The public will get a rare chance to see the historic, 159-year-old John Marsh Stone House inside and out during the second annual Stone House Heritage Day at Marsh Creek State Park on Oct. 17.
The free event will also feature presentations on the historic, natural and cultural wonders of the 3,700-acre park located near Brentwood.
“We won’t be able to go inside the house because of construction, but we’ll open up the security gates and let folks right up to the front door. We will also take down some of the boards over the windows so they can get a look inside,” said Rick Lemyre, Executive director of the John Marsh Historic trust, co-host of the event with State Parks.
In addition to the look inside the house, visitors will enjoy period music provided by the Brentwood Concert Band, and a hike through some of the parks 3,700 acres usually closed to the public.
The event will also include displays, performances and presentations focused on the history of the site.
Members of the Ohlone tribe will make rope, jewelry, brushes and acorn meal, and vaqueros will show off their roping skills. Displays will also address the Westward Movement (Marsh’s home was the original terminus of the historic California Trail), and a re-enactor will portray Marsh.
State Park interpreters will be on hand to talk about the plans for park, and about the 7,000-year-old archaeology located next to the house in Marsh Creek. Educational activities for the kids will include throwing a lariat to rope a “steer,” and excavating a midden box for replica artifacts like arrow points, which they will get to take home.
- Pioneer John Marsh, California’s first doctor and the first American settler in Contra Costa County (1837)
- Marsh’s 7,000-square-foot sandstone mansion (built 1856)
- Native Americans and Mexican vaqueros who lived and worked with Marsh,
- The 7,000-year-old archaeology in the park
- The resources and plans of the 3,700-acre park, which is not yet open.
For more information on Heritage Day, visit www.johnmarshhouse.com.
