Inverness Park, California

Inverness Park, California

Inverness Park exists as a series of small communities between the towns of Point Reyes Station and Inverness. Although it has no post office, Inverness Park has a larger population than either of these neighbors. It stretches for the three or four miles from Limantour Road, north along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, hugging the western edge of Tomales Bay. It is immediately adjacent to the Point Reyes National Seashore. Original population included many Portuguese and Italian migrants who worked the land. At least two fish hatcheries existed in the area until about 50 years ago.

Originally a few isolated houses, Inverness Park expanded in the 1950's as a faltering developer's pipe dream called Noren Estates. Later more successful housing expansion in the steep and immensely attractive hills of Paradise Ranch Estates brought a more than doubling of the population. A product of David Adams Real Estate, Paradise Ranch Estates sold parcels with spectacular views of the Pacific ocean, Tomales Bay, or - for a lucky few - both. Paradise Ranch Estates was plagued by numerous problems relating to the roads and availability of water. As the Adams family moved out of ownership, residents assumed the task of road improvement and maintenance. After the floods of January 4, 1982, municipal water supply was hooked up.

In the fires of October 1995, forty-eight homes on the ridges of Paradise Ranch Estates burned, including that of well-known singer Jesse Colin Young.