T. JEWELL RANCH (site) 



(Golden Gate National Recreation Area) 



1. Description 



The Jewell Ranch is located across Lagunitas Creek from the small 

 residential settlement of Jewell on Sir Francis Drake Highway between Samuel 

 P. Taylor State Park and Tocaloma. The 536.77-acre ranch within park 

 boundaries is what remains of the original 681 -acre Omar Jewell Ranch. The 

 ranch is bounded on the north by the former Ferro/Mclsaac Ranch, on the east 

 by Lagunitas Creek and Samuel P. Taylor State Park, on the south by the 

 Stewart Ranch and on the west by the former Truttman Ranch. The land is 

 mostly grassy with wooded gulches on the south part of the property. Two 

 ranch sites can be found on the property, but no buildings remain. The Jewell 

 Trail, part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area's trail system, crosses the 

 ranch as a connector between the Bolinas Ridge Trail and the Cross Marin 

 Trail. The latter trail passes along the entire east edge of the property as part 

 of its route between Tocaloma and the state park. 



2. History of the Jewell Ranch 



Omar Jewell, born in New York in 1821, farmed in Wheaton, Illinois for 

 many years before coming to California in 1861. Leaving his large family 

 behind on the farm, Jewell established a farming implement business in 

 Petaluma, being the exclusive agent for D. M. Osborne Reaper and Mower 

 Company. In April of 1862 he sent for his family, who sold the farm and 

 traveled overland by wagon train to Petaluma, arriving in September of that 

 year. 



According to Bertha Stedman Rothwell, who had known the Jewell 

 family, Jewell became interested in dairy farming after seeing his implement 

 customers doing so well in their endeavors. Soon after arriving in Petaluma, 

 Jewell leased a dairy on the crest of Bolinas Ridge from the Olds family and 

 commenced dairying. His children attended school in the valley below. After 

 the Olds brothers divided their large Olema Valley holdings, Jewell purchased a 

 680.99-acre ranch property on the east side of the ridge, north of Samuel P. 



379 



