Lakeville, California

Lakeville is an unincorporated community in Sonoma County, California, United States. It is located near the Petaluma River about 4mi southeast of Petaluma.The main thoroughfare is Lakeville Road, which passes north-south through Lakeville on its way from State Route 116 to State Route 37. The rear gate of Sonoma Raceway empties onto Lakeville Road and can cause traffic delays on race days.Lakeville's name refers to Tolay Lake, about 2mi east of the town.Lakeville has a fire department with one station, established in 1973. It is located east of the intersection of Lakeville Highway and Stage Gulch Road.HistoryThe Lakeville area was part of the Rancho Petaluma grant to Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo by the Governor José Figueroa of Alta California in 1834.In 1859, an emigrant named William Bihler purchased 8000acre in the Lakeville area. In 1859 Bihler dynamited the natural dam of the historic Tolay Lake to drain the lake in order to raise potatoes and corn.Settled by C. H. Bodwell, Lakeville became the terminus for a steamship route connecting San Francisco with Sonoma County. In the 1870s, Lakeville was a stop on the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad.