Guide to the Austin Creek State Recreation Area Collection

1950-2016

California State Parks Archives

McClellan, California

Contact Information: California State Parks Archives 4940 Lang Ave. Suite 114 McClellan, California 95652 Telephone: (916) 263-0779 FAX: (916) 263-0858 Email: department.archives@parks.ca.gov URL: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1080 Records processed by Lola Aguilar Date Completed August 2016 © 2016 California State Parks Archives. All rights reserved.

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Descriptive Summary Title Guide to the Austin Creek State Recreation Area Collection Collection Number CSPA-245 Creator Austin Creek State Recreation Area Extent 4.5 linear feet, including 1 map folder Repository California State Parks Archives McClellan, California Language English Abstract Acquired by California State Parks in 1963, Austin Creek State Recreation Area is located near Guerneville in Sonoma County, accessible through the adjacent Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve park entrance. The park contains twenty miles of hiking and riding trails and back-country and vehicle accessible camping. Within the park are the historic school, workshop, and home of award-winning ceramic artist, teacher, and author Marguerite Wildenhain. The Austin Creek State Recreation Area Collection is arranged into eleven series: 1. Correspondence, 2. Facilities, 3. Histories, 4. Photographic Material, 5. Media, 6. Cartographic Material, 7. Ephemera, 8. Manuscripts, 9. Publications, and 10. Reports. Items span the years 1950 to 2016. Physical Location California State Parks Archives

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Administrative Information Publication Rights For permission to reproduce or publish, please consult the California State Parks Archives archivist. Permission for reproduction or publication is given on behalf of the California State Parks Archives, McClellan as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility for possible infringement that may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Parks Archives. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Austin Creek State Recreation Area Collection, CSPA-245: [box: folder number], California State Parks Archives, McClellan, California. Restrictions The collection is open for research. Cultural and archaeological site maps are restricted. Reports with sensitive data may be restricted. Consult repository for details. Acquisition Information Austin Creek State Recreation Area, Russian River Sector Park Maintenance Worker I Laura Parent, Russian River Sector Park Interpreter II Michael Wisehart, and the park’s cooperating association, the Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods, donated material for this collection in 2012. Accruals The repository continues to add materials to this collection on a regular basis. Processing Information Lola Aguilar processed this collection and created and encoded its finding aid in 2016.

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Administrative History Acquired by California State Parks in 1963, Austin Creek State Recreation Area is located near Guerneville in Sonoma County, accessible through the adjacent Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve park entrance. The park contains twenty miles of hiking and riding trails and back-country and vehicle accessible camping. Within the park is Pond Farm, the historic school, workshop, and home of award-winning ceramic artist, teacher, and author Marguerite Wildenhain. Marguerite Friedlander Wildenhain was born on October 11, 1896 in Lyons, France to an English mother and German father of Jewish ancestry. After high school Marguerite began training at the School of Fine and Applied Arts in Berlin. In 1919 she left to become a master potter at the Bauhaus in Weimar, Germany, where she met student Franz Wildenhain. Seven years later, Marguerite was appointed head of the ceramics department at Municipal School of Fine and Applied Arts at Halle. She married Franz in 1930 and with the threat of the rising Nazi regime, the couple left for Putten, Holland three years later to set up a pottery studio called Het Kruike (“The Little Jug”). San Francisco architect Gordon Herr and his wife Jane Brandenstein Herr, heir to the MJB Coffee fortune, dreamt of building an art colony in rural California. In 1937 they visited Marguerite and Franz in Holland to encourage the couple to join them in California. With the Nazi Army advancing towards Holland and the certain danger faced by Jews, Marguerite decided to emigrate to the U.S. in 1940. However, she had to leave without Franz, a German National who was drafted into the German Army. After her arrival in New York, Marguerite spent the next few months traveling across America before landing in San Francisco where she reconnected with the Herrs. She taught for a year at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland while Gordon worked on the artist colony. In 1940 Gordon and Jane Herr bought the 160 acre Walker Ranch, now known as Pond Farm. Marguerite joined Gordon in 1942 to help convert the barn into a school and workshop. They also built a one room cabin for Marguerite and later added a bedroom when Franz reunited with his wife in 1947. Pond Farm started with summer sessions in 1949 with a staff that included many European artists. Jane Herr, the practical hands-on administrator, died in 1952 and Gordon couldn’t keep the artist group from dissent and infighting about the direction of the school. Franz had left Marguerite in 1950 and by 1960 she was the only artist teaching summer courses. She continued to teach until 1980 when she retired. After the purchase of the property, California State Parks leased the Pond Farm property back to Marguerite where she lived and worked for the remainder of her life. Marguerite Friedlander Wildenhain died on February 24, 1985 at her home at Pond Farm.

