E. RANDALL RANCH 



(Golden Gate National Recreation Area) 



1. Description 



The Randall Ranch is a 1400-acre property located almost exactly 

 between Bolinas and Olema, leading one rancher in the 1950s to name it the 

 Midway Ranch . Noted for its longtime operation under the pioneer family of 

 William and Sarah Randall, the ranch has had many owners during the 20th 

 century and is now only a shell of its former self. Only the prominent 2-story 

 Randall house remains, and it has stood abandoned for two decades. The parcel 

 is almost square in shape with a diagonal boundary at the south end. The 

 ranch is on the west slope of Bolinas Ridge, with the east boundary being the 

 summit of the ridge and the west boundary Olema Creek and the state 

 highway. The ranch is bounded on the north by the Ralph Giacomini Ranch, on 

 the east by lands of the Marin Municipal Water District, on the south by the 

 former McCurdy Ranch and on the west by the former Hagmaier and Lake 

 Ranches on the Point Reyes Peninsula. The ranch is crossed by four dirt ranch 

 roads leading to the ridge top; one, the Randall trail, is a designated trail in the 

 GGNRA system. At least three older abandoned roads are extant on the 

 property as well, one of which is the original Olema to Bolinas Road in use from 

 1867 to 1927. A stock pond near the southern boundary is a popular swimming 

 hole for Bay Area residents. 



2. History of the Randall Ranch 



William Edgar Randall, born on May 13, 1824, learned the trade of 

 carpentry in his native Greensboro, Vermont. In 1849 he married fellow 

 Vermonter Sarah Seaver, who was born on October 6, 1826. In the spirit of the 

 era, the young couple joined the Gold Rush to California. Arriving in San 

 Francisco on May 2, 1850 aboard the ship Hannibal, the Randalls made a few 

 attempts at businesses in that city and San Jose but soon headed for the gold 

 fields. The Randalls returned to San Jose in the fall of 1853 and it was here 

 that they probably met John Nelson. Nelson, born in Sweden in 1819, also 

 came to California with the Gold Rush. He settled in San Jose area at the 



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