Point Reyes Station (formerly, Marin and Olema Station) is a small unincorporated town in western

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

, California, United States. Point Reyes Station is located south-southeast of

Tomales Tomales is a census-designated place (CDP) on State Route 1 in Marin County, California, United States. The population was 187 at the 2020 census. Geography Tomales is located above Keys Creek, about northeast of Tomales Bay. The nearest city ...

, at an elevation of . Point Reyes Station is located along

State Route 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered S ...

and is a gateway to the Point Reyes National Seashore, an extremely popular national preserve. The Point Reyes Station census-designated place (CDP) covers the unincorporated town and adjacent development to the north, with a total population of 895 as of the 2020 census.

Geography

Point Reyes Station is located at , just south and east of the southern end of Tomales Bay, and slightly east of the San Andreas Fault just before the fault submerges down the center of Tomales Bay. Via

, it is northwest of

Stinson Beach Stinson Beach is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Marin County, California, on the west coast of the United States. Stinson Beach is located east-southeast of Bolinas, at an elevation of . The population of the St ...

and southeast of

. San Francisco is to the southeast via Point Reyes–Petaluma Road, Nicasio Valley Road, and Lucas Valley Road. Formerly an actual port and railway terminus, Point Reyes Station nominally borders Tomales Bay; the introduction of European cattle and planting of European grass seed on the natural hills caused destructive erosion, and a combination of small dirt dams, silting, and intentional landfill for farming raised the level of former salt marshes and has left Point Reyes Station approximately from the nearest tidal flats, and that after expenditure of millions of dollars and recent efforts for reclamation of the natural environment. The CDP has a total area of , all land.

History

Once land of the Coast Miwok Indians, Point Reyes Station gets its name from the nearby Point Reyes Peninsula (a major peninsula sticking out into the Pacific Ocean) and its status as a terminus stop on the North Pacific Coast Railroad connecting Cazadero to the Sausalito ferry. Point Reyes Station is very close to the San Andreas Fault, which was responsible for the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...

. At one time, the epicenter of the quake was thought to be near Olema. A walking tour of the fault can be taken from the Point Reyes National Seashore's Visitor Center. The place was called "Olema Station" when the railroad arrived in 1875. The Point Reyes post office opened in 1882. Its name changed thrice in 1891: first to Marin, then back to Point Reyes, and finally to the modern Point Reyes Station.

Demographics

Prayer flags at Spirit Matters Store in Point Reyes, California

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

reported that Point Reyes Station had a population of 848. The population density was . The racial makeup of Point Reyes Station was 725 (85.5%) White, 7 (0.8%) African American, 3 (0.4%) Native American, 10 (1.2%)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 73 (8.6%) from other races, and 30 (3.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 155 persons (18.3%). The Census reported that 100% of the population lived in households. There were 412 households, out of which 87 (21.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 168 (40.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 19 (4.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 21 (5.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 19 (4.6%)

unmarried opposite-sex partnerships POSSLQ ( , plural POSSLQs) is an abbreviation (or acronym) for "Person of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters", a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of ...

, and 4 (1.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 172 households (41.7%) were made up of individuals, and 90 (21.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06. There were 208 families (50.5% of all households); the average family size was 2.84. The population was spread out, with 155 people (18.3%) under the age of 18, 48 people (5.7%) aged 18 to 24, 152 people (17.9%) aged 25 to 44, 299 people (35.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 194 people (22.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 51.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.4 males. There were 490 housing units at an average density of , of which 50.2% were owner-occupied and 49.8% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.8%. 50.6% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 49.4% lived in rental housing units. Point Reyes-Petaluma Road View

Economy

A number of agricultural companies, many using

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

and

sustainable Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

practices, are located there, including

Cowgirl Creamery Cowgirl Creamery is a company located in Point Reyes Station, California, which manufactures artisan cheeses. Founded in 1994, the company manufactures its own cheeses and sells other imported and domestic cheese and fine artisan foods. Its own ...

and

Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company is an artisanal cheese company located in Point Reyes Station in Marin County, California with dairy farmland located in the Point Reyes area. The company received the 2013 California Leopold Conservation Award ...

Marin Organic Marin Organic is a non-profit 501(c)(3) association of Organic farming, organic producers headquartered in Point Reyes Station, California. Founded in 1999 with the goal of creating the first all-organic county,

operates out of the city.

References

External links