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Scope and Content The Austin Creek State Recreation Area Collection is arranged in eleven series: 1. Correspondence, 2. Facilities, 3. Histories, 4. Photographic Material, 5. Media, 6. Cartographic Material, 7. Ephemera, 8. Manuscripts, 9. Publications, and 10. Reports. Items span the years 1950 to 2016. Series one, Correspondence, consists of letters mostly concerning Pond Farm and Marguerite Wildenhain. Series two, Facilities, includes an inventory list of park structures, trails, and vehicles. Series three, Histories, includes Wildenhain biographies, Pond Farm history, and oral histories from past Pond Farm students. Series four, Photographic Material, consists of photographic prints, negatives, and slides documenting Pond Farm and Wildenhain, park restoration, events, volunteers, and park staff. Series five, Media, consists of VHS cassettes, DVDs, CDs, and Audiocassettes detailing Pond Farm, Wildenhain, and park clean-up volunteer interviews. Series six, Cartographic Material, contains Pond Farm maps and architectural drawings. Series seven, Ephemera, includes brochures, programs, and flyers from various exhibits showcasing Wildenhain’s work. Series eight, Manuscripts, consists of copies of Wildenhain’s writings about pottery, the craft, and the potter. Series nine, Publications, includes a limited number of pottery magazine issues with articles about Wildenhain, two books written about Wildenhain, one book about the local mines and railroad, and one folder of news clippings. Series ten, Reports, includes information about park creeks and Pond Farm. Related Collections Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve Collection Indexing Terms Austin Creek State Recreation Area California. Dept. of Parks and Recreation Guerneville (Calif.) Historic American Buildings Survey Historic structure report National Register of Historic Places Outdoor recreation. Pond Farm Pottery Studio Pottery, American--20th century. Wildenhain, Marguerite

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Series Description Series 1. Correspondence, 1967-2001 2 ff. This series is arranged chronologically and includes letters concerning the disposition of Wildenhain’s pottery collection upon her death and DPR staff writing about park cultural and archaeological issues. Box 1: 01-02 Letters and Memoranda, 1967-2001. Series 2. Facilities, 1988. 1 ff. Arranged chronologically. Box 1: 03 Inventory Listing, 1988. Series 3. Histories, 1968-1997, undated. 4 ff. This series contains a history of Pond Farm and biographies and oral histories concerning Marguerite Wildenhain. Box 1: 04 Pond Farm Histories, 1989. 05 Research: Marguerite’s Biographies, 1968-1995, undated.

06 Oral Histories, 1983-1997. Box 2: 01 Card Files: Bibliographic, undated. Series 4. Photographic Material, 1959-2003, undated. 3 ff. Images are arranged chronologically and include park scenes, park restoration, Pond Farm, park events, volunteers, and Marguerite Wildenhain. See Appendix A. Box 2: 02 Photographic Prints, 1974-2003, undated. 03 Negatives, 1970s-2003, undated. 04 Slides, 1959-1990. Series 5. Media, 1979-2003, undated. 1 ff. Arranged chronologically and includes photographs, reports, and video of Pond Farm and Wildenhain. Box 2: 05 VHS, DVDs, CDs, & Audiocassettes, 1979-2003, undated.

