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Looking at the wild meadows that characterize much of the terrain of Jasper Ridge, it’s hard to imagine that it hasn’t always been that way.
But, in fact, the area has been home to major human activity. San Francisquito Creek, which winds through the preserve, was previously home to the Ohlone people. One rock beside the creek carries the marks of past civilizations: it has a bowl shape carved into it, a sign it had been used to grind acorns by Native Americans, according to Anthony Barnosky, the preserve’s’ executive director.
In 1854, the area became the location of the logging town of Searsville, which lasted until the town was inundated when the Searsville Dam was built in 1892. The resulting Searsville reservoir was intended to be a water source for San Francisco, but because of the geology of the area, the water was turbid with sediment and was deemed not potable.
The area was bought by Stanford between 1892 and 1926. Water from the dam has been used for irrigation and agriculture by Stanford ever since, and today, it still provides water to the Stanford Golf Course.
For about 50 years, the Searsville reservoir was also accessible to the public. During that time, the reservoir was used for swimming and fishing, and was stocked with nonnative species, Mr. Barnosky said. Public access was ended by the Stanford Board of Trustees in 1975 because of conflicts between research and recreation.
In 2000, locals such as Bill and Jean Lane of Portola Valley, Anthony Sun and William Gomez of Atherton, Eff and Patty Martin of Woodside, and John Working of Palo Alto helped raise funds for a new $5 million biological research center at the site.
This story is one of three published in the Almanac’s May 31, 2017 print edition about Jasper Ridge.
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Related stories:
• Silicon Valley’s hidden lands
• Dam troubles
