John Muir National Historic Site
4202 Alhambra Ave, Martinez, CA 94553, United States
The National Historic Site of John Muir is located in Martinez, Contra Costa County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It retains the 14-room Italianate Victorian mansion where the naturalist and writer John Muir lived, as well as a neighboring 325-acre (132 ha) of the Muir family's historically owned native oak woodlands and grasslands. In the shadow of State Route 4, also known as the "John Muir Parkway," the main site is on the outskirts of town.
Dr. John Strentzel, the father-in - law of Muir, with whom Muir went into partnership, controlling his 2,600-acre (1,100 ha) fruit estate, built the mansion in 1883. In 1890, Muir moved into the house with his wife, Louisa, and he remained there until his death in 1914.
Muir and Louisa ceded the right of way to the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad in 1897 for the amount of $10. The document defines the property on which the Alhambra Trestle is located. The railway was completed in 1900 and used to transport its fruit by the Muirs.
While living there, in the wake of his fight to prevent the Hetch Hetchy Valley of Yosemite National Park from being dammed, Muir realized several of his greatest accomplishments, co-founding and serving as the first president of the Sierra Club, playing a prominent role in the development of many national parks, writing hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles and many books about the virtues on conservation and natural world.
As he named his study, the home includes Muir's "scribble den," and his original desk, where he wrote about many of the concepts that are the backbone of the current conservation movement.
The Historic American Buildings Survey in 1960 documented the Muir home. In 1964, it became a National Historic Site, is a # 312 California Historical Landmark and National Historic Landmark, and is on the Historic Places National Register. The adjacent Mount Wanda Nature Preserve (named for one of the two daughters of John Muir) was added to the historic site in 1988. A biographical film, house tours and nature walks on Mount Wanda are provided by the John Muir National Historic Site.
This amazing landmark in Martinez, California is located near some other must-see places of interest:
- John Muir House
- Martinez Gun Club
- Radke Martinez Regional Shoreline Park
- Mount Wanda
- Waterfront Park
- Hidden Lakes Park
- Rankin Park
- Suisun Bay
All of these wonderful landmarks are located just a short distance from our location at 1261 Locust Street in Walnut Creek California! Stop by for a visit anytime!
