Black Point-Green Point, California

Black Point-Green Point is a census-designated place (CDP) in Marin County, California, United States. It is unincorporated, sitting between the city of Novato to the southwest and the Petaluma River and San Pablo Bay to the northeast. The population was 1,431 at the 2020 census.

History

Black Point was part of the Rancho de Novato land grant. The ''1880 History of Marin County'' by Alley, Bowen and Co. mentions "a man by name of Day" who "settled on an island in Novato township which has since borne his name" in 1851. This island is still known as Day Island. According to the book, several more settlers moved into the area in 1853. Some of them owned land there, while others were squatters, a problem common across the county. Lumber that came from Black Point was used to build part of the USS ''Saginaw'', a steamer built at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. It served in the navy until 1870, when it ran aground on a reef not far from Ocean island. Deer Island, a former island east of Olive Avenue, actually was an island in the early 1900s. The house on the island, owned by Antonio DeBorba, whose shop on Grant Avenue is still intact, was completely encompassed by water, and his house was only accessible by boat. When both the county and the state refused to build a levee, he spent a small fortune deepening the creek and taking water out of the marsh. Once that was done, he donated the land that is now Highway 37.

The first Black Point post office operated from 1865 to 1891. The Grandview post office opened in 1905, changed its name to Black Point in 1944, and closed in 1952. Black Point-Green Point is located along the Brazos Railroad Subdivision, with Northwestern Pacific running trains through twice a week. Trains passing through Black Point-Green Point cross the Black Point Railroad Bridge, built in 1911. The fields to the south of Black Point were used for the location of the Black Point Communications Annex, an antenna array that was used to communicate with the Hamilton Air Force Base.

Geography

Black Point-Green Point is east of the center of Novato and north of San Rafael, the Marin county seat. The Petaluma River, which forms the northeast edge of the community, is the Sonoma County line.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which , or 2.42%, are water. Black Point-Green Point is also located near various public lands, such as the Rush Creek Open Space Preserve and the Vince Mulroy Wildlife Prerserve.

Commercial activity

There are several businesses in Black Point-Green Point, such as Rossi's Deli (an old gas station built in the 1930s), Penske Truck Rental, Kelleher Lumber, and two self-storages. There used to be an inn built during the 1890s, but it burned down in the spring of 1976. Black Point also used to have a train station and a freight depot near the lumberyard. Both the Northwestern Pacific Railroad and the Black Point Aggregates company used to operate a quarry in Black Point to produce ballast and fills for the railroad, as well as shipment abroad. The steep scars are still visible, although the flattened area is now part of the StoneTree Golf Course. Black Point was the location of the annual Northern California Renaissance Faire from 1971 to 1998, after which the site was developed into the StoneTree Golf Course.

Demographics

Black Point-Green Point first appeared as a census designated place in the 2000 U.S. Census.

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Black Point-Green Point had a population of 1,431. The population density was . The racial makeup of Black Point-Green Point was 80.0% White, 0.3% African American, 0.3% Native American, 6.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.4% from other races, and 9.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.0% of the population.

The whole population lived in households. There were 588 households, out of which 20.4% included children under the age of 18, 56.5% were married-couple households, 8.2% were cohabiting couple households, 19.6% had a female householder with no partner present, and 15.8% had a male householder with no partner present. 24.1% of households were one person, and 13.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.43. There were 401 families (68.2% of all households).

The age distribution was 12.3% under the age of 18, 8.7% aged 18 to 24, 15.9% aged 25 to 44, 30.6% aged 45 to 64, and 32.4% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 54.4years. For every 100 females, there were 95.5 males.

There were 616 housing units at an average density of , of which 588 (95.5%) were occupied. Of these, 81.0% were owner-occupied, and 19.0% were occupied by renters.

Education

It is in the Novato Unified School District.
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References

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Census-designated places in Marin County, California
Census-designated places in California
Populated coastal places in California