Marin County CA Archives History - Books .....VIII The Building Of The Peninsula 1958 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com April 11, 2007, 1:00 am Book Title: Shark Point - High Point VIII The Building of the Peninsula VARIOUS BUSINESSES and institutions have built this part of Marin. The ranching which supported the great land grants is only part of the story. The real estate developments in this area are not the whole story either. The fur trade with the Russians through Fort Ross; the cod fishery on Belvedere in the days when San Francisco outfitted the only cod fishing fleet to the Bering Sea; the oyster beds off the north end of Belvedere in the 1860s; the lumbering and freighting from the salt mines around San Ouentin Point; the brick works which were scattered all the way from De Silva's island to McNear's Point; all of these and more have played their parts in the development of Marin County. We shall go into detail on some of these. THE UNION FISH COMPANY The cod fishery was built on the west side of Belvedere by the Union Fish Company and flourished from 1875 to 1937. The spot was chosen because it had the deepest water and the most sun in the bay area. The cod were "sun cured". Schooners would come in from Alaska and the Bering Sea loaded with cod. The fleet of three-masted schooners then was towed back to the Golden Gate where they hoisted sails and headed back north. The great trays of fish would go through cleaning stages and be sold as glue, bait, fertilizer, and the prime cuts, of course, as food: The fishery went partially out of business in 1934 when fire destroyed some of the wharves and warehouses. By 1937 the remaining buildings had been divided into eight apartments and several studios. THE ROCK QUARRY The old rock quarry located on the eastern coast of the Tiburon Peninsula is about fifty feet above sea level and just east of Old Landing Road. It was formed by volcanic forces shoving vast quantities of rock above the surface. In 1834 John Reed began to quarry rock here as a reserve supply of gravel for his ranch roads. When the Reed estate broke up after Reed's death, the mine was left idle. Not until 1906 was it used again. A Mr. DeLorenze bought the quarry for mining. He also obtained a permit for a narrow gauge railroad, believing that this was a perfect spot for a thriving business. Rock would be dug out of the hill, then sent down to a rock crusher about forty-five feet above sea level, where it was crushed and sent down to the bay on the small gauge railroad. The gravel was loaded on barges and carried to any of the bayside businesses. San Francisco was the preferred market. The rock dust was made into bricks right on the DeLorenze lot and shipped out by barge. For six years, DeLorenze carried on a highly successful business. He died of a heart ailment in 1912, and again the quarry was left idle. Since that time the rock has not been worth enough to re-open the quarry. Probably Indian relics still are to be found there, since this was the burial place of the Coon Queen discovered in the 1880s. THE NAVY NET DEPOT The Tiburon Naval Net Depot, located in that part of Paradise Cove known as California City, went out of operation in 1958, victim of the atomic age in modern warfare. Before it closed, it had a colorful history. California City was a fishing village where shrimp and cod were dried on a huge flat area, later a concreted slab, now holding the mothballed Navy gear. In 1904 the Navy made California City its northwest coaling station. This station operated until 1927, when the property was loaned to the state as a training station for the California Maritime School. The Navy took back the land in 1940. During World War II the Net Depot furnished the entire West Coast with anti-submarine nets, buoys, and chain. The biggest job the Net Depot did was the laying of a seven-mile net across the Bay from Sausalito to the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco just before the war. The net was taken down in 1945. Now guided missiles and rockets guard the Bay from such Marin bases as Angel Island and Forts Barry, Baker and Cronkite as well as from Hamilton Air Force Base. REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENTS In 1888 the original Belvedere Land Company was incorporated and built roads which opened up that area to home sites in 1891 and 1893. Corinthian (known for awhile as Valentine's Island) built up gradually during the 1900s. Only a few residents stayed the year round before the earthquake and fire of 1906. Many houses remained summer homes until the Golden Gate Bridge was built, in 1937. In 1939 the present Belvedere Land Company purchased some twenty-three acres of land from the Northwestern Pacific Railroad Company. This land was the north side of the lagoon, and gave the company control of the lagoon. There are many other real estate developments in the area. All of these stand where the cattle of Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio once pastured. The Tiburon Highway itself past Reed School was part of the pasture which ran down to the edge of the old natural lagoon. Beyond Lyford Tower, beyond Tiburon itself, lies Paradise Cove. In the early days the Coon Indians built their camp (called El Campo by the Spaniards) on these hills sheltering the cove. This was a favorite spot for picnics in the days of Yerba Buena and early San Francisco. Then in 1925 C. H. Allen, a real estate man, bought the entire eastern side of the peninsula for a real estate development, which he planned to call Paradise Park. His project was hardly under way when he was sued by the owners of a former amusement area-named Paradise Park. (In "The Wrecker" Robert Louis Stevenson tells of outings to this park.) Allen simply claimed that since the park at that time was out of business, there was no harm in using the old name. He won his case and