Samuel P. Taylor State Park is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

located in

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. It contains approximately of redwood forest and grassland. The park contains about of

old-growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

, some of which can be seen along the Pioneer Tree Trail.

History

The park is named for

Samuel Penfield Taylor Samuel Penfield Taylor (October 9, 1827 in Saugerties, New York – January 22, 1886 in San Francisco, California) was an entrepreneur who made his fortune during the California Gold Rush. He is best known for building the Pioneer Paper Mill, the ...

, who found gold during the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

and used some of his money to buy a parcel of land along Lagunitas Creek. In 1856, Taylor built the Pioneer Paper Mill, the first paper mill on the Pacific Coast. In the 1870s, the North Pacific Coast Railroad was built between Cazadero and a pier in Sausalito where passengers could transfer to a ferry to San Francisco. The railroad passed near Taylor's mill, and, ever the entrepreneur, he built the "Camp Taylor Resort" alongside the tracks. A destination for San Franciscans, the resort offered both a hotel and tent camping, as well as swimming, boating, fishing, and a dance pavilion.Dierke, James S.
Samuel Penfield Taylor: Forty-niner, Timber Tycoon, Freemason
." ''The Scottish Rite Journal, August 1999'' (accessed June 4, 2006). Taylor died on January 22, 1886, and his family lost the mill and resort in the

Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the pres ...

. However, a 1910 newspaper advertisement for the "Camp Taylor Resort," touting its dance pavilion and on-site grocery and butcher, indicates that the resort continued to operate. The mill burned down in 1916, and in 1945 the State of California took possession of the property for non-payment of taxes. During the state budget deficit, Taylor Park was one of many state parks that were at risk of closing due to lack of funding. Efforts were made to find funding to keep Samuel P. Taylor and other parks open. The ''San Francisco Chronicle'', on October 7, 2011, reported that "the National Park Service has agreed to take over security and operations of Samuel P. Taylor Park."''San Francisco Chronicle'', October 7, 2011

Notes

External links

* * San Francisco Wiki - Samuel P. Taylor State Park Maps, hiking trails, winter run coho salmon
Trailspotting: Hiking Mount Barnabe
GPS/mapping data, hike description & photos {{authority control State parks of California Parks in Marin County, California Protected areas established in 1945 1945 establishments in California Bay Area Ridge Trail