|
Phleger Estate—with its forest of
second-growth redwoods, oaks, and firs—marks the southernmost end of
the Golden Gate National Parks.
Century-old redwood stumps and remnants of steam mills are scattered
throughout this tranquil park, evidence of the Bay Area’s once-lively
19th century logging industry.
The estate’s 1,232 acres alternate
between gulches threaded with seasonal creeks and steep hillsides that
rise up to dramatic ridgetops. Bobcats, coyotes, golden eagles,
black-tailed deer, steelhead trout, and beavers once thrived in this
redwood forest ecosystem
|
|
History
From Private Estate to National Park
Herman Phleger, a respected San Francisco lawyer, and his wife, Mary
Elena Phleger, bought the large country house above West Union Creek
(then known as Mountain Meadow) in 1931. The Phlegers became enamored
with the trees that surrounded their home, and were early supporters of
the Save the
Redwoods League. In 1994, Mary Phleger sold the estate to the Peninsula
Open Space Trust, which then turned it over to National Park Service
management.
The Logging Industry
 Not long after gold was discovered
at Sutter’s Mill in 1848, San Francisco experienced a population
boom. There was an urgent need for homes, hotels, businesses, and other
structures, and this demand fueled a lucrative logging industry both
north and south of the city. Early logging practices were arduous: lumberjacks felled each
massive redwood by hand, a process that could take up to eight days; the
wood was then hauled by oxen teams to a nearby mill or the Redwood City
port, where it was barged to San Francisco.
Steam Mills
Union Creek, which winds along the
estate’s eastern edge, once powered more than a dozen mills. The steam
mill operations were seasonal, as the creek, which gushed during the wet
winter months, dried up in the summertime. From 1852–1855,
entrepreneur Willard Whipple logged the area, and traces of his Upper
Mill and Lower Mill remain.
|
