developer had offered earlier. Don Mclsaac grazes cattle on the property now 

 under a special use permit with the National Park Service. 215 



3. Historic Resources 



No buildings remain on the former Ferro property. The house site is 

 marked by the cypress grove which acted as a windbreak to shelter the house. 

 Remains of a barn are visible south of the house site. The Mclsaac family has 

 built corrals on the site of the Grade B milking barn. Fence lines follow the 

 original 1868 subdivision, but their fabric has been changed over the years; now 

 most are wood post and barbed wire. 



The only significant structure remaining on the property is the eastern 

 portion of the old Olema Trail, in use from the Mexican era until 1867. 

 Leading uphill from Olema along the DeSouza Ranch fence line, the pioneer 

 route then follows the fence line on the Ferro property as it crosses the ridge 

 and descends to Lagunitas Creek. The section with the highest integrity is the 

 lower half on the east slope, where the long-abandoned roadbed is visible as it 

 descends the steep hillside, bends around a knoll and through some oak trees, 

 then makes a sharp turn to the southeast for its final descent to the railroad 

 grade and the creek. 



4. Historic Significance of the Neil Mclsaac Ranch 



The former Neil Mclsaac Ranch has significance as a contributor to the 

 Olema Valley dairy district, but the absence of historic resources leaves it with 

 little historic integrity. Those resources with integrity are the Olema Trail and 

 the railroad grade, as well as landscape features such as the building remains, 

 fence lines and windbreak trees. 



215 Appraisal Report: The Ferro Ranch. (Sebastopol, CA: The Harding Appraisal Co., 1973), pp. 

 1-7; Official Records Book 2538, p. 153 and Book 2747, p. 450, MCRO; Tract File (L-1425) "Tract 

 05-105, Ferro," PRNS. 



374 



