Lupton/Five Brooks Ranch: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Point Reyes National Seashore
Regions 8, 9, 10, & 12 Park Cultural Landscapes Program. 2012. Lupton/Five Brooks Ranch: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Point Reyes National Seashore. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 725198. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. NPS Pacific West Regional Office, San Francisco, California / CRIS-CL Database
Inventory Unit Description: The Lupton/Five Brooks Ranch is an 841-acre property located immediately north of the Giacomini Ranch and south of Stewart Ranch. Ranch lands cover the west slope of Bolinas Ridge, between the ridge crest and Olema Creek; a small portion of the ranch, referred to as the Longley addition, incorporates land on the east slope of Bolinas Ridge. Open grassy pastures occupy the west-facing hill slopes, broken only by bands of riparian vegetation that line the drainages within the ranch boundary. The east-facing slopes of Bolinas Ridge are timbered. The property (historically known as the Parsons Ranch) was utilized for dairying from the mid-1880s until 1945 when it was converted to sheep. It continued to be operated as a sheep ranch until 1971, when it was then converted to a cattle ranch. Today, the pastures continue to be leased for grazing cattle. Lupton/Five Brooks Ranch is one of 19 ranches within the Olema Valley/Lagunitas Loop Ranches Historic District that were collectively determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The Historic District was determined significant at a local-level under Criteria A and C with a period of significance from 1856 to 1961. Under Criterion A, the district is significant for its small and medium-sized family owned farms and ranches, most of which emphasized dairy production. Under Criterion C, the district is significant for its excellent examples of local rural vernacular architecture, especially dairy building types. The period of significance covers roughly a century, beginning with the initial American settlement of the area in 1856 and extending to 1961 when the federal government authorized the creation of Point Reyes National Seashore. This period encompasses the major development of the roads, buildings, structures, fence lines, and delineation of pastures within the district. Historically, this ranch was unique from the other Olema Valley/Lagunitas Loop Road ranches because it had two distinctly separate developed areas that date to the mid-1880s. One was the Five Brooks residential area where the ranch owners resided. The other was the Parsons ranch core where the ranch tenants lived and managed the day-to-day operations.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Regions 8, 9, 10, & 12 Park Cultural Landscapes Program
- Date of Issue
- 2012-03-22
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- PORE , PWR
- Keywords
- agriculture, architecture, Benevenga area, commerce, dairy industry, dairy ranch, exploration - settlement, family-owned ranch, Five Brooks ranch, grazing, historic vernacular landscape, livestock, Parsons ranch, Pinkerton area, ranching landscape, sheep ranch, tenant ranch, vernacular architecture
- Subjects
- CRIS-CL: 725198: Lupton/Five Brooks Ranch