Olompali

https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=465 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olompali_State_Historic_Park Olompali State Historic Park is a 700-acre (2.8 km2) park in Marin County, California, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north of Novato, California, overlooking the Petaluma River and San Pablo Bay. In 1977 the State of California purchased Rancho Olompali and made it into a state historic park. The foundations of two early adobe brick houses are preserved in the park. The Burdell two-story frame house, built in the 1870s serves as the ranger station. Associated ranch buildings include barns, a blacksmith shop, a saltbox house and a ranch superintendent's house.

Our Mission Olompali State Historic Park The mission of California State Parks is to provide for the health, inspiration and education of the people of California by helping to preserve the state’s extraordinary biological diversity, protecting its most valued natural and cultural resources, and creating opportunities for high-quality outdoor recreation. Olompali’s serene hills and waters have been home to Coast Miwok, landed gentry, Catholic priests, a psychedelic rock band California State Parks supports equal access. Prior to arrival, visitors with disabilities who need assistance should contact the park at (415) 892-3383. This publication can be made available in alternate formats. Contact interp@parks.ca.gov or call (916) 654-2249. CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS P.O. Box 942896 Sacramento, CA 94296-0001 For information call: (800) 777-0369 (916) 653-6995, outside the U.S. 711, TTY relay service www.parks.ca.gov Discover the many states of California.™ Olompali State Historic Park 8901 Redwood Highway 101 Novato, CA 94945 (415) 892-3383 www.parks.ca.gov/olompali © 2011 California State Parks and a hippie commune. N estled on the east-facing slopes of Burdell Mountain on the Marin Peninsula, Olompali State Historic Park offers exquisite views from the Petaluma River basin out to the San Francisco Bay. This 700-acre park features former ranch buildings with adobe ruins. Visitors enjoy hiking on trails, picnicking, horseback riding and touring the historic grounds. PARK HISTORY Native People “Olompali” comes from Coast Miwok words meaning “southern” and “village” or “people.” Researchers believe that Olompali was one of the largest villages in what is now Marin County. The Coast Miwok people’s culture was disrupted by the farming and cattle grazing practices of the missions. Many of their traditional food sources were lost. Some Miwok starved, and others died in great numbers after exposure to unfamiliar European diseases. During California’s mission period, Marin Miwok Indians were baptized at bay area missions. Camilo Ynitia was baptized at Mission San Rafael in 1819; his parents, from a village on San Antonio Creek, had been baptized the preceding year. By 1834, Ynitia had become the village head man at Olompali. Ynitia built his adobe home there in 1837, recycling bricks from an earlier adobe construction. In October 1843, General Mariano Vallejo petitioned Governor Micheltorena of the Mexican province of Alta California to grant two leagues (nearly 8,900 acres) of land at Olompali to his friend and ally, Camilo Ynitia. Ynitia was the only Native American to be given a land grant in northern Alta California. During the 26-day Bear Flag Revolt in June 1846, a brief and violent skirmish known as the “Battle of Olompali” took place near Ynitia’s adobe when a troop of California Republic supporters (Bearflaggers) clashed with several dozen of General Jose Castro’s men from the Monterey area. The Bearflaggers defeated General Castro’s troops after killing one man and wounding two. When title to Ynitia’s grant was questioned by the U.S. Land Commission in 1852, General Vallejo supported the claim. However, Ynitia then sold most of his granted land at Olompali to Marin County assessor James Black for $5,000; this shrewd move prevented his land grant from being taken under American rule. Euro-American Era When James Black’s daughter Mary married dentist Galen Burdell in 1863, Black deeded the Olompali ranch to her. The Burdells transformed Olompali into a working ranch, Illustration of Coast Miwok shelters by William W. Lary Burdell barns building a clapboard farmhouse over the original adobe. Chinese laborers built other structures such as rock retaining walls and culverts. When Mary died in 1900, her children James and Mabel inherited the estate. James bought out Mabel, and his family owned the estate until 1943. Between 1943 and 1977, the property was sold many times. The University of San Francisco used the ranch as a retreat for its Jesuit priests. One famous tenant, the Grateful Dead rock band, lived here in 1966. The back cover of their 1969 album Aoxomoxoa features the rancho’s oak-covered hillsides. Janis Joplin, Grace Slick and other 1960s rock musicians also gathered at Rancho Olompali. Don McCoy, a local businessman-turned”hippie,” leased Olompali in 1967 and used it as shelter for a communal group known as the “Chosen Family.” After a severe electrical fire in 1969, Olompali’s commune era declined and ended. The State of California and Marin County purchased the property in 1977 to preserve it as a state historic park. NATURAL HISTORY Olompali State Historic Park lies within the Coast Range in a complex geologic setting. Burdell Mountain consists of molten andesite rocks that erupted through oceanic and serpentine rock. The mountain and the hills at its shoulders form a bowl-shaped watershed that drains to the marshes and sloughs of the Petaluma River, flowing to San Pablo Bay. Wildlife Olom