Having stayed in numerous properties on both shores of Tomales Bay, we kept returning to Brynant Cottage. It’s location on the sunny eastern shore of the Bay, on a private road, perched on a hill over the Bay with a large garden among mature trees and its own year-round creek, make Brynant unique and wonderful. Being on land, it avoids the cold and damp of the houses that are on stilts over the water. The cottage is modern yet cozy, and the unique setting allows for expansive contemplation. When it became available, we jumped at the opportunity to purchase this heirloom property.
The property has historic roots. It is located within the site of the ancient Miwok settlement called Echakolum. The Miwok Tomallos and Olamentko tribes (two of 500 Miwok tribes in California) inhabited the site for thousands of years through 1930. The property was part of the 1,127 acres that the Marconi Wireless Co. purchased in 1912 to build the Marshall Receiving Station, the first trans-Pacific wireless communications center. Upon entering World War I the US Navy took control of the station. Years later the Marconi Receiving Station was the first in the US mainland to receive word of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.