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Nicasio Historical Background |
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Page 6 of 6 Timber, Beef and Dairy
Hiram and Noah Corey came into Nicasio Valley in 1852 with their families. These were the first families to settle in the Nicasio township besides that of James Black. Hiram and Noah erected what was probably the first sawmill in Nicasio Valley. They hauled their lumber to schooners at Ross Landing and Novato. The houses they built were the third and fourth in Nicasio.
The second house in Nicasio was reputedly a log cabin built in Bull Tail Valley (now Skywalker Ranch) by the brothers Jacob and J. O. B. Short. The Short brothers had lived briefly in the abandoned San Rafael Mission in 1847. Their Nicasio cabin was still standing in 1880, known as the Crayton place. In 1853 they leased Tim Murphy’s extensive tract of Nicasio land and brought a large herd of cattle to graze there. (History of Marin, 1880, p. 285)
Noah’s house, which measured 22’ X 30’, was built on the site of the present day Rancho Nicasio Restaurant. Hiram’s house was situated just north of this site. The wood frames and large redwood roof shakes for both these houses were sawed with their circular saw which was driven by actual horse power.
During their first or second year in Nicasio, Noah’s young daughter died of illness. He buried her under a large oak tree and marked the grave with a redwood slab. The Corey's eventually moved to Sonoma County, near Santa Rosa. After Noah’s departure his house was used as Nicasio’s first general store run by Edward Jackson. Noah returned 25 years later to move his daughter’s remains to his family plot in Sonoma. To his surprise, he found neither house nor tree nor grave marker, but in their place stood the three-story Nicasio Hotel. The History of Marin, 1880, which tells this often-recounted story, also claims Noah’s house was still standing and occupied by Mrs. McMannus. (p. 285). It had probably been moved to a new location.
Like the Shorts and Corey's, the settlers and businessmen who followed them were involved in cutting timber or grazing cattle. William Dampier and William Butterfield arrived in 1853, partners engaged in beef and dairy. Theirs is possibly the first dairy in Nicasio. They built the fifth house which was situated south of town. It was similar in construction to the Corey's’ homes and was still standing in 1880 on the farm of B. F. Porter.
In 1862 James Dixon and James Ross erected a saw mill, a mile and a half east of town, with a capacity of 15,000 feet a day. Later that same year when Dixon died, Ross moved the mill to Fort Ross. Isaac Shaver and Jonathan Mitchner were said to saw 20,000 feet a day in Nicasio Valley until Shaver moved their mill to San Rafael in 1872.
Nicasio and Lucas Valleys began to fill up rapidly with settlers, largely beef and dairy ranchers. Peter Irving (Irwin) arrived in Nicasio from Scotland in 1856 and worked for Halleck before buying his own ranch. Richard McGee rounded the Horn in 1849 on the schooner Cordova. He arrived in Nicasio from the gold fields in 1857, purchased 400 acres, built a log cabin in Lucas Valley, and had four children. Cornelius Murray arrived in Nicasio in 1859. Captain Oliver Allen (already close to 60 years old) and son Charles Allen arrived in 1865. Their 2,000-acre dairy was one of the best appointed on the coast. Oliver had invented the bomb lance for whale hunting, and an improved butter worker and butter mold, which were in general use everywhere in the state and elsewhere in 1880. Neil McIsaac arrived in 1865, worked as a ranch hand, and later ran his dairy on the north end of the valley. Frank Rodgers, born in 1830 in Vermont, bought a Nicasio ranch in 1866 and later ran a store on the west side of the town square (where the Druid’s Hall patio is located today) for over 30 years. Nicasio’s first blacksmith was Thomas Ward. He was followed in this profession in 1867 by Edward Cornwell who was joined by George Boreman of Essex, England the very next year. Boreman arrived in Nicasio in 1868 with seven of his soon to be ten children and served as blacksmith until 1875 when he moved to San Geronimo. Hiram F. Taft, who at the age of 21 arrived in California from New England in 1859, became in 1870 Nicasio’s first postmaster, Wells Fargo agent, and ran the stage coach to San Geronimo Station (also known as Nicasio Station).
Among the names of other early settlers were William J. Miller, John Nutter (Nulty -- according to The Times 5/17/1856), Captain Henney, M. McNamara, William C. Redding, Tillmon Farley, G. Tognazzini, and Louis Cheda. A wave of Italian Swiss immigrants from the Ticino Valley began arriving in the 1870’s and 1880’s. By 1900 these industrious, hard-working families ran many of the 24 or 25 dairies in Nicasio.
 William Charles Redding (c. 1900), sitting at property next to St. Mary's Church, Nicasio
Into this milieu of optimistic and industrious Yankee and European immigrant settlers, a declining Californio culture of more leisurely gentleman ranchers, and a struggling, tiny and impoverished band of Coast Miwoks, the Nicasio School District was born.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 20 November 2009 )
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