Continuous Adventures of Louise Boyd* March 25-26

Continuing on her journey Louise and her driver encounter more severe weather conditions on entering California: Mud, snow, floods and sandstorms!

US Motor Tour - March 25, 1938
Route 99…Terrific storm and gale N.W. of Lancaster, much of road out on both sides…5:52PM Terrific Gale, one miles s. of Gorman…Deep snow everywhere about! Trucks off road every body running to it! Cameron says not to stop too many people may block road and cause other accident

US Motor Tour - March 26, 1938

Modesto detour to Tracy! Road flooded west of Modesto. San Joaquin river so high over its banks that whole area under water! House…water up to roof! Trees and bushes uprooted…awful sand storm all out to Tracey!

* These dates correspond to the Marin History Museum 2013 Calendar (available for purchase at MHM) for the dates: March 25th & 26th 

Continuous Adventures of Louise Boyd : March 22nd*

Louise Boyd took a number of cross-country motor tours in her life. The first was in 1919 when paved roads were all but nonexistent outside of the major cities! She usually had her chauffeur, Cameron, drive her and the trips took anywhere from 2- 4 weeks. The entries for this month were from her 1938 trip, which was in the heart of the Great Depression.

U.S. Motor Tour - March 22, 1938 

 …Texas State line…6PM after skidding down newly oiled road that we took by mistake and skidded sideways down hill and could not get up! Had to walk up, full of mud, Thunder and Lightning. Finally Cameron got up with chains, 7:10 Flat tire. Right Rear. Fortunately near garage so had it fixed while we ate sandwich and good coffee in café near by.

* These dates correspond to the Marin History Museum 2013 Calendar (available for purchase at MHM) for the date: March 22nd

Did YOU know? Part 1

This is the first of a three part series on the native Coastal Miwok Indians.

Did YOU know?

The California Coastal Miwok Indians were some of the most spiritual and sustainable tribes that inhabited North America.  There were three other tribes that the coastal valley Miwok natives traded with: the Olamentko from Bodega Bay, the Lekahtwutko from Sonoma County and the Hookooeko from Southern Marin.  The Miwok currency was in shells which they traded for obsidian.  The increase in trade and socializing with the neighboring tribes secured a peaceful Miwok society.

Here are pictures I took from the Marin History Museum’s Collections.  These are clam shell disks that the local Miwoks would trade for Obsidian arrows from neighboring tribes such as the Pomo.

The non-aggressive lifestyles of the Miwok created the platform for
exquisite artistry.  As many artists and writers reside in the Miwok territory today, there is no question that Marin County is full of natural beauty worth describing.  The Miwok traveled throughout the area based on the seasonal changes; they never damaged the land and always gave thanks for what they used to their animistic gods.  This same belief of preservation can be used today if Marin County citizens can continue to protect the remaining parks and create better lifestyles that reduce their carbon footprint.

By Sarah Jochumson, Collections Intern.

Living in a Joseph Eichler: An interview with Michelle Sarjeant Kaufman

Joseph Eichler designed and built homes from 1950 to 1974.  He was a visionary in the post war housing boom.  His homes were post and beam structure, meaning they could have walls of glass.  This structure was unlike the more traditional homes being built at the time, which were supported by the walls of the house.  Eichler’s aesthetic was inspired by mid-century modern design and blurred the line between indoor and outdoor space.  Joseph Eichler was also a social visionary and built beautiful, well-made homes for middle class families. 

Eichler relied on efficiency and creative design to keep prices in an affordable range for middle class families.  He never sacrificed the quality of the materials to keep prices low.  Eichler also wanted his communities to be inclusive and diverse.  This was a very radical philosophy at the time, as segregation was still the norm throughout the country.  Eichler established a non-discrimination policy for his own company and offered homes for sale to anyone of any religion or race.

Today, Eichler has a cult like following, and since Marin has many Eichler homes, it is no surprise there are many local residents who see Eichler as an American treasure. One such resident is Catherine Munson who has been specializing in Eichler real estate ever since she went to work for Joe Eichler as his first female salesperson back in 1958.  Munson will be giving a lecture at the Marin History Museum’s History Center, located at 1026 Court Street in San Rafael, on March 12 at 6pm.  Munson will provide a unique glimpse into the life Joseph Eichler created and why it found such a strong footing in the American way of life.   

