From the early visits of the Pomos, through the logging-ranching-bootlegging days, to the development of the internationally famous architectural icon, the story of The Sea Ranch is a romp through history.  A brief glimpse is provided here, but for a more complete treatment see The Sea Ranch Association website or stop by the beloved local bookstore Four-Eyed Frog and pick up a copy of The Sea Ranch by Susan M. Clark, the historian and Sea Rancher who has litterally written the book on it, including early maps and rare photographs.

Early History
The Pomo Indians were the first known visitors to this coast, coming to gather shell fish and kelp, but the winds and difficult access contributed to slow development.  In 1846 Ernest Rufus received one of the last Mexican land grants stretching from the Gualala River south to Ocean Cove.  

The area was known as the German Rancho, as Rufus had invited another German, Frederick Hugel, to join him on the land. Hugel built housing and fencing, raised cattle and horses, farmed and planted fruit trees. More German immigrants continued the operations after Hugel, until Wlliam Bihler and Charles Wagner bought the northern part of the rancho in 1855.

Bihler’s nephew, Christian Stengel, and Adam Knipp managed the livestock operation, and eventually bought the 3,220-acre ranch from Bihler.  Bihler also sold 985 acres south of the Gualala River to Robert Rutherford, but he lost it to bank foreclosure 13 years later. The Knipp-Stengel operation flourished, and in the early 1880s, the partners built the historic Sea Ranch barn, now lovingly restored by volunteers and known locally as the White Barn, a familiar landmark on Highway One located at the mid-point of the 10-mile stretch of The Sea Ranch.

In 1903, Knipp and Stengel began selling off their land to Bender Brothers Mill and Lumber Company, which also acquired the Rutherford property. The Bender Brothers built the Mill on Del Mar Point, a store, saloon, warehouse, and the Del Mar School, which still stands at the southwest corner of Leeward and Deer Trail.

Starting in 1910, Walter Frick bought various parcels of the land and buildings, unifying them as the Del Mar Ranch. Frick leased the ranch to a group of Russian immigrants who grew vegetables, and had the hedgerows planted as windbreaks. He also replaced the cattle operation with sheep, but when he died in 1937 the ranch and the sheep were auctioned off for back taxes.

Margaret Ohlson and her four sons purchased the ranch and livestock for $125,000, and the Ohlson family held it for 23 years. The Ed Ohlson house was built in the 1950s and is still in daily use as part of the Del Mar Community Center.

Modern Development
In 1963 a development company named Oceanic California, Inc. (OCI), a division of Castle and Cooke, was looking for a suitable location to build a residential community.  Architect and land planner Al Boeke flew over the coast and was captivated by the rugged beauty of the landscape, and recommended that Oceanic buy the land. He envisioned a unique community for people with a reverence for the natural gifts and wild beauty here, and a desire to live in harmony with the land.

OCI purchased the Del Mar Ranch from Ohlson for $2.3 million, and translated the name into The Sea Ranch.  It was 5,200 acres stretch 10 miles along the northern most coast of Sonoma County. They hired planners and architects, and focused on an environmentally sensitive approach to developing a residential and recreational community.  Their efforts produced an internationally acclaimed partnership of architecture and landscape, much celebrated and widely imitated in the years since. Leadership in achieving those goals was provided by:

Al Boeke, architect and vice president of development for OCI, directed that extensive climate and ecological studies be conducted.  The resulting plan by Lawrence Halprin nestled structures into the cypress hedgerows, leaving broad stretches of open commons with sweeping ocean views. The MLTW architectural firm (Charles Moore, William Turnbull, Donlyn Lyndon and Richard Whitaker) developed plans for the condominiums, the Moonraker recreation center, and several homes. Joseph Esherick designed the Lodge and several demonstration project residences, including the landmark Hedgerow Houses around the meadows. 

