The Parkin Family in Bolinas at the Turn of the 20th Century

In 1888, John and Hannah Parkin purchased a large hotel at the edge of Bolinas Lagoon that had been built in 1862 across from today’s Bolinas Museum; they renamed it The Flagstaff Inn and began an enduring family relationship with Bolinas. The hotel welcomed guests from all over the Bay Area and beyond until it toppled into the lagoon during the 1906 earthquake. The Parkin family later brought a houseboat called The Ark, to the former hotel site. It stayed in the family until 1972.

Kat Parkin, John and Hannah’s great-granddaughter, shares fascinating family stories—including how John Parkin Jr. was instrumental in bringing electricity to Bolinas—along with family heirlooms, documents, and photographs, with material from the museum’s archives. Delightful images depict the Parkin family, the hotel, Bolinas Lagoon, early town scenes and modes of transportation — as well as surfing in Bolinas in the early 1900s.