Tiburon Was a Railroad Town
The Tiburon Peninsula Historical Trail
(Left photo caption:) The magnificent ferry, Ukiah, was built in the Tiburon railroad yards and launched in January, 1891. She could carry 4,000 passengers and 16 loaded freight cars. long and 78-feet wide, she was among the largest ferryboats in the world.
Trains rolled in daily, first pulled by wood burners, then by oil-burning engines and finally by diesels. Spanning 83 years, the last ferry tied up and discharged eight freight cars on September 25, 1967. Tiburon, the railroad town, retired to a new life.
(Middle photo caption:) The only building remaining from this photograph, taken in the early 1940s, is the Donahue Depot, the terminus of the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad. Its owner, Peter Donahue, was a visionary and fiercely competitive entrepreneur who built this railroad in the 1880s. His crews chiseled out hills, blasted three tunnels and sunk trainload after trainload of ballast to fill the marshes between here and San Rafael...a monumental accomplishment.
(Right photo caption:)
A deepwater anchorage at Tiburon
allowed large ferryboats to carry both
freight and passengers coming off the
trains. The huge framework depicted,
known as "the gallows frame,” lifted the
apron of the pier to allow railcars to be
pushed onto waiting ferries headed for
San Francisco. These big wheels stand
in front of our library the Railroad Museum (the gray building straight ahead).
Erected by Tiburon Peninsula Foundation,
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical month for this entry is January 1891.
Location. 37° 52.376′ N, 122° 27.3′ W. Marker is in Tiburon, California, in Marin County. Marker is at the intersection of Tiburon Boulevard and Paradise Drive, on the right when traveling east on Tiburon Boulevard. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Belvedere Tiburon CA 94920, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Northwestern Pacific (within shouting distance of this marker); The Tiburon Peninsula (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); One of the Shortest Main Streets in America (about 300 feet away); Samuel Blake Chapman (about 300 feet away); McNeil’s Pioneer Boathouse (about 400 feet away); The “Harbor Light” (about 400 feet away); 1925 Victorian Saloon (about 500 feet away); James Yeh Jau Liu (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tiburon.
Also see . . . Railroad & Ferry Depot Museum (Landmarks Society). (Submitted on August 14, 2020.)
The City of Tiburon
By The
Corinthian Yacht Club
April 27, 1969
Credits. This page was last revised on August 22, 2022. It was originally submitted on August 14, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 223 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on August 15, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 14, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 5, 6. submitted on August 15, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California.
