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 Sulphur Springs, c. 1892, now the site of Old Mill School. |
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For a complete index of articles about the History of Homestead Valley, click here.  Jo Rescues Brown's Hall - December, 2001 On March 31, 1934, 11 Homestead residents formed the Homestead Progressive Club. Bill Brown, a grocer on Montford, loaned the club $2000 to build a community center on Miller between Montford and Evergreen in Homestead Valley. Local carpenters volunteered their time for the construction. Brown's Hall was initially used for carpenters' union and boy scout meetings, but it soon became the center of other activities. In 1947, Mill Valley annexed the two-block long commercial strip on Miller Avenue. From then on, Brown's Hall was within the city limits of Mill Valley. In the late 1950's, Brown's Hall was suffering from lack of maintenance, and was no longer serving the community very well. The Homestead Valley Improvement Club, formed on June 12, 1951, had trouble meeting its expenses. Real estate taxes owed the city of Mill Valley were a particular drain. In March 1960, the board of governors voted 19 to 3 to accept a $17,500 offer for Brown's Hall. Jo Schlesinger, president of the Improvement Club, was determined to save Brown's Hall. The deed of conveyance specified that the property could only be sold with the approval of the community. Election results were 130 against and 13 for selling. Jo rallied community volunteers, first to clean up Brown's Hall, and then to develop ideas for producing at least one money-making event every month. As a result there were lectures, plays, art shows, concerts, dances, etc. Will Geer, a famous impresario, initially brought morality plays, and later performed in his memorable Mark Twain monologue. Local acting talent organized themselves into the Homestead Players. Sali Lieberman's involvement in the theatrical productions led to the establishment of the Marin Theater Company which today offers highly rated plays in its theater across the street from Brown's Hall. A Candlelight Concert series of five winter concerts, including three by the Bach to Mozart Players with musicians from the San Francisco Symphony, began in 1960 and continued until 1978. In 1962, the same group presented an outdoor concert in Stolte Grove. These concerts continue to be held every year on the day before Labor Day. Such are the legacies of Jo's rescue of Brown's Hall. Tune in next month for the second rescue and its transformation in response to a higher calling. Back to index Worley Tract and Madrone Park - November, 2001 A creek originates on the old Diaz ranch, now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, crosses Homestead Boulevard (now completely overgrown and difficult to find), flows through a valley between Ferndale and Melrose where it has a dam and joins Reed Creek at Homestead School. It's a sizable stream in winter, and might be called the South Fork Reed Creek. Its drainage shed includes the Worley Tract. Who ever heard of that? Certainly not many of the people who live there. In 1909, A.D. Avery surveyed the Worley tract for Alfred I. Worley and his wife Fannie. It consists of block 19 and part of block 20 on the original 1903 Homestead Valley subdivision map No. 7 of the Tamalpais Land & Water Co. The boundary line of the Worley Tract starts on LaVerne near Chapman Drive, follows LaVerne to Ferndale which it follows almost to the end, and then goes straight down to the starting point on LaVerne. The Worley Tract included 7 large parcels and two new streets: Melrose Avenue and Rydal Avenue. Today's Melrose between Montford and LaVerne was then know as Avery Street. It also included two lanes: Gretna Lane was a cutoff in the Ferndale hairpin turn, and Skye Lane connected Melrose and Ferndale at the Melrose hairpin turn. Skye Lane is still shown but not named on today's assessor's parcel map, but Gretna Lane is nowhere to be found. The Worley Tract parcels did not sell right away. A 1916 map of Homestead's street light locations shows that only about one third of one parcel had been sold resulting in two parcels on LaVerne across from Scott Street; one was 1.53 acres, the other, 2.40 acres. Today, the Worley Tract contains 68 parcels and 60 homes. Also in the creek's drainage shed is Madrone Park, a subdivision surveyed by A.D. Avery in October 1908 for Ralston L. White, president of the Tamalpais Land & Water Co. The land, just below Homestead Boulevard, had been block 24 and part of block 25 on the original 1903 subdivision map. It consisted of 21 parcels on Ferndale and the new Laurel Avenue, today's Madrone Park Circle. Most of the parcels were between 1/6 and 3/4 acres. Today, there are 37 parcels and 30 homes in Madrone Park. The Worley Tract and Madrone Park - a beautiful part of Homestead Valley. Back to index Bull Roasts in Stolte Grove - October, 2001 Fred Stolte used to hold an annual party in Stolte Grove for his colleagues in the Advertising Display Department of the San Francisco Examiner. Three of the invitations to these affairs were recently discovered in the effects of his son, Frank. One invitation "Dares You to be Present at the 3rd Annual Bull Roast for Sunday, June 5th" - no year given, but directions to Stolte Grove indicate it was in the thirties before the Golden Gate Bridge was constructed. The invitation list included 92 "Gentlemen of the Ensemble." The site was "Camp Where The Road Turns Back [Montford and LaVerne], Fred Stolte's Ranch, Mill Valley California." A second invitation, dated Sunday, June 7, 1936, was in the form of a newspaper called "The Stolte Roaster" which poked a lot of fun at various individuals and gave the following agenda for the "Bull Roast":
