Sonda parish (Sonda- my home behind marshes)
There is no wide history for Sonda parish. Being surrounded by four large marshes- Sirtsi, Kuresoo, Muraka moors and Uljaste swamp- the village deep in the woods was cut off from major trade routes.The oldest villages in Sonda parish are Uljaste (1468) and Satsu (1483), which are also mentioned in Danish Appraisment Diary. It is possible, that the ancient castle was set in Uljaste because of the convinient moat and the hill there.The present lands of Sonda parish have formerly been belonging under the authority of Viru-Nigula and Lüganuse parish. The birth of the settlement is connected with the opening of Baltic railway in 1870. In 1897 the railway station was built in its current location and the encyclopediaes refer to this occasion as the dawn of the Sonda parish making. In 1920-1930 the building-process intensified and the sites for private buildings were divided. The settlement with its workers, wallahs and some wannabees was established. The grouth of the settlement was accelerated by the building of the narrow-rut railway in 1926. It was closed down in 1971. In 1989 former railway-workers placed a memorial to remember that occasion. Sonda also had a railway contact with Aseri, from where the cement- processing plant products were brought to forward it. Sonda people have been employed by forest idustry. The first sawmill was owned by Stakelberg & Dehn Company, businessman Villem Lellep bought it later. The sawmill, board- processing factory and forest centre is now directed by Virumaa Metsatööstuse AS. In 1924, based on Pada, Erra and Nüri woodlands, Sonda forestry center was formed- the event, which is fundamental for the security and the scientific development of these woods.