Around this time the Truttman brothers, who rented pasture for their dairy 

 cows from Kettenhofen, named the place "Midway Ranch. 1 * 7 



The last owner of the ranch, a corporation run by State Senator Alan 

 Sieroty and called Gottshalk-Sieroty Co., built a small cabin in the woods south 

 of the ranch complex. They rented the ranch house to a tenant and the 

 pasture to neighboring dairyman Ralph Giacomini. The remaining land was 

 zoned A-2, allowing development of a density of one unit per two acres, 

 although in reality the property was not appropriate for such density because of 

 steep slopes. A 1973 appraisal considered development of second homes and 

 recreational type units as well as timbering as the best use of the land. The 

 tenant at the time had a horse ranch called "Sunrise Ranch." The federal 

 government purchased the Randall Ranch on May 6, 1974 for $1,118,300. Ralph 

 Giacomini continues to graze cattle on the pastures under a special use permit. 

 The federal government purchased by condemnation 90 acres of the western 

 part of the ranch for Point Reyes National Seashore in 1975, property no longer 

 in use for grazing. 68 



The superintendent of Point Reyes National Seashore had the remaining 

 barns and outbuildings removed soon after the purchase and intended to 

 demolish the unoccupied Randall House. The keeper of the National Register 

 of Historic Places declared the house eligible for the National Register in 1979, 

 spurring the park to attempt historic leasing on the old house. This effort 

 failed through the lack of acceptable proposals, and again the house faced 

 demolition. Discovery in the 1980s of a rare big-eared bat colony in the attic 

 has given the place at least a temporary reprieve. 69 



"Official Records Book 723, p. 227, MCRO; interviews with Ernest Kettenhofen and Armin 

 and Frank Truttman. 



68 Official Records Book 1157, p. 617, Book 1210, pp. 113 and 292, Book 2539, p. 609 and Book 

 2790, p. 457, MCRO; "Appraisal Report: Sieroty Ranch." (Sebastopol: Harding Appraisal Co., Inc., 

 1973), pp. 1, 9, 11-13; Tract file (L-1425): Tract 04-103 Sieroty Co. Inc. et al, PRNS. 



69 Tract files, PRNS; National Register files, GGNRA; interview with Dr. Gary Fellers, National 

 Biological Survey. 



153 



