Nick's Cove is a small settlement composed of buildings mainly in the 1930s, some on land and five on pilings over the beach of Tomales Bay. It is located on Highway 1, on the east shore in the northern part of Tomales Bay, south of the Walker Creek estuary. To the north stands the former railroad and fishing settlement of Hamlet, of a similar layout of buildings but long abandoned and slated for removal, and Miller County Park, a public boat landing. To the south is the former agricultural and railroad settlement of Blake's Landing, consisting of a number of dwellings new and old. Nick's Cove is one of the last remaining of many settlements on the bay which catered to tourists after the advent of automobiles and good roads, and served as a depot for local fishermen and agricultural operations through its restaurant. After almost 70 years in business, Nick's Cove has recently been vacated. The history of its rental cabins, located on the bay shore, is the subject of this study.

Historical Background of Nick's Cove

The drainage in which Nick's Cove stands was the territory of the Coast Miwok, a hunter-gatherer culture which mostly settled in bays and estuaries and lived off the bounty of the shore. The first European settlers in the area made homes north and south of Nick's Cove. The property was part of the vast Rancho Nicasio, granted to Pablo de la Guerra and Juan Cooper in 1844. Henry W. Hallock, who would become prominent in American history as President Lincoln's chief of staff during the Civil War, bought the property in 1850 and sold it twelve years later to Jeremiah Blake, an easterner who settled on Tomales Bay at a place that became known as Blake's Landing. Blake developed a diversified business at his bay property which included saddle making, duck raising and dairying. During his long tenure there, the North Pacific Coast Railroad constructed tracks along the shorefront in 1873-74. The railroad, which spanned the region from Sausalito to the Russian River area operated its freight and passenger trains for 55 years, dropping passengers at Blake's Landing and Hamlet and picking up the produce of the area which included dairy products, fish and clams. Hamlet, about a mile north of the Blake holdings, developed into a small town, with depot, post and telegraph office, fish packing plant, oyster beds, restaurant and rental cabins. The Blake family was not so ambitious, but did build a plant for curing herring at what would be called Nick's Cove, and allowed Consolidated Fisheries to plant oysters at Blake's Landing. In 1917 the family subdivided the ranch but only a few parcels were purchased, including the subject property. By 1921 a building and pier stood at Nick's Cove. The development of a public road along Tomales Bay in 1872 did not bring with it tourists, as the road was poor and circuitous. The railroad was responsible for transporting visitors to the Blake's Landing until it closed in 1930. Within three years, a modern highway had been developed which brought with it a surge in tourist traffic looking for food, lodging and adventure. Especially after the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937, Marin County became a popular destination for motorists on weekends and in the summer. This spawned dozens of businesses that catered to motoring tourists, offering food, rental cabins, boats and fishing equipment, and lots of local character against a scenic backdrop. Tomales Bay was one of these favored regions to the northern California traveler. Fishing on Tomales Bay grew into an established industry early in the 20th century thanks to a group of immigrants from Europe who found Tomales Bay to resemble their homeland, a place where they could use their native skills. Modern shipping and processing techniques spawned a demand for fresh, cured and canned fish for both domestic use and imports. Oyster growing also became a local industry beginning in 1907 as the traditional oyster beds in San Francisco Bay became polluted and filled. Among the earliest commercial fishermen as a group on Tomales Bay were recent immigrants from what would become Yugoslavia. Nicola Vilicich, Nicola Cosmitich, Nick Beritich, Tony Nola and Anton Smirich arrived in the first decade of the century, to be joined by Gregory Matkovich in 1911 and Nick Kojich in 1920. Historian Jack Mason claimed that these men pioneered commercial fishing industry on Tomales Bay, and industry which grew through the 1970s but has recently experienced a decline. Mason wrote that Tomales Bay was a region much like their Adriatic: mild winters, fine weather March to October, coves and sheltered beaches. Here the women made do in the shantics pitifully inferior to the stone, tile-roofed homes of Iz and Hvar.

Within decades these poor Slavic immigrants had saved their profits and made local friends and most purchased property on the east side of the bay, establishing a variety of businesses including restaurants, lodging, boat repair and commercial fishing.