A third Bull Roast announcement reflected the war time mentality by inviting "All enlisted men to the Bull Roast at Stolte's Redwood Grove in Mill Valley on Tuesday, September 28, 1943 at 1700 (that means 5:00 o'clock)." A map showed how to get there from the Golden Gate Bridge. The turn off from highway 101 after Marin City went under a "Redwood Bridge." Landmarks were Tam High (the football field was across the road), the 2 AM Club and Homestead School. Stolte's telephone number was listed as Mill Valley 329. The Stolte Grove barbecue pit of Bull Roast days is still in use. Back to index Open Space - How it Began - September, 2001 Homestead Valley's open space abuts thousands of acres of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. What a tremendous asset - a major factor in the quality of life for Homestead residents. Why and how did the community decide to acquire open space and thereby preclude development? Where did the process begin? In 1971, the Homestead Valley Improvement Club (HVCA) asked Geoff Barrett to take responsibility for conservation and environmental matters. For example, he represented HVCA at public hearings on the formation of the Point Reyes National Seashore. He soon began to focus his attention on Homestead Valley. On December 22, 1971 he wrote a letter. Here are a few extracts: "Whither Homestead? Homestead Valley still has much undeveloped land. If the residents do nothing, the chances are that much of this will be developed within the next few years. Should a sufficient number of people be really interested in preserving open space in Homestead, there is much to be done.
Geoff sent his famous "Whither Homestead" letter to about 20 HVCA board members and other Homesteaders he considered influential. There was no response. About a month later, he decided on a different tack. He invited these and other people to an exploratory meeting at his home. Although there was general enthusiasm for preserving the land, no one had a clue as to how it might be done. About a month later, he organized a public hike across potentially available open space land. The hike ended at Stolte Grove, which was high on everyone's list of what should be publicly owned. At this point, Mike Cann stepped forward and asked Geoff if he could help. This is where it all began. Other Homesteaders pitched in to perform the numerous tasks required to bring about the dream envisioned by Geoff Barrett in his famous "Whither Homestead" letter. On September 18, 1973, the voters passed a $600,000 bond issue. The vote was 529 yes, and 138 no. The rest in history. Back to index Heckman Tract - August, 2001 By 1857, Samuel Throckmorton had assumed complete administration and ownership of Rancho Sausalito, 19,000 acres which the Mexican government had granted to Captain William Richardson in 1838. Throckmorton divided the open cattle range into small dairy ranches which he leased to tenants from the Azores, islands owned by Portugal. Supplying the rapidly growing city of San Francisco with dairy products was far more profitable than cattle ranching which produced hides and tallow for export. Around 1866, Throckmorton built a lodge, which he called "The Homestead" on the corner of Ethel and Montford. The site had previously been occupied by William Reynolds, who managed Reed's cattle herds in the early 1850's. Several farm buildings are evident in early drawings of the lodge. In 1900, "The Homestead" burned down. Shortly after the Tamalpais Land & Water Co. subdivided Homestead Valley in 1903, Herman Heckman, a carpenter from Wisconsin, bought lots 1, 2 and 3 in Block 3. This triangular piece of property is delineated today by Evergreen Ave., Linden Lane and Ethel Ave. He created the Heckman Tract subdivision of 19 lots, and built a 13-room house on the corner where "The Homestead" had been. At that time, Linden Lane was called Heckman Street and Montford Ave. was called Richardson Street. In 1909, Cooper's Grocery opened on Richardson Street, one lot from the corner of Evergreen Ave. The LaVerne post office operated in the store from 1909 to 1914. The 1935 telephone directory lists "J.G. Cooper" at Evergreen and Heckman, and "Homestead Valley Grocery" at Evergreen and Heckman, both with the same phone number, 352. The 1935 telephone directory lists only two other residences in the Heckman Tract: Mrs. H. E. Heckman at Ethel and Richardson, the site of "The Homestead" and S. Alex White at 128 Evergreen, which is one lot from the corner of Richardson. There were more residences in the Heckman Tract - not everyone had a telephone. Only 66 telephones were listed for all of Homestead Valley. The 1931 directory shows only 12. The store remained in business until the late 1960's. It is now a private residence with 120 feet of frontage created from two of the original lots. The Heckman home occupied three of the original lots. It is now an apartment complex with 120 feet of frontage on Ethel and 110 feet on Montford (formerly Richardson St.). So in the last 100 years, the historic triangular piece of property where "The Homestead" and its out buildings stood, is now the Heckman Tract with 16 residential buildings. Back to index Where is Homestead Valley? - July, 2001 It's the valley between Mill Valley and Tam Valley. But where are its boundaries? Who knows and who cares? Some residents mistakenly believe they live in Mill Valley.  Check your tax bill for an item labeled, "Homestead-Sanitary"- that's evidence. Lots of Marinites think Homestead Valley is part of Mill Valley. It's not. It's an unincorporated area of the county.In 1866, Samuel Throckmorton built a lodge which he named "The Homestead" at Ethel and Montford. The area became Homestead Valley. In 1892 the Tamalpais Land & Water Company (TL&WC) prepared "Map No. 3, Showing Subdivisions of Farming and Grazing Lands, Sausalito Ranch." The word "Homestead" appears alongside a creek, implying that Homestead Valley was defined by the drainage shed of what is today called Reed Creek. In 1902 TL&WC prepared "Map No. 6 Showing Lands Adjacent to Homestead Valley Marin County, Cal." This was a subdivision map of the area now known as Almonte plus the eastern end of Homestead Valley. In 1903, TL&WC prepared "Map No. 7 Homestead Valley Marin County, Cal," a subdivision map with clearly defined boundaries. Lots were sold, houses built and the community grew rapidly. The first of many proposals of an alliance