Great Escape

They Survived the AIDS Epidemic and Found a Way to Give Back

See the town where LGBTQ San Franciscans have been seeking refuge since the 1970s

Sister Francis A. Sissy stands for a portrait at her home, 40 acres called Honeyrock Ranch. Healdsburg, California, 2014. All photos: Talia Herman. Photo editing by Michelle Le.

I was raised in Guerneville, California. My parents still live in my childhood home. Guerneville’s this mix of hippies, hillbillies, and old bikers living along the Russian River, about a 90-minute drive north of San Francisco. It has been a tourist spot for Bay Area folks for 100 years, starting with blue-collar vacationers, then back-to-landers and hippies, then the Hell’s Angels. But in the early 1970s, the queer presence arrived, consisting mostly of gay men. Tolerance for the LGBTQ community wasn’t that great, but it was more tolerant than other places. And then, very quickly, it became a gay party town. Gay men started investing in real estate, buying summer homes. They moved up here full-time and opened businesses. By the ’80s, Guerneville was a gay mecca.

Johnson’s Beach, a privately owned beach. Guerneville, California.

A home with a view of vineyards. Guerneville, California, 2014.