Qualla: Anderson Marsh State Historic Park

Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: Introduction

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The archaeological record at Anderson Marsh stretches back more than ten thousand years, which makes the Southeastern Pomo people who lived here one of the longest continuously settled communities in California. Their home sits at the head of Cache Creek on the southeast shore of Clear Lake -- the largest natural lake entirely within the state's borders -- where tule marshes filter the water and oak woodlands climb the surrounding hills. That this place survives as a park at all is something of a minor miracle. Twice in the last two decades, the State of California nearly closed it for good.

Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: The People Before the Ranch

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Southeastern Pomo were among the largest groups of indigenous peoples in pre-Columbian California, and Anderson Marsh was central to their world. The archaeological sites scattered across the park's 1,065 acres contain some of the oldest artifacts found anywhere in the state,...

Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Scotsman's Ranch on Ancient Ground

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

John Grigsby homesteaded here in 1854, building a small house in the years when California was still inventing itself as a state. Thirty years later, a Scotsman named John Still Anderson bought the property from Grigsby, brought his wife and six children, and built what is now ca...

Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: Where 151 Species Land

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Anderson Marsh protects a layered mosaic of habitats compressed into just over a thousand acres: freshwater marsh wetlands, native bunchgrass meadows, California oak woodlands, and riparian corridors along Cache Creek. The variety supports a startling density of life. Approximate...

Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: The Park That Refused to Close

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that Anderson Marsh would be one of 48 California state parks shuttered to address the state's fiscal crisis. The Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association, a volunteer organization formed in 1984, fought back. The closure was postp...