The Kojich and Matkovich Families at Nick's Cove

The Matkovich family hailed from Otak Hvar, Vrboska, Dalmatcia (later Yugoslavia and new Croatia). Grgo (Gregory) Matkovich came to the United States in the first years of the century, working in coal mines near Chicago and financing the immigration of six of his brothers and sisters to America. Around 1906 the family moved to Oakland, where Gregory's sister Frances Matkovich married fellow Slavonian immigrant Nicola (Nick) Kojich who reportedly operated a public house, perhaps a restaurant and/or bar. Hearing of the thriving Slavonian settlement on Tomales Bay and frustrated with work in Oakland, the Matkovich brothers moved to Tomales Bay in 1911. They rented a house at which would become Nick's Cove from the Blake family and started a fishing business, working alongside of the Vilicich's, Cosmitich's and others. Their neighbors in the cove included the Miller family a short distance to the north and the Blake's to the south. The Matkovich brothers' fishing business consisted of several boats, including at least one of the classic Monterey double-enders common at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. The men tended nets of Italian hemp which they had made themselves and shipped their catch to San Francisco markets, including Paladini Fish Company and probably the P.E. Booth Company, on the freight trains out of Hamlet. The catch was seasonal with the winter herring season being the busiest. Fish shipped to market included perch, shrimp, herring, salmon, halibut, smelt, and sea bass. Around 1917 or 1918 the brothers moved from the east side of the bay to the west, building a house, sheds and pier in a small cove opposite Hog Island which they rented from the owners of the Pierce dairy ranch. Gregory's children, as well as the others living in numerous coves on the bay, attended school at the ranch. In the late teens Nick Kojich also went into the fishing business, first at Monterey where he fished in the waters south of there. Nick and Frances Kojich had remained close with her family on Tomales Bay, often taking care of the children in Oakland while things were busy on the bay. The Kojich's moved to the bay in 1920. A few years after the Matkovich brothers left Tomales Bay around 1927, Nick Kojich bought the fishing business and buildings at Pierce Point.

Development of Nick's Cove

In 1931 Nick and Frances Kojich bought a parcel of the old Blake Ranch, in the northwest corner adjacent to the Millers' parcel. They paid $1,000 down and $50 a month, accepting a covenant which prohibited operation of a grocery store or automobile service station. At this time, the old herring plant was intact. The Kojich's had apparently been evicted from the cove at the ranch by new owners. Kojich moved his buildings, including the house, "joker shed" and other structures of value, from the Pierce Ranch cove to his new property, using a barge. The house reportedly slipped off the barge in transit but was saved and made it to shore intact. The house and shed were placed on pilings on the beach adjacent to the recently-abandoned railroad grade, in a similar fashion to those at Hamlet nearby. Kojich built a pier with a dock house from materials salvaged from the old pier across the bay. Three other cabins were built or moved to the site on the beach north of the ones that had been imported on the barge. It was a common practice at the time to move buildings from various locations to rest on pilings on the bay shore; at nearby Hamlet, the Jensen's moved a former shoe repair shop form Tomales, and almost a century earlier a whole hotel had been moved to the site and hauled up the hill where it remains today. No doubt inspired by the development of a new state through their land and fueled by previous experience in Oakland, the Kojich's decided to open a small seafood restaurant on their property, using the old herring plant. While not a full-sized restaurant operation, the Kojich's sold shrimp and crab cocktails and the like. The end of Prohibition in 1933 spurred Kojich to build a bar that year and start serving alcohol (Kojich was rumored to be a bootlegger during Prohibition). The highway, now Highway One, was widened and paved that year as well, which brought tourists in automobiles in great numbers for the first time on the east side of the bay. Henry Jensen, the neighbor to the north, also started a small oyster bar and tavern around the same time. Tomales Bay was especially popular with the residents of the Sacramento Valley where the heat became oppressive during the summer. The Kojich's rented the bay front cabins on a long-term basis, attracting people from the San Francisco Bay area, Sacramento Valley and beyond. Tomales Bay was a favorite spot for weekend fishermen and hunters, and the Kojich's catered to those seasonal attractions. One cabin, closest to the restaurant, was occupied by Frances Kojich's bachelor brothers Andy and Mike until 1953. The small cabin was later joined to the adjacent one with a wood frame addition placed between the two, in order to provide space for one of the restaurant's cooks who had a large family.