with Mill Valley came in 1908. The only annexation occurred In 1947, when the city of Mill Valley annexed the commercial strip along Miller from Montford to Reed. Also in 1947, a governmental agency called, "Homestead Valley Sanitary District" (HVSD) was established. Since then, the boundaries of HVSD have defined the political boundaries of Homestead Valley. So where is Homestead Valley? It's where the sewer district is. HVSD includes all the land on Map No. 7 (excepting the Miller Ave. commercial strip) plus a large area to the east consisting of about one fourth of the land on Map No. 6 plus additional land to the south, all in the Reed Creek drainage shed. More recently the Flying Y ranch and other properties on the west side of Sequoia Valley Road have been annexed - they are also in the same drainage shed. Homestead Valley is surrounded by Mill Valley, Almonte Sanitary District, Tamalpais Sanitary District, Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Muir Woods Park, an unincorporated area west of Sequoia Valley Rd. You can drive on only some of the boundaries. Start on Montford half a block up from Miller with Homestead Valley on the left and Mill Valley on the right. Follow Montford to Janes to Molino to Edgewood to Sequoia Valley Road. From here on things get complicated. The boundary is on impassable open space and between backyards most of the way back to the start. Back to index LaVerne Heights - June, 2001 The Mill Valley Library's History Room has an interesting map entitled, "LaVerne Heights Mill Valley Marin Co.; J. W. Wright & Co. Exclusive Agents." This map would have been shown to someone interested in buying one of the lots for sale in a subdivision between Montford and Edgewood in what is now the Pixie Trail area. There is no date on the map, but the library label suggests it dates from 1920 -1930. My guess is 1910 - 1920, because the then old Public School is shown on Janes Street, and a house is shown where the new Homestead School opened in 1921. The map shows the location and dimensions of each of the 175 lots on 9 new streets, along with fanciful depictions of nearby residences and sales-oriented statements of questionable validity. The lots were located on streets with unfamiliar names. Pixie Trail was named Marin Ave. Upper Pixie Trail starting at Edgewood was named Bolinas Ave. The open space trail connecting Upper Pixie Trail with Hart Lane was named Wright St. Hart Lane was named Portola Ave. The unnamed lane parallel to Hart Lane at the other end of Cecily Lane was named Fiesta Ave. The open space trail from the Edgewood gate to the bench on Pixie Trail was named Pacific Ave. The open space trail from the corner of Edgewood and Cape Court to Pixie Trail was named White Ave. Cape Court was named Plymouth Rock Ave. Seymour Lane was named Seymour Ave. Several houses are indicated, including Capt. Watson's where the two Pixie Trails meet, Capt. Robinson's on Edgewood, and the Stolte and Ferguson homes at the end of Montford. The drawings depict these homes as being much grander than they actually were at that time. Also shown is a scene of "The beautiful view of Mt. Tamalpais from La Verne Heights." Only a few lots on Edgewood would have such a view. Next to the railroad on Miller Ave. are the notes, "Fast electric train 1/2 hour service to San Francisco" and "Northwest Pacific electric 15 minutes to Sausalito." This implies a 15-minute ferry ride - impossible. At the corner of Melrose and Montford is the note, "To Locust Ave. Station - 5 minute walk." A lot purchaser was expected to walk fast. On a street named Park Ave. which connected Edgewood with Miller is the statement, "900 ft. to Park Ave. station." Nothing about the uphill climb on the way home. Today, most of the LaVerne Heights subdivision is open space with a few houses on the periphery. Homestead Valley residents should be pleased that the subdivision did not turn out as planned, although the dirt roads cut in the hillside 80 years ago still exist. Eric Krag eventually acquired most of the land for his Rancho del Topa and sold it for Homestead's open space. Back to index Homestead School - May, 2001 In 1905, the Tamalpais Land & Water Company donated a half-acre parcel on the corner of Janes and Montford as the site of the first school in Homestead Valley. In 1907, the Mill Valley School District voters approved a school bond tax. A two-room school built in 1907 at a cost of about $4000 opened in January 1908 with 60 pupils. It was described as "a well built frame structure containing two large, well ventilated, class rooms, ante rooms, and a big basement." William Mahoney was the architect. Here's what happened to the building in the late 1920's. It was cut in half, and the two parts were separated. The result was two large houses, each on its own lot. They've been modified somewhat since then, but if you turn up Janes from Montford you can tell that the first two houses on the left were once one building. The rest of the story is folklore. The two families who lived in these houses for many years were good friends. When the husband in one house and the wife in the other house died, the widower and widow decided to be married, and live in one of the houses. Who moved in with whom? The question remains unanswered. In 1920, the Mill Valley School District bought a 1.7-acre parcel on the corner of Melrose and Montford for $2,250. A new two-room school was constructed. It opened in November 1921 and was initially named Laverne Public School. Edna Maguire, a UC-Berkeley graduate with teaching experience in central California was the first principal-teacher. In 1927 she assumed the same position at Tamalpais Park School. She retired from the Mill Valley system in 1954. In 1956, Edna Maguire School opened in Alto. Classes were large in the 1920's. Mrs. Keith McLellan one year confronted 52 children in four grades. Incidentally, she walked two miles to school from her home at 211 Summit Avenue in Mill Valley. In the 1930's the school, now known as Homestead School, closed for lack of pupils. In 1948 it was reopened for grades one to