in the county. One newspaper correspondent wrote in 1875 of visiting Bloom, 

 "owner of the famous Baldwin dairy." 139 



Bloom had been married and had a son, Jeremiah, while at Tocaloma; 

 apparently his first wife Mary died. After about four years on the dairy Bloom 

 took a new wife, Teresa, and the couple had six children: Begnimina, Clorindo 

 (originally named Galileo), Valenti Joseph, Celia, Romilda and Lino, who died as 

 a child. The Bloom family became respected and influential in the Olema area, 

 where many descendants still reside. 141 



In 1876 Bloom built a large, two-story house facing the county road to 

 replace the small old ranch dwelling. The house resembled others built during 

 the same decade in the area, especially the house of Joseph Codoni at 

 Tocaloma. Bloom also built a large, 100-cow milking barn, probably replacing a 

 smaller one nearby. Later, perhaps around the turn of the century, about forty 

 feet were added to the barn's west end to increase the milking capacity. The 

 Blooms bought the Winslow property to the north in 1882, bringing the total 

 size of the ranch to 1170 acres. 141 



Joseph Bloom involved himself in community service, deeding a lot on his 

 ranch for use as a cemetery in 1882, and donating an acre for the new Druid's 

 Hall in Olema, of which Bloom was a charter member. The Druids order built 

 a landmark building in 1885, a newsman commenting that "it is a handsome 

 site, and a handsome act in Mr. Bloom." James Bloom and his wife Lucy sold 

 their half interest in the ranch to Joseph on July 11, 1893. 142 



As Joseph Bloom's sons grew to adulthood, they each learned the dairy 

 business by working on the ranch. In 1900 Clorindo and Valenti worked side- 

 by-side with five other farm hands, all Swiss or Italian. In mid- 1901 the Bloom 

 Ranch was producing 5,850 pounds of butter per month from 152 cows. 

 Clorindo Bloom eventually purchased the Pedrotti ranch on the northern 



139 Population Schedules, 9th U. S. Census, 1870; Leases Book A, p. 351, MCRO; Marin County 

 Journal. December 16, 1875. 



'""Population Schedules of the 9th, 10th and 12th U. S. Censuses, 1870, 1880, 1900; Marin 

 Journal. February 20, 1890. 



141 Deeds Book X, p. 475, MCRO; interviews with Louis Bloom, Henrietta Greer and Boyd 

 Stewart. 



142 Deeds Book X, p. 58, Book 2, p. 270, Book 26, p. 355, MCRO; Marin Journal. June 19, 1884. 



249 



