Jewell, California Explained

Jewell
Settlement Type:Former Settlement
Pushpin Map:California#USA
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in California
Pushpin Image:California Locator Map with US.PNG
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:California
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Marin County
Coordinates:38.0367°N -122.7458°W
Elevation M:24
Elevation Ft:79

Jewell was an unincorporated community in Marin County, California. It was located 11miles west-southwest of Novato.

In the 1860s, the site was a dairy and pig farm owned by Omar Jewell. When the Northwestern Pacific Railroad was built nearby, Jewell sold a right-of-way across his land and a flagstop called Jewells was set up on the ranch. In the 1930s, a strip of land between Lagunitas Creek and the Sir Francis Drake Highway was subdivided into small lots where city dwellers built weekend cottages. The settlement became known as Jewell because it lay opposite of the Jewell train flagstop.[1]

The National Park Service bought the community alongside the creek and removed the few remaining residents. In 2018 an environmental group tore down the cluster of houses and began to restore the creek to improve the habitat for endangered coho salmon.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Livingston . Dewey . The Two Jewells of Marin County . Marin County Library . 2019.
  2. News: Rosato . Joe . Marin County Environmentalists Remove Ghost Town to Save Salmon . 17 August 2020 . NBC Bay Area . September 11, 2019.