The Matkovich Family, 1950-1973

Nick and Frances Kojich remained at Nick's Cove until they died, but in 1950 brought Frances's nephew Andrew and his wife Dorothy to be partners in the business. Andrew Matkovich was a son of bay pioneer Gregory Matkovich and had been born in one of the cabins now used as a rental cottage. That year the restaurant had been burned down and Andrew Matkovich helped build a new one on the same site. They developed the restaurant with a full menu, still specializing in seafood (featuring local oysters from Hamlet) but offering traditional road food as well. Within a decade as Nick went into a slow retirement, the Matkovich's took over the business fully; they raised a family at Nick's Cove. As when the Kojich's managed the business, the Nick's Cove cabins during the 1950s and 1960s were occupied by families and the Matkovich's' hunting friends on a long-term rental basis. The Matkovich's hosted an annual Stingray Derby and a Shark Derby, and held traditional events such as clam digs and crab feeds. They rented small boats with oars and motors, keeping them tied up to the south side of the pier; neighboring fishermen also ported their boats at Nick's Cove. Visitors on boats could tie up at the pier for a meal at the restaurant, and in the early days fishing boats called at Nick's Cove with their catches which ended up on the menu (this practice was later discounted due to state regulations). Andrew Matkovich, and the aging Nick Kojich, fished the bay and ocean commercially for smelt, salmon and other fishes as their predecessors had done for a half a century. Nick Kojich died around 1960, Frances having died previously.

The Gibson Family, 1973-2000

In 1973, Dorothy Matkovich, by this time a widow (Andrew died in 1969), sold Nick's Cove to Alfred and Ruth Gibson, ending more than 40 years of family ownership. The Gibson's continued the business mostly as usual, operating the restaurant with a specialty in seafood and renting the cabins on the bay. By this time the cabins were rented on a weekly, weekend and nightly basis. Nick's Cove continued to attract hunters, fishermen, nature lovers and unsuspecting travelers who stumbled upon a restaurant/motel full of character and scenic beauty. Many regulars came for a week; numerous families made their stay at Nick's Cove a tradition. Some of the Gibsons' guests included university professors, writers, sportsmen, kayakers, and a private pilot who rented one of the cabins every time he flew into the Bay Area. Nick's Cove continued, under the Gibsons, to be a favorite destination for hundreds of Californians. The cabins also accommodated family members at times, for instance when the Gibson's daughters were employed at the restaurant, friends, workers, and on occasion, patrons of the restaurant who were too drunk to drive home. The Gibsons remodeled the restaurant, adding the nautical flavor which exists today. After Al Gibson's death, Ruth Gibson continued to operate the restaurant and rental business, although under greater adversity as time passed. She encouraged friends and family to stay and help with the business and to keep her company. At one point, fearful of being taken advantage of while living there alone, she slept in a different cabin every night to foil a crime. In the 1990s, the restaurant was open fewer hours until finally closing. Mrs. Gibson continued to rent the cottages until a needed septic system upgrade proved too costly. She sold the property in 1999 to Pat Kuleto.

Conclusions

The development of Nick's Cove by Nick and Frances Kojich and Andrew and Dorothy Matkovich reflects a number of historical themes which are important to the Tomales Bay area and the California coastal area in general:

---They were built by ambitious immigrants who had worked their way up from tenant fishermen to landowners, finding the American Dream to be attainable; a number of the Slavonian immigrants continue to be represented by later generations still living on Tomales Bay with successful businesses. Nick's Cove is perhaps the last example of this ethnic group's settlement which retains historic integrity. ---The rental cabins served a growing American populace on the move, spurred by the development of the automobile and the improvement of roads. Beginning in the 1920s, and especially after World War II, Californians sought after recreational outlets with their new-found leisure time. With better roads and faster cars, families were attracted to places like Nick's Cove, one of Tomales Bay (Jensen's Oyster Beds, Nick's Cove, Bleu Baie Tavern, Cypress Grove, Marshall Hotel and Tony's Seafood), only one remains in business and no lodging, long a Marin coast tradition, is available save for a handful of bed-and-breakfasts. ---The architecture of the cabins reflects the simple rural/coastal vernacular style common to the bare bones existence of rising immigrants and new business owners. The cabins were built without architects, but with the labor of the owners and their helpers, they have been maintained without damaging their historical feel. Buildings such as these are a vanishing sight on Tomales Bay: neighboring Hamlet (Jensen's Oyster Beds), the most similar of all the bay settlements, is abandoned, deteriorated beyond repair and slated for removal by the National Park Service, although it was determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. Most of the other additional cabins on the bay dating from 50 or more years ago have been removed or altered; most houses on pilings on the bay are of relatively recent construction. The vernacular style dating form the 1920s and 1930s in now a rarity.

The cabins at Nick's Cove have existed in this location for almost 70 years. Their use has not changed until they were no longer rented by Ruth Gibson. They possess historical integrity, that is, they have been little altered and reflect the era in which they were originally built and used. They are in relatively good condition considering their age, climatic conditions of the site and lack of top-notch maintenance.

