Ranching on the Point Reyes Peninsula: A History of the Dairy and Beef Ranches Within Point Reyes National Seashore, 1834-1992

Livingston, D.S. (Dewey)

Point Reyes National Seashore, authorized by Congress in 1961-1962 and signed into legislation by President John F. Kennedy on September 13, 1962, covers approximately 70,000 acres of the Point Reyes Peninsula and adjacent waters in western Marin County, north of San Francisco, California. At the time of park authorization, approximately 27 working ranches existed on the peninsula; at the turn of the century there were about 40 dairy ranches, most of which were named with the letters A to Z. Today there are seven dairy ranches and five beef or replacement cow ranches remaining in operation on the Point, with three additional grazing permits on former ranch sites and one non-historic cattle/sheep ranch.These former privately-owned ranches, the primary subjects of this study, were purchased between 1963 and 1976 by the National Park Service, and are now operated under various terms known as Reservations of Use and Occupancy, Leases, and Special Use Permits with the National Park Service. The ranches comprise approximately 21,000 acres of Point Reyes National Seashore, almost all in the North District of the park. The purpose of this report is to fill those gaps left by a previous Historic Resource Study, "A Civil History of Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Point Reyes National Seashore, California", with a detailed, ranch-by-ranch history and evaluation. Research methods included site inventories, interviews of current and former ranch occupants both on-site and off site, and extensive archival research. While investigations into some of the individual ranches yielded great detail, others were more elusive. Hopefully, information will surface to supplement the data in this document. This Historic Resource Study focuses on the A to Z ranches, of which 15 remain in some operable form, and four ranches that were not part of the A to Z tenant system but are today within park boundaries. Six ranches included in the following study are no longer active in agriculture, but retain historic resources and varying levels of integrity: Laguna Ranch, W (Bear Valley) Ranch, Pierce Ranch (listed on the National Register of Historic Places), Hagmaier Ranch, Teixeira Ranch, and the major elements of the Commonweal (Nott) Ranch. Nineteen cleared sites of the former historic ranches in the park are dealt with in this study briefly. Research has revealed that the entire area within the boundaries of Point Reyes National Seashore has had significant historic ranching activity, and therefore may be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places as a regionally significant historic district and/or cultural landscape. Further study and inventory of the cultural landscape of Point Reyes is recommended. This Historic Resource Study will fulful the requirements of the National Park Service Management Policies and NPS-28, Cultural Resources Management Guidelines, concerning proposals to affect cultural resources. It accomplishes the inventory, identification, and evaluation of historical resources within the park's ranching zones to comply with Executive Order 11593, "Protection and Enhancement of the Cultural Environment... The study will also assist the National Park Service in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and in the associated consultation process with the State Historic Preservation Officer. It is intended as a complete narrative history of ranching on Point Reyes, providing basic reference material for planners, resource managers, and interpreters to facilitate the proper care, interpretation and management of these cultural properties within Point Reyes National Seashore.

Ranching on the Point Reyes Peninsula: A History of the Dairy and Beef Ranches Within Point Reyes National Seashore, 1834-1992

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