This Week in Marin History
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August 2009

Sister act

On August 29, 1887, William T. Coleman sold land in San Rafael’s Magnolia Valley to the Dominican Sisters so they could build a convent and school.  Dominican College founder Mother Louis O’Donnell had sought to transfer the Mother House from Benicia to San Rafael to be closer to thriving San Francisco. (Benicia was the state capitol during the Gold Rush, but had fallen on hard times.) With the approval of San Francisco Archbishop Riordan, ten acres were purchased for $20,000—half of which was remitted back as a gift from Coleman. But there was no money for furnishings—after the move, the Sisters slept on the floor and stored their clothes in apple crates.

Dominican College founder Mother Louis O’Donnell, c.1889.

Name game

In August of 1775, Lt. Juan Manuel de Ayala of Spain anchored his ship the San Carlos in what is now Angel Island’s Ayala Cove. The first European to chart the San Francisco Bay, his mission was to create maps that other Spanish ship captains could rely on. In those days, Catholic explorers traditionally named sites for religious feast days—hence Isla de Los Angeles or Angel Island. However, that practice didn’t always apply: Ayala also dubbed a nearby land mass Punta del Tiburon (Shark Point). Whether it was because he saw a number of sharks near there or thought that the tree-covered peninsula resembled a shark is still up for debate.

Angel Island's Ayala Cove, facing Tiburon, 1978.

Speed trap

In August of 1929, Novato moved its “justice system” to the Silva Building to better serve the community. Speeding had become a particular problem at the time—San Franciscans often ignored the town’s 15 mph speed limit as they charged up to the Redwood Empire. Constables Tom Sutton and Fred DeLucchi dispensed speeding tickets by the hundreds, and before the move took violators to the Novato French Cheese Factory, owned by Judge Hermann Rudolff. There the judge dispensed his justice—a penalty of $5, along with a gift of cheese. It was said that Old Town Novato was paved with the fines that were collected.

Novato's Main Street, c.1920.