From tribal villages to environmental proving grounds.
MIWOK VILLAGES
For thousands of years this part of Marin was home to Miwok tribes who lived in harmony with the richness of the land and its waters.
A DAUGHTER'S LAND GRANT INHERITANCE
Alto Bowl and Horse Hill preserves were part of 646 acres inherited by Maria Inez Reed, daughter of John Thomas Reed, who received the land through a Spanish land grant. Maria Inez married Pennsylvania-born Thomas Deffebach, who came to California in 1850 during the gold rush. The couple had 11 children; only four survived. The couple died within months of each other in 1883-84. The children, ages three to eight, were put into the care of Maria's sister. The Alto area lands were leased to tenant ranchers, and eventually some of the property changed hands.
MARIN DAIRIES
An early dairy here was named Tunnel Ranch, for the nearby Alto train tunnel which opened in 1884. Alto Dairy opened in 1910, owned and operated by Roque Morales. It was one of the first Marin dairies to use milking machines and pasteurization. A dairy census of 1935-36 recorded 113 cows on the lands, producing 6,380 pounds of milk and 235 pounds of butterfat yearly, rushed daily to San Francisco.
PUSH BACK ON A POST-WWII BUILDING BOOM
After the second World War, residential developments called Scott Valley and Alto Sutton Manor were built on former grazing lands. More large-scale developments were planned in the 1960s on land now protected in the preserves. 900 homes were planned for the Alto Bowl side; 1,200 apartments for Horse Hill. 1960s development plans were turned back by strong local opposition. In 1974, the Marin County Regional Park District purchased two Alto Bowl parcels totaling 18 acres for $100,000. (The District acquired an additional 19.3 acres in 1985, and 15.8 more acres in 1990.)
THE FIGHT TO SAVE HORSE HILL
In 1982, developers submitted an application to build 63 homes on the 34.4 acre Horse Hill parcel. The project was stalled by a building moratorium declared by the City of Mill Valley. When the moratorium expired in 1988, a new proposal was made for 13 homes. But a group called Save the Horse Hill Committee collected donations from more than 5,000 people. Horse Hill was then purchased as open space, with transfer to the County completed in 1995. The price of $2.4 million, contributed by the Marin County Open Space District (MCOSD), the City of Mill Valley, the Marin Community Foundation, and thousands of individuals, was at the time the County's most expensive land acquisition.
HELPING HANDS, PUBLIC LANDS
Today, these preserves are part of an interconnected group of open space public lands. Community groups, including the Alto Bowl Homeowner's Association, Mill Valley Meadows Homeowners Association, community volunteer groups, and others, continue to work collaboratively with MCOSD to maintain the quality and character of these special places.