Welcome to the new Events page for the Tomales Regional History Center!
Our mission is to inspire our community and explore with you the unique character of this very special region. In 2024, we have a terrific line up for our popular lecture series. Watch this page for other Special Events at the Center.
Come join us and rediscover our unique corner of the world!
NOTE: We are beginning to post videos of our lectures on YouTube. If you missed the Christo event, it was recorded and it is available. View all of our 2023 Lecture Series presentations on our YouTube Channel.
Do come visit our new exhibit showing the history of oysters and shellfish cultivation in Tomales Bay, featuring the many local farms.
The Center is open Saturdays and Sundays from 1:00pm - 4:00pm.
The Burbank Family has had roots in our local community for over 200 years. Luther Burbank transformed our world with his contributions to horticulture. Come hear about their fascinating story from member of the family, Meg Burbank.
Marin County’s coast is a graveyard of ships. Its steep rock-bound shores, treacherous currents, and frequent fogs have been the doom of many! Brian K. Crawford, author of Shipwrecks of Marin, has detailed more than four hundred of these wrecks and will describe six of the more significant and interesting wrecks, full of danger, pathos, and drama.
The North Pacific Coast Railroad served Marin and Sonoma Counties from 1875 until 1907. Running from Cazadero to Sausalito, remnants of the route are still visible today. Charlie Siebenthal, president of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad Historical Society will take us on a photographic tour of our local narrow gauge railroad.
Let’s celebrate! Built and run entirely by volunteers, the Tomales Town Hall is a fun and vital part of life in Tomales, West Marin, and the Sonoma Coast. We’ll tell the quirky, humorous, and moving story of how locals built one of the oldest continuously used public spaces in California, how successive generations have added to that story, and what the next chapter holds. Not to mention a party that’ll be remembered for years to come.
You thought you knew fog? There’s so much more to this phenomenon in nature, myth, and mystery. FOG. Clarifying the cloudy, fuzzy, misty, murky, soupy thing we live with. Dr. Dennis Baldocchi, Professor of Biometerology at UC Berkeley serves as our beacon.
What do 2,319,269 shucked oysters, 10,700,000 planted oysters and 94,259 bowls of clam chowder have in common? Our neighbor in Marshall, Hog Island Oyster Company! For 40 years, Hog Island has been an outstanding steward of our environment while providing heaps of fun and deliciousness for residents and guests. Come hear their story and join the party!
See the recording on YouTube here.
Once home to an estuary that fed into Tomales Bay and the Pacific Ocean, Tomales Station is now 500 acres of rolling hills full of grass and clover providing the perfect home for the Highland cattle so visible from town. Long horned, shaggy, and double-coated, Highlands are primarily raised for meat, which is regarded as the highest of quality and low in cholesterol. Ted and Laddie Hall, through their Long Meadow Ranch, invest in extensive local conservation efforts. At their Farmstead restaurant in St Helena, Long Meadow Ranch’s celebrated American farmhouse cuisine is rooted in the Hall family tradition of showcasing ingredients fresh from our farm, ranch, and vineyards. Come hear the story behind these incredible, iconic cows!
See the YouTube recording: Dewey Livingston: A New History of Tomales Bay
Dewey Livingston, California historian and author, Director of the Jack Mason Museum of West Marin is our speaker. Dewey in known for collecting rich oral histories, deep studies of archives, photos, maps and documents. He has roamed the Internet searching for new information about our local culture for 40 years. A crowd favorite, Dewey has written a book about Point Reyes and Tomales Bay, and shares many of his insights and newly-discovered bits of history. Not to be missed!
In 2022, Michael Von der Porten of the Drake Navigator Guild led a hike to the site where it is believed at Sir Francis Drake landed on our shores. The hike was such a success that it is being held again! No reservation necessary. The hike is 3 miles or so round trip on hard sand. Meet at Drake’s Beach Ken Patrick Visitor Center at 10:00a. (ATTENTION!! This is NOT the main Pt Reyes Visitor Center!) The event will begin with a short history of the research and discovery. You can brig a chair and snack. Wear layers and comfortable shoes. This is a public hike so bring friends. NO DOGS!
Additional dates available with full onsite lecture: Sat July 22; Sat Aug 26; Sat Sept 30 10:00a - 2:00p
Sponsored by the Rancho Bodega Historical Society
It's the 50th Anniversary of Fish Fest, a beloved community event. How did it begin? Hear unique stories from over the years! DON’T MISS! A special exhibit of 50 years of Fish Fest posters will be on display at the Tomales History Center from mid-March to mid-June! The Exhibit Reception was on March 19 at the Tomales History Center in Tomales.
See the YouTube recording: The Landscape of our Prehistoric Coast
Did you ever wonder what formed the Elephant Rocks ? Did you know you could once walk to the Farallones? How did Tomales Bay itself come to be? Join Dr Scott Mensing, Geographer and Paleoecologist for a walk through time to look at the formation of Tomales Bay and our coast.
Abalone, written by our speaker Ann Vilesis, chronicles the remarkable story of our human relationship with an animal that we've cherished for its iridescent shell and savory meat for millennia.
This three-mile (round-trip) walk down a firm beach will take you to the 1579 site of Drake's landing. It's a rarely-visited site in near-16th century condition.
The earliest European contact with Native Peoples in northern California occurred at Drakes Bay in Marin County. This 1579 visit was years before Roanoke, Jamestown or Plymouth.
Come learn the stories behind many of the historic school houses which dot our landscapes.
Missed the event? See the YouTube recording of Christo’s Running Fence Panel
It’s been 50 years since Christo and Jean-Claude came to Sonoma County with their idea for the Running Fence.
The history of California cheese began in 1769 and we have a rich story right here!
