Punta de Quintin

Punta de Quintin

Reurn to Point SQ

Under the Mexican regime, Punta de Quintin was included in a grant to Captain J. R. B. Cooper, a seafaring man whose wife was the sister of General Vallejo. The full name of the land grant to Captain Juan Bautista Roger Cooper was - PUNTA de QUINTIN CORTE MADERA, la LAGUNA y CANADA de SAN ANSELMO. Governor Juan B. Alvarado was indebted to Captain Cooper and had paid him off with this grant.

In a statement made in 1854, Antonio Ortega swore that the grant was "two square leagues, more or less". He said that Cooper had a house on the point and had horses and mares. Cooper farmed some of the inland areas and cut timber which he marketed in his ships.

California historians have recorded very little about the early settling of Point San Quentin and the surrounding area of the northern part of San Francisco bay. We are indebted to Florence Donnelly, of a pioneer San Rafael family, for some of the story of the real beginning of the settling of the white man in this area.

Benjamin Rush Buckelew and his wife, Martha, came west from New York in 1846 with the wagon train of Hoppe and Harlan. The rigors of crossing the planes at that early date were much more severe than they were later. After much shortages of food and water and of physical exhaustion they reached San Francisco in the fall of 1846.

Buckelew was a watchmaker by profession and he opened the first watchmaker and jewelry store in Yerba Buena. Buckelew became a prominent businessman in San Francisco and was a member of the town council. He also became the owner and publisher of a newspaper, "The Californian". This paper published one of the first accounts of the discovery of gold by Marshall at Captain Sutter's mill on the American River. Buckelew used his skill as a jeweler to manufacture delicate gold scales, and the demand was greater than the supply.

This pioneer realized that land would be a better investment than gold mining and having accumulated some capital in his shop and in real estate, he decided that he would establish a town on the northern shores of San Francisco bay. He filed a claim on a grant that had been made to John Reed, called Corte Madera del Presidio. San Francisco, with its steep sand dunes, did not look to Buckelew like a satisfactory place for a port, and the Pacific Mail Steamship Company was looking elsewhere. Buckelew believed he had the ideal site and called his settlement California City, across the bay from San Quentin point. However, Benicia was selected as the port to develop by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and ironically, California City, one hundred and twenty five years later, still remains the city with a name only. Buckelew purchased the Reed Rancho and then added to his holdings by purchasing the so-called Cooper rancho. The early maps of the area identify the Cooper rancho as part of the land grants of Punta de Quintin extending inland from Red Hill to Ross Valley and Kentfield. In an Indian war in 1824 the great Indian Chief Marin was closely pursued by Mexican Lieutenant Ignacio Martinez and Sub-Lieutenant Jose Sanchez, and took refuge on two small islands in the bay, at the mouth of what is now San Rafael Canal. These islands are still called Marin Islands. The Mexican lieutenants, not being equipped to pursue the Indians on the islands, repaired to Punta de Quentin. Here they met with equally strong resistance from Marin's sub-chief, Captain Quentin, a brave and daring warrior. Chief Quintin was captured by Martinez and taken to Yerba Buena as a prisoner. He was released after two years and was employed by the fathers at Mission Dolores. Quintin served for many years, operating lighters on San Francisco bay. He was a skillful and reliable sailor.

Through the years, the Spanish and Mexicans began calling Punta de Quintin, San Quentin. Perhaps the identifying Saint may have been added to names in California to give the place status and prestige.

Mr. Buckelew purchased this land from Cooper and, realizing that his California City was not destined to grow, established himself on Puenta de Quentin, as his future "empire on the bay". He established a saw mill at what is now Larkspur. Buckelew called his new established settlement Marin City, and he moved the sawmill to point San Quentin.

When the California State Legislature appointed a committee to investigate sites for the establishment of a State Prison, Buckelew invited them to his home and he and his wife entertained them royally. The members of this committee, impressed by Buckelew's hospitality, recommended that some of his Marin City land be purchased for the site of a state prison.

The State of California purchased twenty acres from Buckelew on July 7, 1852 for ten thousand dollars.

Benjamin Rush Buckelew had moved building material from his California City site across the bay and built a hotel at his new Marin city. This building was bought by Jack McRae, a Scotchman, and his Irish wife, the former Elizabeth Conlan. Their daughter, Mary, married Frank Mails, a San Quentin guard. The McRaes called their hotel, The Shepherd Hotel.

In this home a daughter, Margeret Mails Landers, and the late Walter (The Great) Mails were born. Walter became a famous big league pitcher.

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Last Revision March 2001