three. In 1949 a second building with three classrooms was built. In 1954 another building with three classrooms was constructed. In 1966, the original 2-room school built in 1920 was demolished. "Portables" were brought in supplementing the permanent classrooms to serve grades kindergarten through 6. In 1983 Homestead School was once again closed for lack of pupils. The classrooms were leased to various private enterprises. In 1992 the Mill Valley School District leased the school to Marin Horizon School which made many improvements to the physical plant. Summer school began in June and a full toddler through eighth grade primary program began in September. And the future of Homestead School? The question remains unanswered. Back to index Early Days in Homestead - April, 2001 The October 1967 Homestead Headlines contained an interesting article based on Joan Rosen's interview with Lance Robinson. Here are excerpts from her article entitled, "TIME PAST." "Through the windows of 'an old Mill Valley house' Lance Robinson showed me Homestead Valley as it has grown since 1910. The house, built by his mother and father about 60 years ago, holds the charm of all its years in warm redwood, dark and gleaming, worn to its textured grain. "From here the Robinsons have seen Homestead Valley grow from a place where redwood trees grew up the northern slope, and where one crooked, dusty road looped through several small farms and homesteads to the park and swimming hole near the Stolte's place. "After the Earthquake, there was something of a land boom and community enterprise in selling neighborhood lots. Realtors Pimlott and Whorff (with offices at Park Ave. RR station) assisted in a more formalized development called MILLWOOD HEIGHTS (along Edgewood). Their brochure stated that 'it was a panoramic plateau less than 10 minutes from the RR station, 45 minutes from San Francisco, with climate unsurpassed - neither sultry nor foggy.' Lots were $200 to $500 with 10% down and $4 to $10 per month payments. "Three types of people settled Homestead: agriculturalists, office workers and artists. There was never any 'other side of the tracks.' In fact, to San Franciscans, it was rather 'Bohemian' or 'racy' to live here. "As Homestead grew, the problems of community growth (like bringing in electricity) brought neighbors together, and for these purposes Capt. and Mrs. Robinson (Lance Robinson's mother and father) helped create the Homestead Valley Improvement Club. "Children walked to Muir Beach (known then as Big Lagoon) to fish and camp - the trail gently rising through what is now Green Gulch Ranch. Walking was the only way to get around for a youngster then. "Mill Valley was a town of and for hikes. As many as 5000 to 10,000 hikers came from San Francisco on weekends. Many trudged up the Molino-Edgewood Crest towards the 'hogsback' (Mountain Home). At night their 'bugs' (a #2-1/2 can with candle and bailing wire handle) danced and twinkled in the distance like fireflies against the black of the mountain. Each family, of course, had its own 'bug' hidden away in a stump since there were no lights outside town. It was like stealing a man's house to steal his 'bug.' "After years of travel, Lance Robinson has come back to Homestead, to the house he grew up in, to be with his aging mother." Back to index Who Owns the Streets? - March, 2001 In 1890 the Tamalpais Land & Water Company (TL&WC) started selling properties that are today part of Mill Valley, Almonte and Homestead Valley. Subdivision maps located lots and larger parcels as well as streets. In addition, lanes were established to connect some of the streets in the hills.  For example, someone living on Molino in Mill Valley could walk down the Heuters Lane steps, turn left on Ethel and then go down the Miller Lane steps to get to the train depot. This route was a lot faster than getting the horse and buggy out of the barn and driving to the depot on the streets.In most California subdivisions lot ownership extends out to the middle of the street even though it is a public right of way. However, TL&WC specified, "the lots do not include any fee title to streets, avenues, lanes, alleys, paths, passage ways, roads and boulevards." TL&WC dedicated these streets, lanes, etc. for public use which the public agency was invited to accept. In 1909 the town of Mill Valley accepted only those streets, lanes, etc. that were at that time used and traveled over by the public which "means such use by vehicles drawn by horses or mules, or propelled by steam, electricity or any other power, and does not include use by bicycles, pedestrians or persons on horseback." Many have still not been accepted. TL&WC had been chartered as a 100-year corporation in 1888 and therefore had to go out of business in 1988. It had sold all the lots and parcels on its subdivision maps, but it still owned most of the streets, lanes, etc. Their 1988 quitclaim deed says, "TL&WC do hereby remise, release and forever quitclaim to The Homestead Valley Land Trust any and all rights, titles, and interests it has, or may have, in any real property, whether represented by fee ownership, easements, streets, lanes, alleys, thoroughfares, and/or any other real property interests, laying within the boundaries of the County of Marin." In 1995 the Homestead Valley Land Trust (HVLT) hired a title specialist to list the properties it had acquired by accepting TL&WC's quitclaim deed. It was discovered that HVLT owned most of the streets and lanes not only in Homestead Valley, but also in Almonte and the city of Mill Valley. In 1998, the County of Marin accepted an HVLT quitclaim deed conveying streets in Homestead and Almonte that are maintained by the County Public Works Dept. and certain paper streets adjacent to County Open Space Land. HVLT still owns many lanes, paper streets and vehicular streets not maintained by the county. Since July 1999, HVLT has been negotiating with the City of Mill Valley to accept a similar quitclaim deed conveying 50 streets, 11 lanes and 19 trails in Mill Valley that HVLT owns. Back to index Fire Protection - February, 