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Series 6. Cartographic Material, 1970-2003. 1 ff. Arranged chronologically within size. See Appendix B. Box 2: 06 Maps and Architectural Drawings, 1970-2003. Series 7. Ephemera, 1950-2016, undated. 1 ff. Exhibit and park event ephemera are arranged by chronologically within type. Box 3: 01 Brochures, Programs, Flyers, 1950-2016, undated. Series 8. Manuscripts, 1957-1972, undated. 1 ff. Arranged alphabetically and includes some of Wildenhain’s writings about her craft. Box 3: 02 “The Concept of a Pot,” 1972. “Design and its Relation to Techniques,” 1957. “Discipline and Freedom,” undated. “Gift and Obligation,” undated. “Statement,” undated. Series 9. Publications, 1951-2012, undated. 6 ff. Arranged alphabetically. News clippings include Wildenhain’s obituary. Box 3: 03 Ceramics Monthly, Vol. 25, No. 3, March 1977. Ceramics Monthly, Vol. 28, No. 6, June 1980. Ceramics Monthly, Vol. 29, No. 6, Summer 1981.

04 Marguerite: A Diary to Franz Wildenhain, 2004. Box 4: 01 Marguerite Wildenhain: Bauhaus to Pond Farm, 2007.

02 Red Slide Magnesite Mines and Railroad, 2012. 03 The Studio Potter, Vol. 13, No. 2, June 1985. The Studio Potter, Vol. 19, No. 2, June 1991. The Studio Potter, Vol. 25, No. 1, Dec. 1996. 04 News Clippings, 1951-2008, undated.

Series 10. Reports, 1977-2012, undated. 16 ff. Reports are arranged alphabetically by first letter of the report to coincide with the Department Unit Data File system. Report subjects range from archaeology, cultural resources, natural resources, general planning, inventories, and historic resources.

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. Box 4: 05 A Cultural Resources Investigation of the CDFG Austin Creek

Sediment Source Reduction Implementation Project, Phase I (R3- 90), 2012.

Box 5: 01 A Cultural Resources Investigation of the Thompson Creek Instream Restoration Project Located in Sonoma, County, CA, California Department of Fish & Game Project #R3-H1054, 2012. 02 Austin Creek SRA Obsidian Studies, 1989. 03 Austin Creek SRA Resource Inventory, 1975. 04 Cultural Resource Evaluation: Telephone Line at Redwood Lake

Campground, 1985. 05 Historic Resources Inventory: Pond Farm, Guest Cottage/Guest House, 1985. 06 Historic Resources Inventory: Pond Farm Studio-Workshop- Showroom, 1982. 07 Historic Resources Inventory: Wildenhain Residence/Pond Farm

Residence, 1985. 08 Marguerite (Friedlander) Wildenhain, 1977. 09 Pond Farm Pottery Studio, Guerneville, California: Historic American Building Survey (HABS)-Format Historical Report, 3/3/2003. (2 copies) Box 6: 01 Pond Farm Pottery Studio, Guerneville, California: Historic Structure Report (HSR), 3/3/2003. (2 copies) 02 Pond Farm Pottery Studio, Guerneville, California: Historic Structure Report (HSR) DRAFT, 1/3/2002. 03 Prospectus: Austin Creek SRA, First Draft, 1969. 04 Request for Proposals for Historic Structures Report/Historic American Buildings Survey: Pond Farm Studio Complex, Austin Creek State Recreation Area, Sonoma, County, California, 2002. 05 Site Survey of Austin Creek State Recreation Area and Armstrong State Park, undated. 06 Statement of Qualifications: Pond Farm Studio Complex, Historic Structures Report & Historic American Buildings Survey, Page & Turnbull, Inc., 2002.