Short-Lived Community of Driftwood Shacks on a Northern California Beach

It could only have happened in the '60s…

In the late ‘60s-early ‘70s, there was a small community of driftwood houses on RCA Beach, just north of Bolinas. Access was tricky. Cars couldn’t get closer than a mile or two. Nevertheless, this extraordinary bunch of shacks lasted for a few years, much like the community of free-form maverick shacks at Wreck Bay (Florencia Bay) on Vancouver island during the same years.

The Bolinas Museum came up with a bunch of photos* that I hadn’t seen before, and I’ve posted them here, along with photos courtesy of Cass Hicks and Karen Knoebber.

House built by John Hardcastle

“As the story goes, the small stream running underneath the cabin began to swell as a result of a series of winter storms. Finally, in the dead of night, the house was washed out into the gaping Pacific. John was the only one home that evening. As the house began to drift out to sea, and with no moon and a rural location so removed that there were no lights to orient himself, John leapt into the black water. Not knowing which direction to swim, John heard the faint sound of a dog barking in the distance. He swam towards it and finally made his way to shore. And to John’s surprise, the dog was nowhere to be found.”

-https://www.coldwatercoast.com/stories/driftwood-house

Above link is the only info available on this community.

John with daughter Cass, who now lives in Bolinas.

John’s 2nd house

John’s 3rd House.

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Above two photos: Driftwood house of Richard and Karen Knoebber and their 3 young kids

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Above: Authorities (probably the National Park Service) burned down all the houses in the early ‘70s.

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“Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone.”

-Anonymous

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I published the below book in 2019, a more up-to-date book on NorCal beach architecture:

*Driftwood Houses at RCA Beach, 1970, C-Prints, Bolinas Museum History Archives, 2000.43