This park receives supportMarin in part Conservation from a nonprofit League organization. For further information, contact: Marin State Park Association WalkP.O. Box 223, Into Inverness, (Conservation) CA 94937 History #11 China Camp State Park Saturday, May 5, 2012 Marin Conservation League 1623–A Fifth Avenue, San Rafael, CA 94901 415.485.6257 marinconservationleague.org Marin Conservation League was founded in 1934 to preserve, protect and enhance the natural assets of Marin County. Marin Conservation League Walk Into (Conservation) History # 11 CHINA CAMP STATE PARK MAY 5, 2012 – 9:30 to 1:00 Today’s Walk As early as 1957, a state report Walk Leaders: had recognized that “this area Our walk begins at the north kiosk Yvonne Brown, Friends of China Camp (should) be included in the State entrance to the Park and parking Park System to meet existing and lot for Back Ranch Meadows Louise Kanter Lipsey, Community Activist future pubic needs.” That report camping area. We will follow the Kathy Cuneo, Ph. D., Botanist suggested a park of 2,700 acres, Shoreline Trail that ascends slightly Nona Dennis, Marin Conservation League with 6 miles of shoreline on San and then follows the contour in Rafael and San Pablo Bays. In and out of the wooded canyons of 1970, the Association of Bay Area San Pedro Ridge, crosses the Back how to help the Friends of China into public ownership only with a governments (ABAG) proposed Ranch Fire Road, and loops back Camp keep the Park open against huge collaborative citizen effort a greenbelt plan that called for to the south side of parking area. the odds of closure due to State to advocate for preservation, gain a major San Pedro open space Here, with views out across the salt budget shortfall. public and political support, and preserve, a wide park on the top marsh to the North, we continue on MCL’s previous Walks into campaign for funds to acquire the of the north face of the ridge down the Shoreline Trail to San Pedro (Conservation) History have lands. China Camp State Park is no to the shoreline. Road, cross over to Turtleback Hill, celebrated other public lands and exception. and follow the .9-mile Turtle Back By the time the vision of bay shores in Marin that came Nature Trail counter-clockwise Introduction preservation evolved from around the hill for close views of possibility to probability in the mid the salt marsh. We return to San 1970s, the flatter, south-facing San Pedro Road to complete the walk to Rafael side of the Peninsula was the parking area. filling in with subdivisions, marinas were closing in the shoreline, and Along the way we will take a affluent homes were beginning number of stops to relate stories to creep up the wooded slopes. from China Camp State Park’s Beyond Santa Venetia, the distinctive cultural history, describe northern side still remained almost its varied plant communities and unchanged. How it happened their ecological importance, that three public parklands (San recount the threats that prompted Rafael’s Harry Barbier Memorial citizens to join together to save Park, Marin County’s San Pedro San Pedro Ridge and Bay shore Dru Parker Mountain Preserve, and China from development, and talk about 2 the name “China Camp” has come Chinese in the late 1970s and early Salt marsh to include a much broader swath 1880s; two still existing Indian of land and shoreline of San Pedro mounds, likely there are more; four Point. major canyons and many small ones, from the Bay shore to the hill crest A simple description of China of over 1,000-foot elevation; tens Camp can be found in an early of thousands of shorebirds as well Environmental Impact Report written as numerous species of freshwater in 1974 by Bob Young, a Marin and upland birds. Conservation League volunteer at the time, in support of the proposal “The site, if acquired for the public, to designate China Camp as a would preserve the last place in the State Park: entire Bay Area where an unimpaired “Special features of the site include: natural landscape stretches from three to four miles of Bay shoreline Bay shore to mountain top. While (beach, cliffs, mud flats, salt marsh); there are a few existing bay the historic China Camp settlement shoreline parks around San Francisco Dru Parker that was home to thousands of Bay, they do not meet all of the Camp State Park) came to Quentin, and San Pedro. Of these, qualifications above; each lacks one encompass more than 2,500 acres the San Pedro Peninsula is the or more of these attributes.” of the San Pedro Ridge and Bay most rugged. John Hart in 1970 Indeed the site was acquired for shore by the late 1970s is the called it “as close to wilderness as the public; these words could be success story of citizen