Saloon

Capture California, the Game-2012

Adventure: 051, Site 144 – Thompson Corner Saloon

E Clampus Vitus Plaque

Team: Thing One, Thing Two

Date:  September 21, 2012

Location:

Latitude: 38° 12.663′ N

Longitude: 122° 8.001′ W

Address: 2147 Cordelia Road, Fairfield CA

Description:

How we found this place was by looking around for historic sites around Fairfield. There was this article about a saloon in Cordelia which had been operating since 1902. But this saloon seemed to be a bit more eccentric, or as SF Gate article on the explosion of growth in the Cordelia area said in its opening paragraph, At historic Thompson's Corner Saloon, where bras and jockstraps hang from the ceiling with equal notoriety, Mary Gollinger looks like the portrait of old-time Cordelia.

When we got to the corner, we found the plaque from E Clampus Vitsus and the plaque confirmed our expectations about the place.

Inscription from HMDB:
Henry "Old Man" Studer and his brother Jim, built this community gathering spot. Studer was the proprietor of the oldest bar in Solano County, which he relocated here. Dancing and entertainment were available upstairs and local lore is that a brothel was included in these offerings. On 11-20-26 the San Francisco Orchestra played for an all night dance. Charles Thompson owned the building sometime after 1940. It is the only commercial establishment still doing business in central Cordelia. This two story clapboard saloon is a landmark of its own on the Suisun Marsh. Anybody who is anybody in the Bay Area has been to Thompson's Corner, social center of Cordelia today.

Plaque dedicated September 13, 2008
By Sam Brannan Chapter #1004
E Clampus Vitus



References:

• Historical Marker Database (HMDB.org)
  
• SF Gate Article on growth in Coredlia.
  

Overall Landmark References:

• Historical Marker Database (HMDB)