Marin County’s Fifty-Three Oldest Historic Structures!

As a life-long learner, lover of history, and Marin County realtor, I recently became curious about the oldest structures that remain standing in our County.  Thinking that this list would be relatively easy to compile given the number of books and articles that have been written about Marin’s history I set off to research the topic.  It didn’t take me long to realize however that such a list does not in fact exist because as I learned it is very difficult to compile!  So amazingly, what started out as a simple goal of identifying Marin’s ten oldest structures, morphed into a list that is perhaps the first list of its kind:  Marin County’s fifty – three oldest structures built between 1776 and 1879!  And please don’t ask me why it’s fifty-three.  I guess I got carried away and had to stop somewhere!

Point Reyes National Seashore Lighthouse built in 1870

So immediately after my initial discovery I shifted gears and I began the lengthy process of poring through books and documents about Marin’s history.  I visited the Marin Civic Center Planning Department where I interviewed the County Planner.  She provided copies of the original tract maps from the Mexican land grants and directed me to the Anne T Kent California Room at the Civic Center Library to speak with the reference librarian who was very helpful and was quickly able to select a number of useful books and documents to get me organized.  I rounded out my research by studying websites maintained by Marin’s various cities and historical societies, reading through articles on the internet, examining property records available to me as a realtor, and studying the list of Marin’s historic landmarks maintained by the Federal Government.  I personally visited at least 25 buildings to verify their existence and satisfy myself as to when they were constructed.  Even with all of this work I cannot say that my list is 100% correct as I am likely a missing a few structures here and there particularly in West Marin where there exist today a number of properties (homes, ranch buildings, & commercial buildings) that were built prior to the Civil War.  Additionally, I found conflicting dates of construction but did my best where possible to err on the conservative side.  What I can honestly say is that I believe that I’m close and because of this I’ve decided to make this an ongoing hobby until I get it right!

Old Mahon Hotel Built in 1859 located at 1330 Fourth St San Rafael

Before I share the list let’s take a moment to go back in history to when Europeans first arrived since until that point Marin was inhabited by the Miwok Indians. The earliest Europeans to reach San Francisco were Spanish explorers in 1769, led by Don Gaspar de Portolà and Juan Crespi. The Spanish immediately recognized that the San Francisco Harbor and surrounding areas were of great strategic significance. Subsequent expeditions in 1774 laid plans for the establishment of military and religious settlements. In 1776 the Presidio of San Francisco was established for the military and Mission San Francisco de Asís was founded to begin the cultural and religious conversion of some 10,000 Ohlone Indians who lived in the area. Eventually, the mission became known as Mission Dolores.

Saint Raphaels Roman Catholic Church at 1104 5th Avenue in San Rafael

Not long thereafter, the Spanish moved into Marin County and on December 14, 1817 founded Mission San Rafael Arcángel, as “sub-mission” of the San Francisco Mission to treat their sick population (now known as St Raphaels).  St. Raphaels incidentally recently celebrated its 200th anniversary and although little remains of any of its original structures I feel it has earned its place as the second oldest structure in Marin County (see list below).  In 1822 Mexico defeated the Spanish, earned their independence, and assumed governance of California.  It was after this momentous occasion that a large number of European Settlers migrated to Marin.  Mexico’s land grant system rewarded loyal and industrious citizens with large swaths of Marin’s lands to develop and govern.  It was these land grants that placed Marin’s lands into the hands of such well known Marin historical figures as John Reed, William Richardson, Timothy Murphy, James Ross, James Miller, Domingo Sais, and others. It is this group of men that are largely responsible for the subsequent establishment of Marin’s cities, neighborhoods, and commercial businesses.

Tomales Presbyterian Church built in 1868

Hans Iverson House – 614 E Street San Rafael built in 1871

So it is with great pleasure that I present you with the first list of the fifty- three oldest structures still standing in Marin.  Incidentally, this is a good place to say that this is a very fortunate group as I can’t tell you how many interesting properties burned to the ground over the years that would have easily made this list!

Your input, clarifications, and contributions are greatly appreciated!

Olema Lime Kilns built in 1850

Marin County’s Fifty-Three Oldest Structures