Bibliography

Austin, Hiram. Official Map of Marin County, California, 1873.

Clark, Patricia Nikolina, "The Matkovich Family History." Typescript, in letter to Dewey Livingston, July 18, 2000.

Dickinson, A. Bray. Narrow Garage to the Redwoods. Glendale: Trans-Anglo Books, 1967.

Livingston, D.S. (Dewey). Hamlet 1844-1988, A History of Jensen's Oyster Beds. Historic Resource Study. Point Reyes: National Park Service, 1989.

Mason, Jack. Earthquake Bay. A History of Tomales Bay, California. Inverness: North Shore Books, 1976.

Mason, Jack. Point Reyes Historian. Winter, 1981, p. 643.

Munro-Fraser, J.P. History of Marin County, California. Oakland: Alley, Bowen & Co., 1880.

Rolland, David. "Croats made Tomales Bay a fishing center." Point Reyes Light. Special Issue, Summer 1995.

Teather, Louise. Place Names of Marin. San Francisco: Scottwall Associates, 1986.

United States Coast & Geodetic Survey. Tomales Bay Preliminary Survey, 1921.

United States Geological Survey. Point Reyes Quadrangle, 1916.

United States Department of the Army. Tomales Quadrangle, 1942.

United States Geological Survey. Tomales Quadrangle, 1952.

Interviews with Ruth Gibson (by Nancy Ganner) and Judi Matkovich Ritz.

Resume of Author D.S. (Dewey) Livingston P.O. BOX 296 INVERNESS, CALIFORNIA 94937 415-669-7706 dlive@svn.net

· 13 years National Park Service experience researching and writing Historic Resource Studies (5 completed) and historic data sections of Historic Structure Reports (3);

· Specialized expertise in California and western ranching and cultural landscapes, exploration and maritime activities, pioneer settlement and U.S. Coast Guard (see bibliography); research at numerous institutions including National Archives, State Archives, Bancroft Library, US Coast Guard, etc.;

· 13 years experience producing National Register of Historic Places nominations for NPS properties including rural cultural landscapes;

· 23 years experience, within and independent of NPS, as photographer and cartographer, including HABS documentation, LCS, copy photography and historic base maps;

· 4 years NPS accomplishing List of Classified Structures (LCS) in western parks, and experience in budgeting and research travel organization;

· 12 years NPS Cultural Landscape experience: planning, training, survey, evaluation, with particular expertise of historic aerial photograph evaluation;

· 10 years NPS experience assisting NPS and academic archeologists with compliance and survey issues, and evaluation of historic archeology sites;

· 25 years experience designing books and documents, mostly historical

· recipient of 1996 NPS Regional Director's Award for Cultural Resources for ranching history studies, and numerous incentive awards

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PUBLICATIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Author, Historic Resource Studies:

A History and Historic Structures Evaluation of Channel Islands National Park, California. Historic Resource Study. Ventura: National Park Service, (in draft), 884 pages.

WIRELESS GIANT OF THE PACIFIC: A History of the Marconi/RCA Stations at Point Reyes, California. Historic Resource Study, Point Reyes: National Park Service, 1988. 228 pages.

A GOOD LIFE: Dairy Farming in the Olema Valley. Historic Resource Study. San Francisco: National Park Service, 1995. 420 pages.

RANCHING ON THE POINT REYES PENINSULA: A History of the Dairy and Beef Ranches Within Point Reyes National Seashore, 1834-1992. Historic Resource Study. Point Reyes: National Park Service, revised 1994. 544 pages.

A PIONEER LOG CABIN IN BONITA CANYON: The History of the Stafford Cabin, Faraway Ranch Historic District, Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona. Historic Resource Study. San Francisco: National Park Service, 1994. 68 pages.

HAMLET: 1844-1988, A History of Jensen's Oyster Beds, Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Historic Resource Study. Point Reyes: National Park Service, 1989. 126 pages.

Historian, Historic Structure Reports:

HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT: PAINTED DESERT INN, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. Denver: National Park Service, Denver Service Center, 1994. 538 pages.

THE HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE OF THE POINT REYES LIFEBOAT STATION. Historic Structure Report. Point Reyes: National Park Service, 1991. 326 pages.

THE HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE OF THE POINT REYES LIGHT STATION. Historic Structure Report. Point Reyes: National Park Service, 1990. 220 pages.

Self-published:

THE PEOPLE'S STORE: A Historic of the Point Reyes Emporium. 1990. 20 pages.