Owen Clapp, a Woodacre native in his 20s, is the latest contributor to the nationwide history series, Images of America, with his comprehensive account of the past two centuries of life in the San Geronimo Valley.
A professional bass player who moved home to Woodacre after graduating with a degree in anthropology and geography from the University of California, Los Angeles, Mr. Clapp won the book contract for “San Geronimo Valley” five years ago but did the bulk of the compilation over the last two years.
“I always had an interest in the history of the area, in the old things that look like they had stories,” Mr. Clapp told the Light. “I was a fan of the series for the other towns, and so that got me excited about trying to do one for the valley. I had to gather materials from a bunch of different places, including so many different documents and photographs, to even create a resource for myself. It was all scattered.”
Mr. Clapp’s book was released in early August by Arcadia Publishing. For the book’s 128 pages, there are 207 photographs, and the narrative primarily takes the form of captions. He drew from the collections at the Anne T. Kent California Room at the Civic Center and the Jack Mason Museum in Inverness, as well as from private collectors. But he said the most helpful aspect of his research was talking to longtime residents, some of whom he knew and many of whom he had never met.
“My family and friends growing up belonged to the part of the community that came in the ‘60s and ‘70s, the hippies. But there is a whole deeper history of ranching families, and I tried to represent both of those threads,” he said, adding that the constraints of the image-based template prevented him from including more of the Coast Miwok history.
The book’s seven chapters are divided by the valley’s small villages. The first chapter describes the earliest landowners, the second covers the history particular to Woodacre, the third San Geronimo, the fourth Forest Knolls, followed by Lagunitas and the Lagunitas and Carson Canyons. The last chapter, “Changing Times,” describes the ‘60s and ‘70s and leads readers into present-day conditions.
Did you know that the valley was named after a Coast Miwok man, Geronimo, whom the Spanish missionaries baptized in honor of Saint Jerome? Or that the North Pacific Coast Railroad nearly bankrupted in the early 1870s while building the first line from Sausalito to Tomales, considering the engineering challenge of climbing White’s Hill? Who were the brothers Thomas and James Roy, and what did their ranch look like before the San Geronimo Golf Course was established and Sir Francis Drake Highway was cut?
Mr. Clapp’s book describes the longstanding legacy of ranching, vacationing and the efforts of the many industrious people who carved out a livelihood in the valley. His language has the simplicity of a factual historical account, mixed with dry wit and a familiarity that suggests an intimate knowledge of the roads, vistas and buildings he writes about.
The images tell much of the story. A timetable shows the price to travel between stops on the railroad line in 1878: 60 cents from San Rafael to the valley. A photograph depicts a crane lowering the last silo on Roy Ranch in 1964, before the land was cleared for the golf course. In an image dated 1966, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia play barefoot in a wooded yard. (The Grateful Dead lived for a time at a former Boy Scout camp on Arroyo Road.)
One of the most notable valley entrepreneurs was Samuel Penfield Taylor, who between 1855 and 1905 was responsible for Taylor’s Pioneer Paper Mill, Pacific Powder Works (which manufactured black powder, an early explosive), Irving Fur Tannery, Taylor’s Azalea Hotel and the Pedrini Brothers’ tanbark mill.
The paper mill was located at the west end of Lagunitas Canyon, which stretches from the current village of Lagunitas to today’s western boundary of Samuel P. Taylor State Park. To get the product—which was largely used for newsprint—to San Francisco, Mr. Taylor built an ox road on the Bolinas Ridge that remains today as the Bolinas Ridge Trail and fire road. The North Pacific Coast Railroad took out many redwoods along this path to lay railroad ties and extend service to the mill in 1875.
Beginning in the 1870s, Mr. Taylor established several hotels and one of the first campgrounds in the United States, both of which drew weekend crowds. A headline from the San Francisco Chronicle in July 1920 read, “Scenery Scandalized by Goings-On.” (The state park was established in 1945 after the county acquired the land as payment for back taxes.)
Mr. Clapp’s book also clips the county map adopted by supervisors in a 1973 countywide plan that divided Marin into three corridors—coast recreational, inland rural and city centered. Superseding the San Geronimo Valley master plan from 1961, the plan greatly reduced development possibilities, a win for conservationists.
A photograph from that era shows longtime resident Jean Berensmeier leading a visit for Marin County Parks officials to an area lush with redwoods, which that department soon after decided to purchase to create the first preserve in the valley, Roy’s Redwoods.
Notable throughout Mr. Clapp’s history is the description of life in the valley without many resources. Businesses were small and there was quick turnover; people had to be crafty or else make do without.
Mr. Clapp, who is careful not to editorialize, introduces his last chapter, “Changing times have rearranged the commercial and civic establishments that once existed in the Valley: There is no longer at least one bar and gas station per village, the Marin County Free Library no longer operates a branch, and the dance halls have all burned down or been repurposed. But new energy and new ideas pour in continually in the form of new ownership for long-standing businesses and new uses for old buildings.”
Mr. Clapp received mentorship from another local historian for the book. Dewey Livingston—West Marin’s chief historian who helms the Jack Mason Museum and also authored a book for Arcadia Publishing, on the Point Reyes Peninsula—was influential in the project. Mr. Livingston provided many of the photographs, some never-before publicized.
Mr. Livingston said the book fills a gap in the record of history in the county. “San Geronimo Valley, right in the center of the county almost, has fallen through the cracks all these years. It’s helpful for me and for everybody to have this information at our fingertips,” he said.
About the author, he added: “I always admire when younger people want to do this. I’m always keeping my eyes out for those who want to take on local history, because it’s traditionally done by older and retired folks: we need the next generation to step up now or in the near future. I look forward to seeing Owen doing more.”
What’s next for Mr. Clapp?
Although he dreams of writing a longer history of the valley that makes use of all his research, for now he has some other projects. This month, Mr. Clapp founded a historical society for the valley, a subgroup of the community center that he intends to turn into a non-profit in the coming months. He plays bass in several bands, including his own project—East of Eden—and plans to start holding living- room shows as a project of the historical society. He is also working with another project of the community center, West Marin NextGen, a group of young valley residents who are interested in the valley’s history and committed to helping the younger generation find a sustainable way to make a life there, including supporting affordable housing initiatives.
“I met so many people throughout this project, and the level of connection I feel to the valley is so much greater,” Mr. Clapp said. “Growing up, I really loved the area and would spend all day outside. Moving back, I knew it was something special but then I met all these people who feel the same way. Knowing all my neighbors now, and about the history, I feel so lucky to live here, to have this be my home.”
Owen Clapp will read from his book—and play bass—during the 50th anniversary event at the San Geronimo Community Center, which takes place from noon to 6 p.m. on Oct. 5. The book is available at the Lagunitas Store, and will soon be available at other locales, including at Marin County Free Library branches.