that whole area now is known as Paradise Cove. There is a picnic place still called Paradise Park. In a clipping from a 1939 Mill Valley Record, we found that the original California City was named by B. R. Buckelew, a survivor of the Donner Party. He described his plans for developing it as a competitor to San Francisco, in a letter dated December 1, 1850. He even had a newspaper there for awhile. A California City hotel is marked on an 1869 map. COMMUNITY CHURCHES The first church on the peninsula was St. Hilary's Catholic Church, dedicated October 14, 1888. Dr. Benjamin and Hilarita Lyford donated land and the Baroness von Schroeder, daughter of Peter Donahue, gave a great iron bell. This was moved to the new and larger church when it was built in 1953 above Hawthorne Terrace. (St. Hilary's became a parish in 1951.) The original little white building is still a landmark on the hill above the town of Tiburon. The first St. Stephen's Episcopal Church was a small brown shingle chapel on Acacia Avenue built in 1904, two years after the mission was established. St. Stephen's parish was organized in 1951 and the impressive new church was built in 1954 on Bay-view Avenue at Golden Gate. Among the early residents confirmed in St. Stephen's was Henriette Blanding, daughter of the Belvedere pioneer who for so many years was a key figure in island history. The First Church of Christ, Scientist, located between San Rafael and Laurel Avenues opposite the Belvedere Community Hall, was built in 1951-52. Its distinctive architecture has made it one of the landmarks of the community. Before it was built, the "Log Cabin" on Beach Road, one of the first houses in Belvedere, was used. This cabin was purchased and remodeled in 1907, the year the Christian Science Society was established in Belvedere. The Belvedere Presbyterian Church was organized September 20, 1896, according to records at the Theological Seminary in San Anselmo. A church was built at Bayview and Laurel Avenues next to the present Belvedere School. Membership was not large and the building was sold to the city of Belvedere. In 1946 the city moved it down the hill to the end of Laurel Avenue and made it into a community hall with space for the fire department underneath. The Westminster Presbyterian Church of Richardson Bay was established in 1956. On Strawberry Point, the Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary is now being built. YACHT CLUBS The San Francisco Yacht Club was founded in 1869. It is the oldest in California and one of the oldest in the United States. An interesting item is the club's flagpole. It is the mast of a ship called Annie built in 1861. Annie, an American clipper-type ship, served as flagship of the New York Yacht Club, and then was used by the famous "Tweed Ring politicians" to make their escape to Cuba. Later Annie was sailed around the Horn and sold to a member of the San Francisco Yacht Club. Twenty years later Annie came to an end and had a "traditional burial". With the figurehead and mast removed she was set aflame off Hunter's Point. In 1939 the mast was dedicated at the club. Another vessel, a schooner called Casco which sailed under the flag of the S.F.Y.C, carried Robert Louis Stevenson to the South Seas in the 1880s. It is believed he planned his book "Treasure Island" while aboard. There have always been eleven directors of the club. The club became a non-profit organization in 1873. The first clubhouse was originally located at South Beach in San Francisco, but the club sought another location because of the growth of commerce in the district. In 1878 the club bought three water lots in Sausalito and built its second clubhouse. This was destroyed by fire in 1897. A committee was appointed to build another clubhouse on this same site. It was formally opened in 1898. Again the club sought another place because the coming of the auto ferries and railroads endangered the club. Belvedere Cove was then decided upon. The club purchased a site on shore and anchorage in the cove in 1925. A twenty-six acre basin was dredged and temporary quarters rented in 1927. The club tore down a hotel on the site (the old Belvedere Hotel), built a large wharf and in 1934 completed its fourth clubhouse. Although the San Francisco Yacht Club was the first on the Pacific Coast, it was mostly made up of owners of large boats, and the small boat owners did not like being outclassed. In 1888 the3r met at Arian Hall in San Francisco to form a club of their own, the Corinthian Yacht Club. They discussed and planned. Each member gave $50 and they bought the point of Valentine's Island for $250. The club soon gave its name (Corinthian) to the island itself. The clubhouse was painted red and was known as "Red House". W. C. Moody was the club's first commodore. On opening day, the men invited the women over for afternoon tea and dancing; although in those days women couldn't belong to the club. At 5:00 P.M. the bells rang and all of the women guests were escorted down to the docks and onto the Tiburon-San Francisco ferry. It was considered a disgrace for a woman to be at the club after five. When the ladies were gone everything became strictly a "stag affair". When the Oakland Canoe Club came over, special events included paddling races for the ladies (the prize was a silver badge), and sailing with lady passengers (the prize, a silver token). During these years, the boats' entries into the lagoon for the winter was one of the social events of the season. The Marin Journal of May 8, 1902 said, "Saturday was a gala day for the yachtsmen at Tiburon- pleasing, refining and elevating". From as far as San Jose people would come to see the drawbridge raised by horses to allow the boats to enter the protected water of the lagoon. This marked the end of the yachting season. Traditionally the men would retire to the club and eat a sailor's meal of tack and