| John Thomas Reed | |
| Birth Date: | 1805 |
| Birth Place: | Dublin, Ireland |
| Death Date: | 1843 |
| Death Place: | Corte Madera, Alta California |
| Death Cause: | Bled to death |
| Known For: | Building a saw mill in Mill Valley |
John Thomas Reed (born 1805, Dublin, Ireland; died 1843, California) was an early California European settler who was the grantee of Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio in what is now Marin County, California.[1]
Reed went to Acapulco, Mexico in 1820 to apply for a land grant. In 1826, he arrived in Yerba Buena (later named San Francisco). While awaiting his land grant, he established a San Francisco Bay ferry service using a sailboat.[2]
In 1834, the governor of Alta California José Figueroa granted Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio to Reed. The grant encompassed what is now southern Corte Madera, the Tiburon Peninsula, and Strawberry Point.[3] A large central portion of the Tiburon peninsula is presently known as Ring Mountain, most of which is in public ownership and is habitat for a diverse set of native biota.[4]
Reed constructed the first sawmill in Marin County in 1834.[5] The mill cut wood for the San Francisco Presidio. He also raised cattle and horses and had a brickyard and stone quarry. Reed also did brisk businesses in hunting, skins, tallow, and other products until his death in 1843.[6] [7] [8]
In 1836, John Reed married Hilaria Sánchez (1817–1872) who was the daughter of the commandant of the Presidio and the sister of alcaldes Francisco Sanchez and José de la Cruz Sánchez.[9] [10] The four children of John and Hilaria Reed were: John Joseph (1837–1899) who married Carlotta Saurez; Hilarita (1839–1908) who married Benjamin Lyford (1841–1906); Maria Inez who married Thomas Boileau Deffebach (1822–1884); and Ricardo who died as a child. Hilaria Sanchez married Bernardino Garcia after Reed's death in 1843.[11]