action. Our anything in East Marin.” The area written today and still be an apt focus is on one of those parklands originally known as China Camp description. – the woodlands and marshes, flora Village occupies an area near the and fauna, and rich cultural history northeast end of the Peninsula, but that became a State Park in 1976. China Camp and Point San Pedro: Setting and context Viewed from the air, Marin County Flora of China Camp—(L—R): Star is dominated by its highest peak, lily (Zigadenus fremontii), Coast Mt. Tamalpais. To the south and live oak (Quercus agrifolia), Indian east, the mountain descends as warrior (Pedicularis densiflora) a series of ridges that become three peninsulas extending into San Francisco Bay: Tiburon, San Photo credits: Claire Woods, Dru Parker, Philip Bouchard 3 Coast Miwok come. San Pedro Peninsula was one of three parts of the 21,678- Habitation acre Rancho San Pedro, Santa The conditions of San Pedro Margarita, and Las Gallinas land Point were also ideal for the grant held by Timothy Murphy. On first settlers, the Coast Miwok, his death in 1953, the Ranch San whose habitation of Marin and Pedro was divided into a number Southern Sonoma Counties goes of properties. In 1869, brothers back several thousand years. Oak John and George McNear bought groves—at least four different 2,500 acres, including five miles of species—were abundant on the shoreline on Point San Pedro—from slopes of San Pedro Peninsula, Chicken Point on the south side, all furnishing acorns as a food staple. the way through what is now China Mounded deposits of centuries Camp State Park. It included the reveal a subsistence lifestyle 10 to 15 acres of land that would Don Barrett based on abundant clams, mussels, be occupied by a Chinese fishing Above: The shrimp fishing village and pier today; Below: A wooden crate and abalones, and wild game. village. painted with images of two children, now in the China Camp Village Miwok villages were scattered museum. throughout Marin and southern China Camp Village Sonoma counties and inhabited by more profitable way to earn a As news about the discovery of living, i.e., harvesting San Francisco a population of several thousand gold in California spread around natives. Numerous remains have Bay’s abundant shrimp at Point San the world in the late 1849, Pedro. been found in the park. Within 100 hundreds of Chinese immigrants years of the arrival of the Spanish joined in the rush to the gold fields. It was not a coincidence that many and establishment of the San Unfortunately, their plan to make of the immigrants had come from Francisco Mission in about 1776, enough money to return home Canton on the delta of the Pearl however, most of the Miwok were and buy farmland fell short of river; at that time it was the only wiped out. A few have survived. expectations for many reasons, open port in China. It was also the The Spanish influence waned after and as a consequence, families location for centuries of shrimp the Mexican war of independence were stuck in the states. They harvesting, and the Bay shared in1821, and during a period of a turned to laboring on railroads many of the same conditions. dozen years before the American and in industries for survival. In the What started in 1870 as a colony takeover in 1846, the Mexican late 1860s, a number of Chinese of some 77 Chinese shrimpers government awarded enormous laborers ended up producing harvesting at Point San Pedro grew land grants—21 in Marin County— bricks for the McNear family and by 1875 to 26 shrimping villages that would dictate the development constructing San Pedro Road. On around the bay Area. San Pedro of the county for decades to the side, they more found another, remained the largest center of Rene Rivers 4 fishing; the second major shrimp by 1915, and all but disappeared the Chinese shrimpers began to fishery was off Hunter’s Point in by 1930. San Francisco. Using special bag decline, due in part to a declining Shrimp villages were abandoned, nets that could capture the floating shrimp population, and in part but China Camp village managed shrimp as the tide swept in, the to discriminatory legislation that to survive due largely to a family shrimpers would the release the required the purchase of special store that served the locals. Frank catch onto junks and sampans. They licenses, forbade traditional Quan, a descendant of Quan Hung exported dried shrimp to Chinese Chinese fishing techniques, limited Quock (who is thought to have communities throughout the world, the fishing season, prohibited started the village store) rented and sold the larger female shrimp export of dried shrimp, and boats and continued to legally to restaurants in San Francisco.