In honor of our upcoming lecture on Joseph Eichler, we have interviewed the museum’s own Executive Director, Michelle Sarjeant Kaufman, on what it is like to live in an Eichler home.

How long have you been living in your Eichler home?

We have lived in our current Eichler since 2007 but moved into our first Eichler in 2000. 

What made you want to live in an Eichler?

My husband grew up in an Eichler, so he was familiar with them.  I didn’t know much about them before we purchased our first one, but since then I have learned a lot!  They are very unique and can present some challenges when doing home repairs. 

What is your favorite part of this house/ community?

I love Joseph Eichler’s concept of the indoor/outdoor experience.  Typically when you come through the front door of an Eichler you can see through the living room and through the giant glass windows to the outside again.  The use of open living space and oversized windows exaggerates the blur between inside and out.  I also love the warm wood walls combined with the Japanese architectural influence.

Michelle’s living room.
 It shows the outdoor/indoor blending typical of Eichlers.    

Our neighborhood is entirely Eichler houses with a combination of original owners from the late 1950s and others are new young families.  It’s a really wonderful mix of people – all of whom “speak Eichler.”  When we were making changes to our house it was nice to be able to talk with neighbors and friends about the idiosyncrasies of owning and modifying an Eichler.  We also learned a lot about how the houses were originally built and why.  

This is an image of the only remaining pair

of original closet doors in Michelle’s house.  

Note the shoji styling and the grass mats

 Eichler particularly liked.

Have you made any updates to the house?  If so, how have you kept the spirit of Eichler designs in your renovations?

Many changes had been made to our current Eichler by the time we purchased it, so we spent a year or so retro-fitting it.  For example, we pulled off the mahogany wood panels that had been painted and replaced them with new panels.  We also rebuilt the dividing wall between the kitchen and living room according to the original specs. We also put in cork floors – which have saved more than one glass from breaking!  More recently we built closet doors that embody the style of the originals although we modified them a bit.  Specifically, the originals included grass mat material, but over time the grass mats fade and show wear, so we used mahogany panels and ended up with a more durable, but similar, look.

      

 
This image also shows how long and narrow
Eichler hallways are- half the space is the
depth of the closet itself! 

Has living in an Eichler house affected your design aesthetic?  

If so, how?

I grew up with a more traditional house aesthetic, Victorian and English Tudor, so moving into an Eichler was a big switch.   But the Contemporary Modern look is easy to adjust to and I was happy to embrace it because it meant de-cluttering our lives.  Eichlers don’t have a lot of storage – not only are there few closets, but they have flat roofs without attics and are built on cement slabs so basements are nonexistent.  As a result you have to be pretty circumspect about what you own because almost everything is on display!  This has been very handy with kids because the architecture itself demands a certain amount of self restraint.  As a result have to carefully consider what we keep and what we give away as they get older.

January 5th, 2013 Louise Boyd Calendar Blog Post

Louise Boyd 'Honored' by Hometown of San Rafael

Louise A. Boyd, only woman explorer to receive the Cullum Medal of the American Geographical Society, will be welcomed home at a reception by the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce and civic officials. Miss Boyd was awarded the Cullum Medal in New York on December 20, 1938. She has been decorated for her arctic explorations by the Swedish Geographical Society, The King of Norway and the French government.
   -- S.F. Chronicle - Jan. 5, 1939



Louise Arner Boyd, famed Arctic explorer, came home last night to receive, not a medal or ribbon or "honor", but the acclaim of her friends and neighbors and the highest honor in the power of the city to bestow, the title of "honorary citizen". It was a gay and happy party of Marinites, a group drawn into one family by affection and admiration for Louise Boyd, which gathered at the Marin Golf & Country Club to attend the homecoming reception and dinner given by San Rafael to honor the intrepid woman explorer. It was Mayor William S. Nock of San Rafael, who expressed the city's deep regard for Miss Boyd, who by harvesting rare honors in scientific fields by her explorations into the far north has brought great honor to the city which is her home...The city council at its recent meeting passed formal resolutions proclaiming Miss Boyd an honorary citizen. Mayor Nock made formal presentation of this proclamation to Miss Boyd as cameras clicked a permanent record of the impressive ceremony.