2001 In the early years, Homestead's fire protection service came from the Marin County Fire Department. In 1940, Ove Johnson watched helplessly while his home at 235 LaVerne burned to the ground. The county fire fighters had responded to the call but they were not authorized to fight structure fires - they were there to prevent the fire from spreading. Ove was furious. He did something about this sad state of affairs. After rebuilding his home, he bought an old Hudson truck in a raffle. He and five friends refurbished it as a fire truck. In an emergency, Ove's wife sounded the siren on top of their house. The volunteer fire brigade rushed to the Johnson's garage, started the fire truck and sped off to the fire. In 1950 Mrs. White, who owned a lumber yard, gave the firemen all the lumber they needed to build a firehouse. She also sold them the lot on the corner of Evergreen and Melrose for $100. Dirt from excavating for the new school across the street was used as fill along the creek. Lee Holden, a contractor, built the firehouse. A dance was held there on New Year's Eve. In 1962, paid firemen were hired for the Homestead Valley Fire Department - no more volunteers. In 1972 two new bays were added to the building. A few years later Homestead Valley's and Tamalpais Valley's fire departments merged. In 1980 the firehouse was closed. Through a joint powers arrangement, Homestead was served from firehouses in Mill Valley and Tam Valley. The Homestead firehouse was rented as a residence. In 1989 the Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the firehouse severely and it was demolished. With financial help from the Homestead Valley Land Trust to pay for a landscape architect and materials, volunteers developed the site into a park. Volunteer Park was dedicated in 1992. The Land Trust leased the park from the Fire District for $1 per year. In 1993 the agreement between Mill Valley and Tam Valley fire departments was voided. The Tamalpais Fire Protection District decided that a fire station would have to be located in Homestead Valley. In 1994, a temporary solution was found. Two firefighters were housed in a home on Evergreen - an ambulance and a fire truck were parked in the yard. In 1998 detailed engineering and architectural plans were developed for the construction of a new firehouse on the site of Volunteer Park. This project was abandoned in 1999 when the Southern Marin Fire Protection District was formed by merger of Tam Valley's and Alto-Richardson Bay's fire departments. A new arrangement was made for Homestead to be served once again from Mill Valley's and Tam Valley's firehouses. Back to index Homestead Terrace - January, 2001 The apartment complex on Linden Lane between Montford and Evergreeen has an interesting history. In 1903, Michael J. Maguire of South Carolina purchased this parcel of land and built a large two story house for his wife Winifred Crowe from County Cork Ireland and their three children. In the 1950's, his son Red lived there with his wife, Jean Maguire Mitchell, acclaimed cellist, co-founder of the Marin Symphony, Milley award winner and present day Homestead resident. In 1967, Homestead Terrace replaced the Maguire house, but not without considerable controversy. The March 1966 issue of the Homestead Headlines had the following lead article: County Plans Old-Folks Housing for Linden Lane Property - Some Objections Raised at General Meeting - Not Much Choice, Anyway. Housing for the low-income elderly is being built at selected locations in the county now. Homestead Valley is going to be one location. If the housing authority is sufficiently enamored of the Linden Lane property between Evergreen and Montford, all the tears and breast-beating in the world won't help. However, need we weep? We are pleased with the horizontal integration of Homestead - varied races, religions, professions, avocations - and the vertical integration also helps save the valley from tract-like sterility. This is not a community of button-down junior executives in their 30's with a Saran-wrapped family in tidy, look-alike houses. We also have little old ladies who slowly walk little old dogs along twisting roads. Elderly men share flower clippings, and maybe even shake canes at kids. Older people add a dimension of stability and continuity - and unpredictability - to a community. Fifty elderly ladies and gentlemen are not going to add nearly the traffic to the valley that 50 younger people would. And for a block or two along Evergreen, we can live with them. The Campbell and Wong plan calls for 30 units: 20 single- and 10 multiple-occupant apartments grouped in a hopefully visually pleasant manner. From here the elderly can walk to shops, along the roads of Homestead (already used by so many that a few more isn't going to make much difference), to the village library. And they will be able to rent at prices they can pay. What would you rather see on the lot? We aren't going to be lucky enough to preserve nothing for very long. All the fields full of nothing are going to be full of people unless community action is taken soon. You don't want the Housing Authority? What DO you want? And what are you willing to do to get it? This article written by W.G. Back to index A Significant Year - December, 2000 In early 1973 many Homesteaders sensed that something important could be accomplished. How to preserve open space, prevent further development and maintain the character of Homestead Valley became the focus of attention. After Brown's Hall was sold in 1972, planning was underway to acquire the Hughes Call property next to Homestead School for a community center. County Services Area #14, created in 1968 to serve recreation needs, would facilitate attaining these goals. Several residents with the expertise needed worked diligently throughout the year. The results were astounding:
1973 will long be remembered as a significant year in the history of Homestead Valley. Back to index Camp Tamalpais - November, 2000 Today we know it as Tamalpais Canyon. The entrance faces Stolte Grove. Tamalpais Drive follows the creek past large redwood trees, several cars in a parking lot and a bank of about 25 mail boxes. The road soon becomes stairs passing a few houses and following Reed Creek up to the Cowboy Rock and Ridgewood trails that access Homestead's open space lands. Where are all the houses that go with those mail boxes and cars? Many are perched on hillsides accessed by foot paths such as Park Way and Charles Lane. Residents climb as many as 200 steps to enjoy life in a canyon surrounded by redwoods, bay trees and ferns. Tam Canyon was originally block 12 on Tamalpais Land and Water CompanyMap No. 7 of Homestead Valley surveyed in 1903. This 10.66 acre parcel was subdivided in 1908 into 137 lots. That's an average lot size of 3389 square feet. Today's county regulations for this area specify a minimum lot size of 7500 square feet if the lot is flat, 15,000 on a 20% slope and 30,000 on a 30% slope. At the entrance on an arch made from redwood logs was a sign that said Camp Tamalpais. In 1910, the San Francisco Examiner advertised lots for sale at $75 which could be paid for in $5 monthly installments after a down payment of $15. For an additional $23, the developer would provide a tent platform on the lot with a 10'x12' tent and a folding cot. Reed Creek was dammed for a swimming pool where the parking lot is today. Cooking was done on a large fireplace behind where the mail boxes are today. Water was supplied from the Belvedere reservoir. San Francisco families escaped summer fog by camping out in Camp Tamalpais. Small cottages soon replaced tents. Lots were later combined for larger houses. The depression of the 1930's caused the demise of Camp Tamalpais as a summer resort. Year-round residents seeking seclusion and privacy moved in. Tam Canyon became a colony of artists and writers. In 1940, a storm caused a house to slide down the hillside. Two people in the cottage below were killed. By the sixties there were quite a few families in the canyon, a great place for children to grow up. One father managed to provide TV for his kids by installing an antenna on top of a tall redwood tree. Tam Canyon is still a beautiful place to live. Back to index Homestead in the Thirties - October, 2000 The stock market crash near the end of the roaring twenties led to the depression of the thirties. Folks who lived in Homestead Valley during the thirties say that times were tough, so tough in fact that Homestead School had to close for lack of pupils. Few homes had telephones, only 12 in 1931, although this increased to 66 by 1935. Automobiles were rare. Streets were unpaved. A few wooden sidewalks were still in existence. One got around mostly on bicycles, horses or shank's mare. With the repeal of prohibition in 1933, Joe Hornsby purchased the out-of-business grain and feed store on the corner of Montford and Miller and established a bar called The Brown Jug. Joe left in 1935 after a divorce from his wife Simiana Silva, daughter of chicken rancher Joaquin A. Silva. Joe's tear-jerking good-bye letter to Simiana focuses on how much he would miss their five year old daughter Eunice. Also in 1933, Bill Brown, a grocer on the corner of Montford and Ethel, loaned the Homestead Progressive Club $2000 to build a community center on Miller Avenue just two doors down from The Brown Jug.  Local carpenters and other residents volunteered their time for the construction of Brown's Hall which became the center of Homestead's community activities, carpenters union meetings, boy scout meetings, dances, etc.Brown's Hall and The Brown Jug probably helped Homestead residents get through the tough times of the thirties. One can imagine them attending a political meeting of the Homestead Progressive Club in Brown's Hall and then adjourning to the Brown Jug. Bars in the city of Mill Valley had to close at 10 PM, but The Brown Jug which was outside the city limits stayed open until 2AM. It therefore became known as the 2AM Club. In 1947, the city of Mill Valley annexed the two-block long commercial strip on Miller Avenue. The 2AM Club as well as Brown's Hall became part of Mill Valley. Across Montford from The Brown Jug was Bill's Super Service Station which sold 76 gasoline. Next door was an automobile dealership for Willys and Pontiac which provided lubrication services, painting and towing. These establishments were part of the Locust shopping area, which was begun in 1929. It was the first commercial development outside the town center of Mill Valley. After the Golden Gate Bridge was finished in 1937, business improved as more people and more cars arrived. Some stayed. Back to index The Golden Twenties - September, 2000 The roaring twenties - a time of prosperity in the United States. Barry Spitz in "Mill Valley - The Early Years," refers to the decade as the Golden ‘20's. Real estate prices surged, automobile ownership grew and business was booming. What about Homestead Valley? Roaring? Golden? In 1922 Fred Stolte owned a Reo. But, his commute to The Examiner began with a bicycle ride to Locust Station. Commuters left their bicycles there unlocked. Roads were not paved. They were graded when needed using a Fresno, which was a horse-drawn scraper blade. Dowd's in Mill Valley did the job. A horse-drawn water tank followed the Fresno to water down the dust. Roads could also be muddy. In February 1925, heavy rain caused flooding from Almonte to Locust and there was no train service. 