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photo by Donald Kinney
Here in Marin County, just north of the town of Novato is remnants of the Burdell Ranch, pioneers in this area in the mid to late 1800's, who apparently made a bloody fortune from the purebred cattle they raised. Burdell Ranch, also known as Rancho Olompali, is a California State Park.
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photo by Donald Kinney
Enough of a fortune, at least, to finance Mary Burdell's 1874 adventure to Asia, where she gathered and brought back an exotic collection of semi-tropical trees, shrubs, and flowers for planting here at the ranch. Elaborate plumbing systems were built to bring water from springs on Mount Burdell that towers above the ranch.
click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney
The unusual assortment of trees includes Magnolia, Chinese Chestnut, Camphor, Japanese Cedar, Maple, and Cypress. Mrs. Burdell reportedly even brought back back several Japanese gardeners to develop and maintain the gardens. More about Rancho Olompali on tomorrow's edition.
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