A good life : dairy farming in the Olema Valley : a history of the dairy and beef ranches of the Olema Valley and Lagunitas Canyon, Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Point Reyes National Seashore, Marin County, California

440 Pages·1995·18.2 MB·English

by  Livingston, D. S

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DEPOSITORY
GOVERNMENT DOCUMf JTS
DAIRY FARMING JOHNSONCOUNTY LIB? RY
INTHEOLEMAVALLEY
WOODS IDE.
>i.O L>;-. OLt.MA. MAHIN CO. CAL.
A History of the Dairy and Beef Ranches
of the Olema Valley and Lagunitas Canyon
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
and Point Reyes National Seashore,
Marin County, California
by D. S. (Dewey) Livingston
JOHNSON COUNTY LIBRARY
HISTORIC RESOURCE STUDY
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
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Livingston, D. S.
A good life : dairy
farming in the Olema
1995.
A
Good
Life:
DAIRY FARMING
THE OLEMA VALLEY
IN
A History of the Dairy and Beef Ranches
of the Olema Valley and Lagunitas^drayon
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Golden Gate National Recreation Alfe^ <>A
and Point Reyes National Seashore^) *
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by D. S. (Dewey) Livingston
Historian
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Point Reyes National Seashore
HISTORIC RESOURCE STUDY
San Francisco:
National Park Service
Department of the Interior
1995
JOHNSON COUNTY LIBRARY
SHAWNEE MISSION
Cover: Nelson Olds Ranch ("Woodside"), 1869
courtesy of the Boyd Stewart family
Fronticepiece: Ole fence on the Don Mclsaac Ranch, 1991
photograph by Dewey Livingston
Producedasacooperativeeffortbetween
PointReyesNationalSeashore,Golden GateNationalRecreationArea
andtheWestern Regional Office, National ParkService
Design, maps,contemporaryphotographsand production byDeweyLivingston
CopyprintsbyThePhotoLab, San Francisco
Table of Contents
ADMINISTRATIVE SECTION
I. iii
EARLY HISTORY OF THE OLEMA VALLEY AREA
II. 1
THE RANCHES
III. 69
WILKINS RANCH
A. 71
McCURDY RANCH
B. 103
C. TEIXEIRA RANCH 111
HAGMAIER RANCH
D. 129
RANDALL RANCH
E. 143
F. GIACOMINI RANCH 167
G. FIVE BROOKS 183
LUPTON RANCH
H. 193
STEWART RANCH 209
I.
TRUTTMAN RANCH
J. 239
K. DeSOUZA RANCH 277
L. ROGERS RANCH 285
M. BEAR VALLEY RANCH 293
N. McFADDEN RANCH 315
O. EDWIN GALLAGHER RANCH 323
P. GENAZZI RANCH 329
ZANARDI RANCH 335
Q.
R. McISAAC RANCH 347
NEIL McISAAC RANCH 369
S.
T. JEWELL RANCH 377
U. CHEDA RANCH 385
V. GALLAGHER & SHATTER RANCHES 395
IV. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS 401
V. BIBLIOGRAPHY 411
SACRAMENTO
SANTA ROSA
NAPA ^
FA RF ELD
| |
POINTREYES
NATIONALSEASHORE
GOLDENGATE NATIONAL
RECREATIONAREA
SAN FRANCISCO
SANTA CRUZ
LOCATION MAP
GOLDEN GATE NATIONAL RECREATION AREA
POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE
ADMINISTRATIVE SECTION
Golden Gate National Recreation Area, established by Public Law 92-589
on October 27, 1972, covers approximately 73,000 acres in San Francisco, San
Mateo and Marin Counties. Point Reyes National Seashore, authorized on
September 13, 1962 and established on October 20, 1972, covers approximately
70,000 acres of the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County. The entire portion
of Golden Gate National Recreation Area north of Bolinas Lagoon, of about
10,000 acres, is managed by the Superintendent, Point Reyes National
Seashore. The ranches in this portion, comprising the Olema Valley, the
Tocaloma area or "Lagunitas Loop," and a portion of Pine Gulch near Bolinas
are the subject of this study.
The ranches included in this Historic Resource Study are within the
boundaries of Golden Gate National Recreation Area except for the Bear Valley,
Teixeira and Hagmaier Ranches, which are within Point Reyes National
Seashore; those three ranches, which have been written about in a recent study
mentioned below, are included for geographic and historical continuity. This
study focuses primarily on operating ranches in federal ownership, most of
which continue to exist under agreements known as reservations of use and
occupancy. Sites of former ranches (McCurdy, Jewell, etc.), are described but in
less detail than the occupied sites.
A previous historic resource study, A Civil History ofGolden Gate
National Recreation Area and Point Reyes National Seashore, California,
prepared in 1980 by NFS historian Anne Coxe Toogood, dealt with the ranching
history in the area, but did not provide enough detail to adequately assist day-
to-day management, planning and interpretation of the existing cultural
resources. The purpose of this report is to fill those gaps with a detailed,
ranch-by-ranch history and evaluation. Research methods included site
inventories using criteria established by the NFS List of Classified Structures
and the National Register of Historic Places, interviews with current and
former ranch occupants, and extensive archival research. Ms. Toogood's study
was invaluable in preparing the introductory chapters.
This study acts as a companion volume to the Historic Resource Study,
Ranching on the Point Reyes Peninsula: A History ofthe Dairy and Beef
Ranches Within Point Reyes National Seashore, 1843-1992, published in 1993 by
the National Park Service. Together, the two reports cover adjacent areas with
compatible histories and resources and are practically identical in format.
Three chapters in this volume are taken almost verbatim from the earlier
document to provide historical continuity, and other chapters on general
subjects have been adapted from the Point Reyes volume. The adjacent areas
of Point Reyes Peninsula and the Olema Valley are historically compatible yet
have their own distinctive patterns and resources.
Research has revealed that the entire area comprising the Olema Valley
and Lagunitas Loop has had significant historic ranching activity, and therefore
