The history of the Marin Town and Country Club

Few people venture down the short Pastori Road, behind the Fair-Anselm Plaza, and across a small bridge to what used to be the Marin Town and Country Club. Though now the privately-owned land has a number of no trespassing sign, throughout its history the peaceful enclave was a hot spot of activity throughout the Bay Area.

Back when Fairfax was a guy and not a town, Lord Charles Snowden Fairfax made the property his baronial estate. Fairfax, the tenth claimant of the Barony of Cameron, Scotland, bought and was granted parts of the property from Dr. Alfred Taliaferro in 1855, who was previously granted the land from Domingo Sais. And that's a lot of names that are now streets in town.

Sais was originally given 6, 658 acres in return for his military service for the Mexican government. The 6,658 acres covered all of Fairfax and then some. So, it was no problem for Sais to give part of the land ­– now the Marin Town and Country Club – to his good friend and physician Taliaferro.

Taliaferro was one of the first Europeans to settle in the area by way of Virgina. Another Virginian soon followed: Fairfax. Fairfax's ancestors were granted the province of Virginia by the British Crown, but he was drawn to California for gold and stayed for natural charm and beauty.

Fairfax became a prominent early Marin pioneer, was elected a County Supervisor in 1865, and even unsuccessfully tried to stop a fatal duel on his property.

After Fairfax died while on a trip back east for the National Democratic Convention, his wife sold the property and moved to Fort Ross. The property went through a few women's hands – an oddity for women to own land at the time – including an Emma Woodward. Rumor is that Woodward fled to the mountains of Amador County for a number of months and when she returned her much older husband transferred the property to her name.

But in 1905, she sold it for $15,000 to Charles and Adele Pastori (another street name).

The Pastoris opened Fairfax Villa, which eventually became known as Pastori's, a fine dining and resort establishment. According to the San Anselmo Herald of 1915, the chef of the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco came to Pastori's and it became a high-end resort for the Bay Area.

The main house became a restaurant and a covered porch became a dining area. Tina Pastori, who was alive through the late 1990s, remembers roller-skating with the children of the De Young family in the dining area after all the guests were gone.

A dining platform was also constructed high up in the largest oak tree with fifty-two steps leading up to it. One time, Irving Berlin played at Pastori's and a piano was hoisted up onto the platform.

The Pastori family was involved in early Fairfax life -- helping to fundraise for a school and raising money for Italian earthquake victims. Tina Pastori was even elected the Queen of the Fairfax Festival.

In 1911, all the original buildings were burned down. Although the buildings were rebuilt, it never really returned to its high resort days. The property was bought by Emporium of San Francisco in 1925. It was first used as a resort for employees and then leased to the Marin School of Boys.

In 1943 Max Friedman bought the land for $175,000, added a number of swimming pools, tennis courts, and opened as the Marin Town and Country Club in 1944. Though, he briefly considered selling the land or using part of it to house his horses, Friedman realized the business opportunity he had.

The opening of the Marin Town and Country Club attracted 1,500 people on its first day, according to the San Anselmo Herald.

Some current residents still remember spending weekends and summers at the resort.

Fairfax Town Clerk Judy Anderson used to come with her parents and then when she was in high school. Though she lived in Corte Madera, the high school students would hang out at the club during the summer.

"When I was a kid, we'd go there and just hang out at the pool all day," she said.

On a nice weekend, traffic would back up as cars waited to get into the club.

Kids hung out at the pool, tennis courts and hanging out at the food stands. Friedman also built a baseball diamond and sponsored youth teams. One of the boys even went on to play for the New York Yankees. Families would bring picnics and sit on the grassy fields. San Francisco residents would even rent out the cottages to get away from the foggy weather.

Signs advertising the club showed a picture of a dreary, gray San Francisco man on one side and said, "When it's cold and foggy in San Franciso…" and the other side of the sign showed a sunny, happy sun-bather with the words "…it's like this over here."

But along with fun and games for the kids, parents could dance the night away at the Redwood Bowl. The lovely music from the orchestra would be played out over the radio throughout the Bay Area. Beauty and singing contests, open to all, would offer prizes like free nylons to the winners.

Over time things were added – a diving and wading pool – bringing the total to seven pools. Basketball and volleyball courts were built and, even for a brief time, a large trampoline was added until the insurance nixed that plan.

In 1972 the club closed. For three decades, the Friedman family owned it as it went relatively unused except for a number of residents who have rented out what were once the vacation cottages. The Fair-Anselmo plaza was also built on the other side of the creek, owned by the Friedmans. In 2002, Michael Makintosh bought the 28-acre part that was the Marin Town and Country Club property for $5.5 million.

Though the pools now sit empty and the club is in disrepair, the storied history can still be seen in the remnants of the broken down buildings.

Check back on Sunday to read about where it is now.