The original Sea Ranch concept was to provide homes and recreation for people with minimal impact on the natural environment.  Man-made features were to be subordinate to the natural landscape, with buildings blending into nature. The land would be rested and restored, wildlife protected, utilities placed underground, grading and disruption minimalized, and population density kept low for maximum open space and natural resources.  A nonprofit corporation of the property owners was formed with restrictions (CC&Rs) to delineate the stewardship of the place and administer the necessary affairs of the community.  The Design Committee was created and given authority to control all architectural and landscape projects, and to guide future development. 

The development plan for the southern third of The Sea Ranch was approved by Sonoma County in 1964, with the remaining portions approved in 1968.  As part of the Master Plan agreement in 1968, the developer donated 124 oceanfront acres for the Gualala Point Regional Park, and 25 acres east of the highway for campground use. These parcels were accepted by the County in lieu of multiple public accesses sites through The Sea Ranch.

Impact of the Coastal Commission
In 1972 voters approved State Proposition 20, establishing temporary coastal commissions and initiated planning for the conservation of Calfornia's coastal zone, culminating in 1976 with the adoption of the California Coastal Plan.  The legislature passed the California Coastal Act of 1976 whech extending the life of the state Coastal Commission, to oversee coastal development. Through out these years the Coastal Commission declared that construction required a coastal development permit, and no such permit would be issued until OCI and The Sea Ranch Association agreed to provide additional public access to the coast.  This resulted in a virtual building moritorium for the new lot owners of The Sea Ranch, who did not know when, or even if, the impasse would be resolved.

After eight years of the building moratorium, The Sea Ranch Association sued the Coastal Commision, and in 1980 the Legislature resolved the dispute by passing the Bane Bill.  The legislation allowed building to resume, and provided a half million dollar settlement to The Sea Ranch Association, in exchange for five public access easements across Sea Ranch property to beaches and tidelands, 15 view corridors from Highway One to the ocean, and public access to the northern part of the bluff trail, a future bike path, and the guarantee that no further public access would be required.  

Following the Bane Bill settlement, the developer (OCI) and the Coastal Commission negotiated agreements on other matters, including a 55% reduction in the number of the originally planned 5,200 units) and donation of 30 acres to the Coastal Conservancy.  By 1983, building had resumed and development moved forward, but with some changes to the plans originally laid out by the early planners.

In 1986, OCI sold 1,600 acres of its Sea Ranch timberlands to Travelers Insurance Company, and the Lodge, golf links, and employee housing were sold to a private corporation, The Sea Ranch Village, Inc.

Litigation with Developer
As OCI was completing sales of the lots, and planning to take leave of the project, unresolved issues resulted in negotiations, in which The Sea Ranch Association (TSRA) of owners acquired 154 acres, a corporation yard and funding for roads, drainage, and septic system planning.  But the issue surrounding a long-term water supply remained unresolved, and in 1988 TSRA sued OCI, seeking to require the developer to provide an alternative water supply.  The issue was finally settled in 1996, with an agreement that OCI would construct a resevoir, a water storage tank, and water treatment plant.

Centeral TPZ Acquired
In 1990 TSRA's Board of Directors asked the membership to vote on a referendum to purchase the central section (280 acres) of the TPZ - Timber Production Zone - from Travelers Insurance Company, part of the land which Travelers had previously purchased from OCI. The membership defeated the referendum, but in 1992 TSRA did enter into a purchase agreement to pay Travelers $849,000 for the land after Travelers logged it. and in 1997 this land was converted to commons.

Travelers sold the northern secetion of the TPZ to Gualalal Redwoods, Inc., a timber production company on The Sea Ranch's eastern border.  The southern section of the TPZ was sold and used to build a private home.

Today
Today there are 2,287 lots on over 3,500 acres of The Sea Ranch. With almost 1,790 homes now, the Ranch is more than three-quarters built-out. The Sea Ranch Association is enriched by a membership that cherishes the environment which inspired the many dreams that this land has engendered.  Stewardship of the land and its rugged beauty are considered prime directives, to evolve sensitive, sensible solutions seeking to preserve those dreams for future generations to love and enjoy.

Many thanks to the TSRA website's history article by Susan Clark, and to The Sea Ranch Comprehensive Environmental Plan 2004, which provided much of the information summarized here.