Point Reyes Seashore Ranchers Association

Charles W. Howard Ranches - A to F

"A Ranch"

"B Ranch"

1858 Shafter, Shafter, Park & Heydenfeldt received title to Point Reyes Peninsula

Established: Rufus T. Buell 1859 - Arrived with 13 cows, started dairy, left for Salinas in 1865

1869 Acquired: Charles W. Howard

Leased by: L. Amstead, D. Hochreuter, Hussey Brothers, Ed Dickson, Geary Brothers,

1919 Purchase: John G. Rapp
1919 Purchase: Joseph V. Mendoza & John

Leased: Amador, brother-in-law to Mendoza, operated A Ranch; Joe's daughter, Tessie married George P. Nunes in 1932 and the family has operated the ranch ever since.

1971 Acquired by National Park Service

Nunes family: ROU with NPS - leased since 1991

Today: Nunes Family Ranch

Fully operational organic dairy ranch under Nunes Family

c1857 Farmer & Medbury operated as dairy farm

1858 Shafter, Shafter, Park & Heydenfeldt received title to Point Reyes

n.b. Boundaries on the point have not changed much over the course of history

1869 Acquired: Charles W. Howard

Leasees from Howard included the Medbury family 1859; A. H. Kayser c1872; Brothers Peter & Anton Reinhold 1884; Hussey Brothers 1899; Jospeh Nunes & Joseph Avila 1919

1919 Purchase: John G. Rapp

Late 1919 purchase Joseph V. Mendoza

Joseph married Zena Martins 1909 - worked at M Ranch, E Ranch, leased N Ranch 1909, and Pierce Ranch as well as A Ranch

Today: "Double M Ranch"

Fully operational organic dairy ranch under Joe V, Mendoza's grandson

DAIRY RANCH

"D Ranch"

"C" Ranch

1858 Shafter, Shafter, Park & Haydenfeldt received title to Point Reyes Peninsula

Leased: Capt. Oliver Allen 1859 - Allen added a square-box churn, a table to work it and a mold to shape butter to his many inventions. Allen partnered with J.W. Upton 1865

1869 Acquired: Charles W. Howard

Leases on C Ranch included: Upton & Allen; Alfred C. Cleland 1875; Charles Peterson c 1880, Anton Reinhold 1885; Joseph V. Mendoza & Hamilton Martins c1919.

1919 Purchased: Frank Ladera, J. Nunes, J. Avila

Ladera left soon after 1920

1946 Purchased: Thomas & Virginia Gallagher

Leased to couple’s nephew, Jim Spaletta 1955

1964 Acquired by National Park Service

Today: Son, Jim's Ernie Spaletta operating organic ranch under special use permit with NPS

1858 Shafter, Shafter, Park & Haydenfeldt received title to Point Reyes Peninsula

1869 Acquired: Charles W. Howard

Leases on the land include Joseph Maria 1896, John & Sigrid Avila 1900, Anselmo Regallo, Fred Wilson until 1910

1919 Purchased: John Rapp
1920: Purchased T. Machado & Hamilton Martins

Hamilton was sister to Zena Mendoza.

1924 Foreclosed: Anthony Lacerda
1927 Foreclosed: Quinto Codoni

Codoni leased to Manuel Gomez 1927; Codini's son-in-law, William T. Hall 1934

c1948 Purchase: Bill & Alice Hall

1964 The Hall's daughter Vivian & husband Rudolph Horick operated

1971 Acquired by National Park Service

Today: Structures empty - Horick lease terminated by NPS; Grazed by neighbors, Nunes and Spaletta.

DAIRY RANCH

"E Ranch"

1858 Shafter, Shafter, Park & Heydenfeldt received title to Point Reyes Peninsula

1869 Acquired: Charles W. Howard

Operated by James W. Upton family until 1873; Capt. Operated by James W. Upton family until 1873; Capt Henry Claussen c1875

1919 Purchased: John Rapp
Late 1919 Purchase: Lindo Berri & Leo Bartolotti

Leased to Joseph V. Mendoza, & John Amador

1935 Bank sale: George & Ethel Molseed

Son-in-law took over: "Lefty" Adams 1947; Changed to dairy 1952; divided into 2 parcels, one sold to George & Tessie Nunes 1954; the rest rented to Jim Spaletta for 3 years. Geo. Nunes purchased remainder, 1956 (Spaletta moved to C Ranch)

n.b. c1932-4 Company, later named Drakes Bay Oyster Company, started operations on E Ranch. Moved in 1948

1963-4 George's brother, Marvin Nunes, operated dairy

1971 Purchased by NPS

1972, a year after NPS bought it, Marvin Nunes moved to Sonoma County.

Today: Used by Nunes' of A Ranch for cow grazing

"F Ranch"

1842-3 Occupied: Antionio Maria Osio
1850 Mortgaged to Mr. BIrd

Occupied by Andrew Randall 1852 - Randall was murdered in 1856 and ranch foreman, Josaih Swain leased the ranch

1857 Purchased: John Reynolds
1858 Shafter, Shafter, Park & Heydenfeldt received title to Point Reyes Peninsula

Shafters rented to "itinerant vagrant" Logan; Thomas B. Crandall 1865, his brother-in-law Charles H. Smith 1975; R.D. Hatch c1878; Alfred Peterson 1890; Charles and Gertrude Skinner & William Skinner 1898; W.H. Abbott 1899; late 1899 Peter W. Reinhold, John J. Gallagher 1913

1919 Purchase: John Rapp

1919 Purchased: John J. Gallagher

John Gallagher sold 521 Acres to American Telephone & Telegraph November 19, 1930; son Tom Gallagher operated dairy after J. J. retired; Leased: Castiglioni Brothers 1937-1939; F Ranch was an artichoke farm in 1940s

c1966-67 Purchased by NPS

Historic Buildings demolished by National Park Service

Today: Gallagher heirs run beef on property under Special Use Permit.

BEEF COWS

DAIRY COWS

"G Ranch"

1858 Shafter, Shafter, Park & Heydenfeldt received title to Point Reyes Peninsula
1869 Acquired: Charles W. Howard

Howard used G Ranch as headquarters c1869-1874, Hinrik Claussen - oversaw ranch construction, fence building, bringing dairy techniques from Scandinavia and lived on G Ranch, Capt. Henry Claussen 1871 after his father's death, John A. Upton, 1879, W. H. Abbott used G Ranch for annual round-up for Howard Ranches; leased: Upton Widow Delia 1888; Charles Skinner 1889; D.H. Cunningham 1892; added partner, James R. Reeves 1896;James McClure 1906

1919 Purchase: John G. Rapp
1919 Sold to James McClure
1922 To sons James & John McClure
1929 RCA sued to condemn and won & later divided remainder between RCA, US Coast Guard, & a dairy ranch.

Leased: Al Bianchi & Richard Velloza 1929; Frank Labrucherie 1941; Joseph Lunny, Sr. 1947; Joseph Lunny, Jr. 1959; Changed from dairy to beef 1975

1977 Sold to Trust for Public Land
1978 Purchased by National Park Service
Today: Fully operational organic beef ranch under Lunny Family under RUO - waiting for lease agreement with NPS Today

Note: Point Reyes Post office was operated out of several ranches on the Peninsula. F Ranch hosted the Point Reyes Post office (1853-54 & 1887-1920) but when people in the inland town objected, the government settled the argument calling the inland post office "Point Reyes Station."

BEEF RANCH

History adapted from "Ranching on the Point Reyes Peninsula" D.S. (Dewey) Livingson, Historic Resource Study, Point Reyes National Seashore, National Park Service, July 1993