Dr. Lynn T. White... who has known her for so many years said: "She might have stayed home, enjoyed the comforts of her fine home, enjoyed the company of her friends, but she could not. There was no choice left to her....Miss Boyd has the disposition which makes idleness impossible, that she must always be doing "...He concluded: "Our hands are empty but our hearts are filled with affection. Our most distinguised citizen, we ask you to accept these gifts"

Speaking as though she were talking to a small group of friends in the drawing room of her own home, Miss Boyd made her gracious response. "No recognition from any foreign country of the world could bring me the happiness that this (referring to the standing ovation in her honor) does." Of her work, Miss Boyd said: "It has not been a hobby. It has been a fascinating and delightful, sometimes hazardous delving for material of scientific value...I hope that Fate will allow me to continue my work and that in 1940 or 1941 I will be back in the polar region again"
   -- Marin Independent Newspaper - Jan. 5, 1939

 

The 2013 Louise Boyd Calendar is a re-launching of the Museums historic calendar series. This years 2013 calendar is themed around arctic explorer and San Rafael heiress Louise Arner Boyd. MHM Calendars are available at the Museum Store locations (at the Boyd Gate House - 1125 B Street, and the History Center - 1026 Court Street) or to order online and ship click here.

This post was created by Scott Fletcher, volunteer at the Marin History Museum.

Piercy Vs. Showalter

The 1860 election was the most divisive in history, literally splitting the union when the results came in. However, the election also affected Marin County, where two representatives who backed different candidates decided to settle a disagreement like gentlemen – by shooting each other.

Charles Piercy and Daniel Showalter were representatives on different levels in California politics. Piercy, a state assemblyman, backed Stephen Douglas in the election. Showalter, who was a representative from Mariposa County, supported Pro-slavery Southern Democrat John Breckinridge. During the election for Assembly Speaker, Showalter insulted Piercy. As a result, Piercy challenged Showalter to a duel.

In the 1850s and 60s, politics in America often became violent. Brawls, fisticuffs, and, most famously, caning incidents cropped up every now and then in congresses and assemblies across the country. However, duels had been outlawed, and the local authorities did not want to see two politicians firing guns at one another. Despite this, the duel went ahead, and both men settled on Marin County as the site of their honorable battle.

The duel began with Showalter getting arrested for attempting a duel. Piercy hid in the county until everything was clear. After Showalter was released with a warning, the duelists and their parties went to Charles Fairfax's house, then walked to a site not too far from the estate, where today San Anselmo and Elm Avenues meet in an intersection. The weapons chosen were standard gauge rifles, and the men dressed in black. The duel would be done in front of a crowd of dozens, 200 at most.

At forty paces, the men aimed their rifles and fired. Both missed, though some in the crowd claimed Showalter's cheek was grazed. Piercy could have, and should have, declared the duel over. But Showalter had none of it, and ordered the rifles to be reloaded.

The second shots were fired. Showalter hit Piercy square in the mouth, killing him instantly with a bullet through the brain. Piercy fell dead, and Showalter was now wanted for murder.

Needless to say, Showalter fled as quickly as he could. He and some accomplices escaped to the Confederacy, where he fought as a Confederate soldier in Texas. He survived the war, traveled to Mexico, and died in 1866, either from sickness, or from getting himself shot.

Thus ended the story of the last political duel in California.

This post was created by Jason, an intern at the Marin History Museum.

The Crookedest Railroad in the World

Back in the Gay ol’ Nineties (the 1890s, mind you), a train track was built to the top of the tallest mountain in Marin. It linked up to the main line, which started at the ferry station in Sausalito, and diverged in Mill Valley. The line ran up to the top of the mountain, and stopped at a tavern. The railroad also had a track that went to Muir Woods. If you lived in Marin from the Gay Nineties to the Roaring Twenties, you could catch a ride up Mt. Tam on the Mount Tamalpais Scenic Railway.

In the mid-1890s, the winding railroad was constructed along Mt. Tamalpais’s south slope. The railroads had come to Marin in previous decades, linking the county and acting as its principle form of transportation until the 1920s. Scenic railways were becoming popular, and the one up Mt. Tam was constructed during the height of their popularity.

