VBD i A Good Life: 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 RODIM 3S4T10 From the collection ofthe d f n m k z o PreTinger u v Jjibrary P San Francisco, California 2007 Printed on Recycled Paper 637.1 Livings! 1995 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 *& y xk Golden Gate National Recreation Alfe^ <>A and Point Reyes National Seashore^) * mMiarr-WilnM Cfoj".unIfct-.4y-1,I fC*a*l*.i\f\o&frWn*i\ar* l T '.'. ' 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. vi