The Christmas Day storm of 1921
Over the decades, there have been many severe winter storms that have wrought extensive destruction across the county. The Christmas Day storm of
1921 is one of those that laid waste to virtually every corner of Marin. Newspaper accounts in the days following described flooding throughout the county, boats and bayside structures damaged or destroyed in Sausalito, Belvedere and Bolinas, trees blown down and roofs blown off in every town, utility services interrupted for days, snow atop Mount Tamalpais and more than 4 inches of frigid, wet rain pouring down
from the skies.
In the photograph, taken a few days after the storm, St. Mary's Church in Nicasio
is without its steeple, torn from the building at the height of the tempest. The townspeople spent months collecting funds to repair the church at local dances, dinners and gatherings, usually hosted at the Nicasio Hotel, seen just to the right of the church. The hotel and church shared a long history together, even in 1921, as they were both built in 1867 along with William Miller's general merchandise store situated across the field from St. Mary's. The hotel was at the center of town life, welcoming guests from all over the state and was instrumental in organizing annual fundraisers that benefited the church. The hotel burned down in 1940 and the present-day restaurant and music venue Rancho Nicasio now sits on the former hostelry site. Nicasio's town square with its Little League ballfield seems to the occasional passerby a little oversized for such a small town. When the hotel, church and store were built, residents had great hopes for the town and lobbied for years to have the county seat of government moved there from San Rafael.
The plan was to have numerous government buildings and a thriving town center surrounding the perimeter of the large square. At the time, Nicasio was near the geographic center of the county and the majority of the county's population resided in West Marin.
However, in 1872, the state Legislature approved San Rafael as the permanent county seat. No longer in need of an impressive town square, Nicasio residents did the next best thing and built their own “field of dreams” next to the iconic St. Mary's Church, which has changed little since its 1921restoration.
History Watch is written by Scott Fletcher, a volunteer at the Marin History Museum, marinhistory.org. Images included in History Watch are available for purchase by calling 415382-1182 or by email at info@marinhistory.org