1920 was the year that Edna Maguire arrived to be principal-teacher of the new Homestead School on the corner of Montford and Melrose. She transferred to Park School in 1927 and had an outstanding career. Telephones were rare, but most homes had electricity and running water. The arrival of town gas in the 1920's simplified heating and cooking, but residents waited until the late 1940's for a public sewer system. Lush vegetable and flower gardens proliferated. Horse manure was readily available for fertilizer and the public water supply was not metered. Deer were never a problem - if you saw one in the yard you shot it. Commercial agricultural enterprises included the Joaquin Silva chicken ranch on La Verne, the Harry Okubara chicken ranch on Montford, the Dias Dairy on Ridgewood and the Hillside Dairy on Sequoia Valley Road. Fred Stolte constructed picnic tables and a barbecue in Stolte Grove where he held parties for the boys from the Examiner. Women prepared the food and then left the boys alone to barbecue the steaks. Prohibition had started in 1920, and it's possible that home brew and bootleg liquor enlivened the parties. There was a speak-easy at Ethel and Montford and a dance hall on Linden Lane (then called Richardson) just south of Evergreen. Ah the roaring/golden twenties in Homestead Valley. Back to index Homestead Boulevard - August, 2000 Start at Tam junction and follow Almonte Boulevard. Bothin Marsh Open Space is on the right and Almonte on the left. Turn left at the high school to stay on Almonte Boulevard which soon changes its name to Homestead Boulevard. When you pass Morningsun Avenue you're in Homestead Valley. Continue following Homestead Boulevard past Midway Avenue and you come to the start of Homestead Trail to the open space lands. The trail tries to follow the route of the original Homestead Boulevard, but can't always find it and ultimately turns off to the right, heading for the Eagle trail. Only two roads in all of Homestead Valley are shown on a Tamalpais Land & Water Company map entitled "Map No. 3, Showing Subdivisions of Farming and Grazing Lands, Sausalito Ranch, Surveyed by Charles M. Clapp, C.E., 1892." One unnamed road starts at today's corner of Montford and Miller and climbs gradually up the ridge on the north side of the valley following today's Montford, Janes, Molino and Edgewood. It then turns left on the named Sequoia Valley Road which goes to Sequoia Valley, now called Muir Woods. In 1892, San Francisco's Bohemian Club held their annual summer encampment at what is now called Bohemian Grove in Muir Woods. The other road is named Homestead Boulevard and starts where the high school is today and climbs gradually up the ridge on the south side of the valley ending at Sequoia Valley Road below Four Corners. Homestead Boulevard also appears on a 1905 map of Ranch 5 of the Tamalpais Land & Water Co. It was used by dairy ranchers up in the hills to bring milk down to the railroad in Almonte for shipment to Sausalito and on to San Francisco. Today, Homestead Boulevard is impassable where it is the boundary between Homestead's open space and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. In the early 1970's surveyors buried markers along the boundary. If you're lucky while beating your way through the brush you might find one and know you're on the original Homestead Boulevard. At its Sequoia Valley Road end, Homestead Boulevard has been renamed Amaranth Boulevard which serves a development of 17 homes. In poetry Amaranth is an imaginary flower that never fades or dies. Quite a contrast with Homestead Boulevard much of which is an imaginary thoroughfare that has faded and died. Back to index The Homestead - July, 2000 Around 1866, Samuel Throckmorton built a lodge on Rancho Sausalito, a 19,000-acre Mexican land grant originally awarded to William Richardson. Throckmorton lived in San Francisco. When he brought friends to his ranch to hunt elk and bear, they stayed in one half of the lodge, the ranch manager lived in the other half. The lodge, at the corner of Ethel and Montford, was called "The Homestead" a name later applied to the valley. Rancho Sausalito, open cattle range until the 1860's, was later divided into dairy ranches which were leased to tenants from Portugal's Azores Islands. In 1868, Jacob Gardner was hired as ranch manager.  It was a tough job overseeing the tenants, managing a large cattle ranch, maintaining 15 miles of fencing with several gates and farming at "The Homestead" where he had to keep riding horses ready for Throckmorton and his hunting buddies. After five years, he left for greener pastures.But he returned with his wife and family in 1880 after the murder of the interim ranch manager, Charles Severence. Every month, Severence made the rounds collecting rents in gold coin from the tenant dairymen. The cook at "The Homestead" plotted to murder Severence and take the gold. He dug a burial site and carefully disguised it. He waited for a night when the Severence family was away. Severance returned from his rounds later than usual with about $100, and immediately began the evening milking chores. The cook snuck up behind Severence, struck him with a hatchet, and shot him five times. He dragged the body to the burial site. Twelve days later, the body was found and the cook was arrested in Sausalito. He was put in jail where he hanged himself with a noose made from his undergarments. This was a sensational crime for that era. The funeral service in San Rafael for Charles Severence was the largest ever in Marin County. Throckmorton delivered the eulogy. Throckmorton viewed Rancho Sausalito as his pride and playground. He was jealous of it and would allow no trespassers or campers. One visitor wrote, "It was quite a privilege to obtain a special permit to spend a day at the ranch. You drove up from Sausalito in a livery conveyance to The Homestead, presented your permit and procured a key to the gate at Locust that would allow you to picnic at the Old Mill." Why didn't they picnic in Stolte Grove? Probably too many cattle around. Back to index Origins of the Community - June, 2000 Tamalpais Land & Water Company Map No. 7 subdivided Homestead Valley into parcels and streets as surveyed by A.D. Avery in 1903. A few of the streets had no names, e.g. those now named Hawthorne, Linden Lane (at one time named Heckman) and Melrose (at one time named Avery). Several parcels were soon sold. Herman Heckman bought the triangle bounded by Evergreen, Ethel, Montford and Linden Lane, and built a 13-room home on the corner of Ethel and Montford. Michael Maguire bought a parcel on the west side of Linden Lane between Montford and Evergreen, and built a two story house on the Montford corner. John Bone bought a parcel on the west side of Hawthorne between Evergreen and La Verne, and