may be eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places as a
locally or regionally significant rural historic district. Further study and
evaluation of the Olema Valley's cultural landscape is recommended; the area is
most appropriate for a multidisciplinary Cultural Landscape Study.
This Historic Resource Study will fulfill the requirements of the National
Park Service Management Policies and NPS-28, Cultural Resources Manage-
ment Guidelines, concerning proposals which affect cultural resources. The
study will also assist the National Park Service in compliance with Section 106
of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, and in the
associated consultation process with the State Historic Preservation Office,
accomplishing the inventory, identification and evaluation of historical resources
within the parks' ranching zones to comply with Executive Order 11593,
"Protection and Enhancement of the Cultural Environment." It is intended as a
complete narrative history of ranching in the Olema Valley and Lagunitas Loop,
providing basic reference material for planners, resource managers, and
interpreters to facilitate the proper care, interpretation and management of
these cultural properties within Golden Gate National Recreation Area and
Point Reyes National Seashore.
IV
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Olema Valley is a gem. Its possesses a gentle beauty that speaks of
a good life. It is a quiet valley of rolling pastures lined with oak trees, dramatic
forests, and a handful of small farms with their barns, sheds and houses
sometimes hidden in glens and only noticed by sharp eyes. While most of the
valley and the surrounding area appears to be left over from the 19th century,
it is in fact part of our 20th century national park system.
Despite its status as a National Recreation Area, virtually all of the
Olema Valley retains its historic rural ranching character. The former dairy
ranches, many with pioneer structures intact, continue to thrive under the
stewardship of families who have been here for generations. Since creation of
the park in 1972, most of the resident families remain, and to them I give my
heartfelt thanks. Rarely does one find such old-fashioned hospitality and
sincere interest in a subject; all were happy to open their homes and dust off
their memories for me, which is most appreciated as this book couldn't have
been written without them. My family was fortunate to live on on an active
Olema Valley ranch for many years and to get a taste of the true life of the
valley. For the positive influences on my children and the warm acceptance
which we were given by his family, I dedicate this book to the memory of
Armin Truttman, a well-loved and highly admired member of the Olema and
California dairy ranching community.
People with Olema Valley roots have been found all over California; they
generously and enthusiastically shared then: knowledge with this stranger,
usually with only a phone call as an introduction. Also, I thank the people
loaned photographs to the project, especially Roy Farrington Jones who
generously loaned the excellent pictures of the ranches taken by his father.
Libraries and archives, local and regional, played a large part in research
for this report. The archivists and librarians in the many institutions that I
visited in quest of Olema Valley facts are too many to mention, but I thank
them all. Alice Lake of the Marin County Recorders Office, now retired, was
always helpful at finding obscure information in that office. The archive that
acted as the foundation of this research was the Jack Mason Museum
Collection, from which many photographs and much information has been
culled over the years. Local historians added to the project as well, including
Bill Allen, Rae Codoni of Modesto, Phil Frank, Fred Sandrock, Suzanne Baty,
Jocelyn Moss and especially, the late Point Reyes historian Jack Mason, who got
me going on all this years before joining the National Park Service.
At Point Reyes National Seashore, former Chief of Interpretation and
now Superintendent Don Neubacher deserves credit for creating this project; at
Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Park Historical Architect Ric Borjes
gave his full support and helped see it through to its completion. GGNRA Park
Historian Steve Haller read the final draft and offered much-needed comments
on short notice, as did Park Curator Diane Nicholson and archivist Dennis
Copeland. John Dell'Osso, Acting Chief of Interpretation at Point Reyes helped
immensely in the last weeks of the project, as did former secretary Terry
Edinger and her successor Leslie Price. I also thank the administrative staff
and seasonal interpreters at both parks for their support and interest.
At the National Park Service's Western Regional Office, Regional
Historian Gordon Chappell and Historian Jamie Donahoe were especially
helpful, scouring two drafts and offering help as the project went along. Also,
special thanks to Thomas D. Mulhern, Chief, Park Historic Preservation, whose
efforts to have these documents published is greatly appreciated; and Regional
Historical Architects Craig Kenkel, Hank Florence and Robbyn Jackson, all of
whom have inspired the author. In Washington, D.C., Chief Historian Edwin C.
Bearss offered comments and support, as did his staff.
This book, documenting the history of the Olema Valley ranches and the
families who have come and gone over the last century and a half, took more
than four years to complete; during that time many other major projects were
accomplished, resulting in a sporadic work schedule and frustrating delays. All
involved have shown a great deal ofpatience and understanding, and I can only
hope that all will enjoy and be enlightened by the following work.
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