years. For at least three decades the Mclsaac family rented the ranch to John 

 Damazio, who lived in the house with his wife Ophelia and their many children. 

 John Damazio and his son Joe operated a dairy from the early 1920s until some 

 time in the early 1940s, when family members continued residing there but did 

 not milk cows. The grazing land was rented to Armin and Frank Truttman of a 

 nearby dairy ranch, and then to the Xavier brothers who rented the Cheda 

 Ranch for their dairy business. The Mclsaac family, brothers Don and Neil, 

 have used the land for grazing since about 1960. In the 1960s the Marin 

 County Fire Department burned the abandoned ranch structures, leaving only 

 sections of concrete floor and the cypress trees that sheltered the house from 

 the strong coastal winds. 213 



In the 1960s the Mclsaacs made two transactions which affected the 

 property. In 1961 the Marin Municipal Water District acquired a 20-foot right- 

 of-way along the old Northwestern Pacific Railroad grade on the eastern side of 

 the property for a major water pipeline. Two years later the County of Marin 

 traded property in order to replace the old Tocaloma Bridge on Sir Francis 

 Drake Highway with a modern highway bridge. In the transaction the 

 Mclsaacs secured ownership of the old bridge and the land surrounding it. 214 



In January of 1972, Don and Neil Mclsaac sold the ranch to San 

 Francisco investor and wholesale florist Angelo Ferro and his wife Irma for 

 $285,000. The Ferros intended to develop the ranch and had the land surveyed 

 and divided into 60 acre tracts. While the land had been zoned A-2, wherein 

 one home per two acres was permissible, the planning department indicated 

 that only larger tracts would be acceptable on this particular piece of land. 

 Later in 1972, the Ferros were reportedly offered $425,000 for the ranch by a 

 developer, but the offer was withdrawn because the proposed Golden Gate 

 National Recreation Area would include the ranch within its boundaries. In 

 fact, the property was acquired by the United States for inclusion in the park 

 on December 4, 1973, paying the Ferros $420,000, almost exactly what the 



213 Marin Journal. August 24 and October 19, 1899; interview with Earl Skinner; 20th century 

 ranch information from an interview with Don Mclsaac. 



214 Official Records Book 1457, p. 370, Book 1461, p. 121, Book 1733, p. 298, MCRO. 



373 



