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Photograph of Olema Lime Kilns
Photograph by Roger Sturtevant, photographer, Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Olema Lime Kilns

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. 16 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1897.

From the record

“The Olema Lime Kilns at Point Reyes National Seashore in California were built in 1850 on land leased from Mexican grantee Rafael Garcia by James A. The kilns were reportedly fired only a few times, and have lain abandoned for some 140 years.”

Wikipedia article Olema Lime Kilns, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 50 National Register listings published here for Marin County · listed in 1976 · category: Structure.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 3 structuress as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 4 mi. SE of Olema on CA 1, Olema, 94924
  • When was it listed? October 1976
  • Category. structure
  • Census division. Northwest Marin
  • National Register reference number. 76000217 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1897 to 1993

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 96 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Olema Lime Kilns, surveyed 1993
Topographic sheet covering Olema Lime Kilns, surveyed 1897

Fires near this property

44 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 44 fires within 5 miles of Olema Lime Kilns between 1992 and 2020, burning about 288 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 2 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Power generation/transmission/distribution18
Recreation and ceremony6
Missing data/not specified/undetermined4
Natural4
Equipment and vehicle use4
Fireworks3
Arson/incendiarism2
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Debris and open burning1
Smoking1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
8 September 2004Arson/incendiarismunder an acrePoint Reyes National SeashoreRANDALL
21 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined8.2 acresPoint Reyes National SeashoreDRAKE 2
20 September 1993Power generation/transmission/distribution52 acresGolden Gate National Recreation AreaGENAZZI
18 September 2002Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acrePoint Reyes National SeashoreTEIXERA
10 September 2018Equipment and vehicle use151 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
9 August 2002Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreGolden Gate National Recreation AreaWHITEGATE
9 August 1992Fireworks2.2 acresGolden Gate National Recreation AreaOLEMA I
9 August 1992Fireworks4.6 acresGolden Gate National Recreation AreaOLEMA II

Every fire recorded in Marin County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 12 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 12 workings within 5 miles of Olema Lime Kilns: 6 occurrences, 3 unknowns, 2 past producers, 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Copper, Gold, Silver, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Silver. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
ClaimsMercuryUnknown
Union GulchCopper, Silver, GoldPast Producer1863
Unnamed LocationGemstoneOccurrence
Heaton's FlatGold, SilverPast Producer
RandallGold, SilverOccurrence
RandallSilver, GoldUnknown
Union GulchCopper, Gold, SilverUnknown
Unnamed LocationStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
Unnamed LocationStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
Pike GulchCopperOccurrenceVein

Every working recorded in Marin County

Storms near this property

5 since 2014

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Olema, the town this property stands in, in 5 storm reports between 2014 and 2025: 4 flood, 1 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
December 2014Flash FloodOlema$1,000Flooding from Pt. Reyes to Olema on Highway 1. Campground flooded.
December 2025FloodOlema-California Highway 1 was flooded on both sides at Bear Valley Road.
February 2024FloodOlema-Flooding blocked the northbound lanes of California Highway 1 at Bear Valley Road.
February 2019FloodOlema-Flooding along Hwy 1 between Olema and Point Reyes Station.
December 2019FloodOlema-Hwy 1 northbound lane is totally flooded.

Every storm recorded in Marin County

Maps showing this location

16 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

4 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Olema Valley Dairy Ranches Historic District1.0 miles2018
The Last Resort Historic District3.1 miles2024
Tocaloma Bridge4.3 miles2018
Marconi-RCA Bolinas Transmitting Station5.5 miles2018

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 76000217 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Marin CountyAll 50 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.