beans. The first clubhouse burned to the ground. The current building includes a part of the original structure. In those years the club had a mascot, a bear. It got too big to be a mascot and was killed for a barbecue dinner. It seems that he was more successful as a mascot than as a dinner. The meat was too tough. The Belvedere Sailing Society which was organized December 2, 1949, has a boathouse and dock on Belvedere Lagoon. The membership consists of small-boat owners in the area, and the Society sponsors social events and instruction sessions as well as racing on the lagoon. SCHOOLS In 1895 the first school on the peninsula was constructed on the Reed Ranch. Located near the present railroad trestle at Belveron Gardens, it was in the old Reed School District. The story is told that when the Chan family with its five children moved away from its pig ranch next to Paradise Park, the old Reed School had to close clown. The district was annexed into Belvedere about 1921. The first school in Tiburon was in a boarded-off section of one of the railroad houses in Tiburon. This was completely inadequate. A school was built on the Tiburon waterfront. There are stories told of the Cherry sisters who were teachers in that school. They were ladies somewhat down on their luck who taught their charges in full, but dated, evening dress - the remains of their old wardrobes. In 1898 there were 32 students with a Miss Leeds as teacher. In the early 1900s this second school was torn down. Tiburon children attended Belvedere School while a new school was being built on the present site. This school, replaced in 1925, housed eight pupils. Two of the former students were George Harlan Sr. and Sam Olsen. Mr. Olsen recalls that one of the teachers used to take naps in the afternoon because she was rather elderly. In 1931 there were 45 students in the Tiburon School and two teachers. There were five graduates in the Tiburon class of 1931. In 1955 the present Tiburon School was built on the same site. There are four classrooms and an office. During the early years children from Tiburon and Belvedere took the ferry to Sausalito and then the electric train to get to Tamalpais High School. In the 1890s the first Belvedere School was a one-room structure on San Rafael Avenue, just off Laurel Avenue, then called Fig Road. The second Belvedere School was built in 1903 on the present site. It was of redwood shingles and had window boxes planted with pink geraniums. The kindergarten boasted gingham curtains made by women members of the Board of Trustees. It had other amazing features, such as a large library, a shop with power tools, a laboratory where science was taught (with a Bunsen burner for each child), an indoor basketball court, and four classrooms. We hear that the students never played hooky. There were 25 students in 1898. Miss Florence Boynton, who taught in that first one-room school, was principal and taught the lower grades in the new school. She lived in San Francisco and used to come over by ferry every day. For approximately eighteen years she taught here. Then, after the 1906 earthquake, she was asked to accompany a Belvedere family to Tokyo to teach English to the children of Baron and Baroness Matsuke, related to the Emporer himself. (A memorial school was founded by one of her pupils; the Nishi Nashi School, at 22 Nishi Nashi, Tokyo, Japan.) Students at these early Belvedere schools remember how they used to buy fresh fruit and vegetables for their school lunches from the Chinese vegetable man who came over on the first ferry every morning from San Francisco with his two huge baskets of fresh food. Would-be strong men among the young people used to challenge each other to just lift the heavy baskets which he carried. There were 51 pupils in the second Belvedere school and it was considered a fire and earthquake hazard by 1938. The third school, built in 1939, was described as "pretty as a jewel". It had two classrooms and a library, and is still in use. A two-room wing was added in 1955. Mrs. Jessie Niven Hodge taught in both the second and third schools. In the early days she would board the Sausalito-Belvedere ferry and then walk over the hill to the school. Children used to wait along the paths to have the honor of carrying her books and lunch. She taught two generations of Belvedere children, and after her sudden death in 1952, the Jessie Niven Hodge Memorial Garden was built at Belvedere School. Due to the prophecy of a fortune teller's cracked crystal ball, half of the school property had been sold when the third school was built in 1939 for a "shrinking" population. Since the population grew instead of shrinking, another school was needed. At this time, Tiburon was facing the same problem. The two districts consolidated in 1949. Reed School was completed by the spring of 1952. Bel Aire School was opened in 1956. Besides the public schools, there is Marin Country Day School, an independent elementary school established in 1956 and located near the Corte Madera Wye; and the Belvedere Nursery School, organized first in 1939 as a WPA play school and re-organized in 1944 on an independent basis. The school has had its own building since 1950. A St. Hilary's parochial school is planned for the future. Additional Comments: Extracted from: Shark Point - High Point An Illustrated History of TIBURON & BELVEDERE IN MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA BY EIGHTH GRADERS OF THE REED SCHOOL CLASSES OF 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958 PUBLISHED BY THE REED SCHOOL DISTRICT PARENT-TEACHER CLUB BELVEDERE-TIBURON MCMLVIII Designed by Lawton Kennedy, San Francisco 3000 Copies Printed by R. G. Fontana & Son, San Anselmo File at: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ca/marin/history/1958/sharkpoi/viiibuil518nms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cafiles/ File size: 17.9 Kb