{"nrhp_refnum":"75000437","name":"Tomales Presbyterian Church and Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"11 Church St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Tomales","county":"Marin County","state":"CA","lat":38.24530779400004,"lon":-122.90717123999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-08-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A white frame Presbyterian church built in 1868 and its adjoining Protestant cemetery, opened about 1864, at 11 Church Street in Tomales, Marin County, California. The site covers about 2 acres.","why_significant":"The church is described as the oldest Protestant church building in Marin County, replacing a first church that burned just before its 1866 dedication. The church and cemetery are tied to the history of Tomales, an early intensively developed agricultural area in northern California. The cemetery holds many of the community's pioneers.","narrative":"Built in 1868 at a cost of $3,500, this white frame church in Tomales, Marin County, replaced an earlier building that burned just before its planned dedication in 1866. It measures 53 by 35 feet, with a bell tower above the front narthex and mock pillars framing the entrance. Inside, the redwood pews, pulpit chairs and lectern have been kept, and the bell is thought to be the one bought for the first church. A Fellowship Hall was added in 1958 without altering the original structure. Next to the church lies a Protestant cemetery opened about 1864 by early settler Warren Dutton and deeded to the congregation by his descendants in 1944. The church is recorded as the oldest Protestant church building in Marin County, and it survived the 1906 earthquake and two fires that damaged Tomales. Many local pioneers are buried in the cemetery, and descendants remain among the congregation. The property covers about two acres.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 (specific dates: cemetery 1864, church 1868)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival (reviewer's write-up notes, partly illegible)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in religious use; a Fellowship Hall was added in 1958 and the congregation had 82 members in 1975.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.864449-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/75000437.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000437/0a13d116d1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000437/0a13d116d1-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Chris06","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tomales_Presbyterian_Church.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Chris06</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tomales_Presbyterian_Church.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859720","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomales_Presbyterian_Church_and_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7818237"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/marin-county/tomales-presbyterian-church-and-cemetery-75000437/"}