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Fort Ross is a former Russian establishment on the west coast of North America in present-day Sonoma County, California. It was established in 1812 by the Russian-American Company to act as an agricultural base from which the Russian settlements in North America could be supplied with food and trade with Spanish Alta California. By 1841, the settlement was no longer needed for that purpose and was sold. The fort became a National Historic Landmark on November 5, 1961, and is part of California's Fort Ross State Historic Park. This photograph shows the Russian Orthodox Holy Trinity St. Nicholas Chapel at Fort Ross, which was rebuilt in 1973 after a fire.Photograph credit: Frank Schulenburg