Marker Logo HMdb.org THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Near Novato in Marin County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
 

Rancho Olompali

 
 
Rancho Olompali Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, March 18, 2015
1. Rancho Olompali Marker
Inscription. Rancho Olompali was home to three generations of Burdells from 1866 to 1943. For the following five years the new owner, Court Harrington, used the property to raise purebred beef. In 1948, the building was converted to a religious retreat when the property was acquired b the University of San Francisco (USF) for $150,000. USF sold the property in 1964 to a San Francisco Bay Area investment group which operated the short-lived Olopali Swim Club.
In 1966, the Grateful Dead rented the main buildings. Rock music icons, such as Janis Joplin and Grace Slick, were frequent visitors.
The following year, the main ranch buildings were leased to Don McCoy, a businessman turned hippie for use as the Chosen Family Commune. The barns and adjacent buildings were leased to the C-Bar-N Ranch, which operated a horse-riding stable there until 1981. Public outcry defeated an attempt to purchase Rancho Olompali for a proposed condominium and mobile home development. Conservation efforts resulted in this becoming a State Historic Park in 1977.
 
Erected by California State Parks.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: AgricultureEntertainment. A significant historical year for this entry is 1866.
 
Location. 38° 9.173′ 
Paid Advertisement
Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.
Click or scan to see
this page online
N, 122° 34.272′ W. Marker is near Novato, California, in Marin County. Marker can be reached from Redwood Blvd., on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Novato CA 94945, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Galen and Mary Burdell (a few steps from this marker); Camilo Ynitia’s Adobe (within shouting distance of this marker); Burdell Mansion (within shouting distance of this marker); Burdell Frame House (within shouting distance of this marker); Cook House (within shouting distance of this marker); Try-Pot (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Chosen Family (about 400 feet away); Setting for a Colorful Past (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Novato.
 
More about this marker. This marker is found near the barn at Olompali State Park at the north end of Redwood Blvd. in Novato.
 
Also see . . .  Olompali: Miwoks, Chosen Family, Grateful Dead - Roadside America. Olompali State Historic Park has had a long, strange procession of inhabitants, starting with the Miwok Indians, and ending with the Grateful Dead and a hippie commune, "The Chosen Family." The historic state park is 700 acres of scenic land and hiking trails on the slopes of Mount Burdell, at the upper end of Marin County.
Rancho Olompali Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, March 18, 2015
2. Rancho Olompali Marker
A small exhibit area in one of the ranch buildings chronicles its periods of occupancy.
(Submitted on July 22, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.) 
 
Rancho Olompali image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, March 18, 2015
3. Rancho Olompali
Rancho Olompali image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, March 18, 2015
4. Rancho Olompali
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on July 22, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 575 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 22, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

Share this page.  
Share on Tumblr
m=85929

CeraNet Cloud Computing sponsors the Historical Marker Database.
This website earns income from purchases you make after using our links to Amazon.com. We appreciate your support.
Paid Advertisements
Mar. 18, 2024