Roofer in Black Point-Green Point, CA

Black Point originally began as part of the Rancho de Novato land grant. The “1880 History of Marin County” by Alley, Bowen and Co. mentions “a man by name of Day” who “settled on an island in Novato township which has since borne his name” in 1851. The island is still known as Day Island today. According to the book, several more settlers moved into the area in 1853. Some of them owned land there, while others were squatters, a problem common across the county. Lumber that came from Black Point was used to build part of the USS Saginaw, a steamer built at Mare Island. It served in the navy until 1870, when it ran aground on a reef not far from Ocean island. Deer Island, a former island east of Olive Avenue actually was an island in the early 1900s. The house on the island, owned by Antonio DeBorba, was completely encompassed by water, and his house was only accessible by boat. When both the county and the state refused to build a levee, he spent a small fortune deepening the creek and taking water out of the marsh. Once that was done, he donated the land that is now Highway 37. The first Black Point post office operated from 1865 to 1891. The Grandview post office opened in 1905, changed its name to Black Point to 1944, and closed in 1952.