The railroad opened in 1896 and became very popular. From around 1897 to the early 1920s, the railroad enjoyed its heyday. Tourists and residents would ride the rails up the mountain, then take gravity cars down. They sent out postcards displaying the views from the railway, landmarks that were scattered along the track, pamphlets that were distributed. The railway achieved a very large, very positive reputation, earning its nickname “The Crookedest Railroad in the World” due to its winding track.

If you were to ride the railroad, you would start in Mill Valley. There, the trains would board at a stop along the main north-south route. Once on, the train traveled along the gentle reaches of Blithedale Canyon. Back then it wasn’t covered in houses, as Mill Valley was far less developed than today. The railroad passed by one of Mill Valley’s most prominent hotels, the Blithedale Inn.

Once you passed Bridge # 7, the grade got steeper, and the winding began. The railroad twisted up the mountain, passing a section named the “McKinley Cut” after the president who, had it not been for illness, would have ridden up the mountain in 1901. The railway eventually reached Mesa Junction, where another line ran to Muir Woods. This branch wasn’t built until a decade after the original railroad was constructed, but proved to be a more than worthy addition to the system. This railroad went to the Muir Inn, which was nestled in the middle of the massive Redwood forest on the southwestern slopes of Mt. Tam.

Continuing on the main route, the railroad wound around 4 sharp curves that became known as the “Double Bowknot” due to its shape. This section was built as a switchback section to avoid the rather steep section in the railroad’s midsection. It became the most well known part of the railroad, and to this day forms a distinct shape on the mountain.

Above the Double Bowknot, the railroad climbed higher up the bare slopes of the mountain until it reached the West Point Inn. The Inn is the only part of the railroad still in operation. It was built in 1904, and served as one of the stops for the railroad itself, finding new life with the hiking community in later years. The Inn building itself was accompanied by multiple cabins, forming a nice spot right before the final stint to the summit.

After the inn, the railroad climbed to a small plateau-like region between the East and Central Peaks. There stood the destination: the Tamalpais Tavern. A distinct archway welcomed guests to the summit. The tavern had a covered deck for viewing the vista to the south. Bedrooms, kitchens, a dancing hall, and a lounge greeted the guests in the two taverns, which were linked by the archway over the railroad. In 1923, the tavern burned to the ground after a kitchen fire spread out of control, and a replacement tavern was built, which featured an enclosed deck, but was far smaller and less grand than its original counterpart.

Now that you were at the top of the mountain, the best way to get down was to take a gravity car. These cars were small and carried passengers down the winding railway fast. The locomotives also carried people and supplies down; there was only one way to go on the railroad, and the engines were never turned around.

The railroad operated from 1896 to 1929. During its life, it saw attendance rise and fall multiple times, with its peak being in 1915. But by the late 1920s, things were starting to turn against it. Ridgeway Boulevard was constructed, and people could now drive a crooked street to the top instead of ride it in a train. The second tavern was far less attractive than the first. Trains themselves were on the way out, as buses and cars themselves gradually became the norm. But still, the railroad was popular.

Then in 1929, a massive fire swept across Mount Tamalpais. It destroyed the railroad, melting railway cars where they stood. While the destroyed portions were hastily replaced, it was at great cost and to little benefit. In 1930, the entire railway was stripped off the mountain and sold for scrap. It had operated for 34 years as one of the most iconic features of Marin. But it could not escape the decline of the railroads as a transportation medium. Ten years after the last rails were yanked out of the soil, the railroad from Sausalito itself fell into disuse. Buses and cars took over, and the age of the railroad ended.

But the Crookedest Railroad in the World is still remembered. Every map of Mt. Tam features a winding fire road called the “Old Railroad Grade.” It traces the steps of the Mt. Tamalpais Scenic Railway, from above Blithedale canyon all the way to the summit. The Muir Woods route is now the Old Stage Grade, which links itself to the Panoramic Highway. The second Tamalpais Tavern was torn down in the 1950s, but its stone foundations are now popular with hikers, who use them to admire the view. A locomotive engine sits on the slopes of Mt. Tam, a permanent tribute to the railroad. And today, if you want to ride down the railroad in a gravity car, you can do it with the next best thing - a mountain bike.

Looking south to Richardson Bay from the tavern. 

The Double Bowknot is in the foreground.

This post was created by Jason, an intern at the Marin History Museum.