Patterson Point Early Days

During the 1800s when logging of the redwoods was under full operation, most of the virgin redwoods in Villa Grande were logged, milled and shipped to San Francisco via train and boats. There were several saw mills in the area, including one on Moscow Road at Starrett Hill.

Generally, redwoods are located on colluvial slopes, such as those in Armstrong Redwoods. The trees of Patterson Point are unique in being located in an alluvial plain, which is subject to flooding. This presents a harsh environment for redwoods, causing many of the trees to be “character” trees, with split trunks, candelabra branches and other unique forms that make them less desirable as lumber. The supposition is that the original loggers left them alone, which is why Patterson Point has a stand of old growth trees.

There are currently 33 redwoods in the Preserve. In 2019, one of the larger redwood trees fell into the Preserve, away from houses. Instead of chopping up the fallen tree, we diverted the main trail around it and let it lie as a “nursing” tree, a host for many plants and a habitat for the birds in the Preserve. A subsequent flood moved this massive tree a few feet down the trail, where it remains.

During our baseline study of all the redwood trees in the Preserve, we were able to take two core samples and determine that most of the Preserve redwoods, despite their stunted growth and unusual shapes, are between 400 and 600 years old and can be considered “old growth” redwoods.

Click on the image to explore the "What We Bought" slideshow created by Jim Beck

Patterson Point under FoVG

When we bought the Preserve in 2009, we purchased an ivy jungle. Ivy covered the ground and climbed into the canopy of most of the bay trees, tan oaks and bigleaf maples causing branches to break off and even entire trees to fall. For the first two years under FoVG stewardship, we removed thousands of pounds of ivy - some up to 2” in diameter - from tree trunks and tree tops.

There were many years of neglect plus some misadventures in gardening. Non-native trees and shrubs had invaded the Preserve, including plum trees, a wild rose bush and many plants that had escaped adjacent gardens. Bay trees had been pruned to the ground to give neighbors better views of the Preserve and river, but regrew with multiple suckers. Chinese dawn redwoods and other exotics had been planted as locals contributed their own ideas of “beauty” to the Preserve. Tons of junk and toxic debris, left by both flood waters and “users,” had to be hauled out by hand, filling multiple dumpsters.

In the 1960’s, cars from 3rd Street drove down the main path and the area next to the redwood tree with the “Keep It Tidy” sign was a parking lot. Here the land was compacted, and restoration has been a challenge. Locals also brought electricity down to the beach for lighting, and some of the connection posts can still be sign high in the trees.

It is a different time and there is a different sensibility about how shared natural resources should be handled. The Board of FoVG and the Preservation Committee plus volunteers and visitors are united in supporting the effort to restore Patterson Point for the enjoyment of all.