by Branwell Fanning (Author)
The Tiburon Peninsula was once a part of the vast El Rancho Corte Madera Del Presidio, owned by generations of the pioneering Reed family, whose dairies colonized the rolling grasslands and willow groves of Tiburon, Belvedere, and Strawberry. Nearby Angel Island was militarized during the Civil War, later supporting an immigration station, and finally, a state historic park. Tiburon became the steaming, smoking terminus of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad, with ferries and trains dominating its industry for over 80 years until the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge signaled the end of the rail era. Slowly regaining its original serenity, the peninsula attracted urban refugees seeking a quiet haven by the bay, and new upscale residential neighborhoods and tourist magnets gradually filled in the gentle landscape.