built a house on the corner of Evergreen. Lillian Ferguson bought a parcel at the end of the valley, built a house there and named her estate Three Groves. Fred Stolte bought the parcel across the street, and built a bachelor's cabin there. Alexander Eels bought a large parcel along Montford downstream from Three Groves, and planted eucalyptus trees as a windbreak. In 1905, Homestead residents got together for a work party and constructed a wooden sidewalk along Montford from Miller to Ethel. Many other wooden sidewalks were installed later - some lasted 30 years. Tamalpais Land & Water Co. donated a half acre on Janes for a school which opened in 1908 - it also served as a community center. Many San Franciscans made homeless by the 1906 earthquake and fire sought shelter in Homestead. The Heckmans housed many friends. The Bones set up several tents in their yard and provided water to neighbors whose wells had collapsed. Fred Stolte occupied his weekend cabin full time. Others bought lots, lived in tents for a while and later built their homes. They found that the commute to San Francisco was not all that inconvenient: train from Locust station to Sausalito, ferry to the city, street car to the job - door to door in less than an hour. The population grew quickly. Back to index The Wilderness Era - May, 2000 Until the 19th century, Marin County was a wilderness inhabited by stone age people. For hundreds of years, small communities of Coast Miwoks would live on the same site. The result was a dark mound (midden) loaded with archaeological treasures. The mound nearest to Homestead Valley is at the corner of La Goma and Locke Lane in Mill Valley. The next nearest mound is near Edna Maguire School (named after the Homestead School principal from 1920 to 1927). A Marin archaeological map shows the locations of many other Indian mounds, but there are none in Homestead Valley. The easiest way to walk to the ocean from the bay would be to cross the ridge at its lowest point, Windy Gap (Four Corners) at the head of Homestead Valley. Indian trails through Homestead Valley could have provided access to settlements on the coast. Sometimes a subsequently developed road follows an old Indian trail. For example, early maps show Homestead Boulevard, which was used in the 19th century to move dairy products to market in horse drawn wagons. This may have originally been an Indian trail. In 1776, Spaniards established the Presidio, the Mission and the Port of San Francisco. They used horses for travel to Mission San Jose, Mission Santa Clara and Monterey, the seat of government. Several foreign visitors, including Vancouver in 1792 and Von Langsdorff in 1806, reported that the Spaniards had no vessels of any kind. However, Vancouver did report that the Coast Miwoks, had canoes about ten feet long and three or four feet wide constructed of rushes and dried grass made up into rolls the length of the canoe, tapering to a point at each end, which were "the most rude and sorry contrivances I had ever beheld." The diary of Lt. Don Felipe de Goycoechea states that on August 5, 1793 he embarked and landed on the opposite side from the Puerto de San Francisco with 10 soldiers and a sergeant. His mission was to check out a report of a Russian ship in Bodega Bay. An anthropology student who has studied the diary concluded that the troop probably went up through Homestead Valley to Windy Gap, down into Franks Valley and along what is now part of the Dipsea trail to Bolinas Lagoon where they camped for the night. There, "the inhabitants manifested much wonderment at the horses and much fear." How did he get those horses across the bay without boats? Ah, the challenge of historical research. Back to index Laverne or La Verne? - April, 2000 What is the longest paved street in Homestead Valley? Assessor's maps call it LA VERNE. A recent Public Works Department legal document has it as La Verne. Both agencies use the two word version, but the street signs say LAVERNE, one word. What's going on here? Which is correct? The 1903 subdivision map names it La Verne (two words). Four street names on the map resemble those selected today by tract developers: Ferndale, Ridgewood, Edgewood and Sequoia Valley. Others are named for pioneers. Reed was the first white settler in Mill Valley. Richardson (now part of Montford) was the original land grantee of Rancho Sausalito. Ethel was the daughter of Joseph Eastland, first president of Tamalpais Land & Water Company. The only other streets on the 1903 map are Homestead and Molino (it starts at the old mill) plus Montford and La Verne, both of uncertain origins. Such streets as Melrose and Hawthorne were named later. A 1911 map subdivided La Verne Heights on today's open space land near Pixie Trail. Other subdivisions, Scott Tract and Worley Tract used La Verne. The Laverne post office operated from Jan. 1909 to April 1914 in Cooper's Grocery on today's Linden Lane. A Mr. Robert Byrne received a post card in 1914 addressed to him at Laverne Cal Homestead. Shirts worn by the baseball team in a 1914 photo have Laverne written on them. A 1916 map of the Laverne Public Highway Lighting District shows locations of street lights. A 1924 Sanborn map for insurance companies uses Laverne for the street as well as for Laverne Public School at Melrose and Montford. Note all these references to Laverne, one word. Telephone books of the 1930's list addresses of subscribers on both Laverne and La Verne. Today's uses Laverne. Who was La Verne? Who was Laverne? Use your imagination. Either name should work, but La Verne Avenue goes back to 1903. Back to index The History of Sunnyside Tract The History of Early Mill Valley The History of Homestead Valley, 2010 Articles The History of Homestead Valley, 2009 Articles The History of Homestead Valley, 2008 Articles The History of Homestead Valley, 2007 Articles The History of Homestead Valley, 2006 Articles The History of Homestead Valley, 2005 Articles The History of Homestead Valley, 2004 Articles The History of Homestead Valley, 2003 Articles The History of Homestead Valley, 2002 Articles |