In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a small community of like-minded individuals came together in Bolinas, CA to build their very own driftwood homes on RCA Beach.

All of the shelters were strikingly original and often downright marvelous. With new building materials washing up on the shore every day, these mavericks built homes that were deeply informed by chance finds and the whims of the weather. As so many locals know, structures built upon the ocean’s coastlines are ephemeral by nature—these driftwood houses were even more so. Consequently, there are very few historic images documenting their short-lived tenure.

The Indigenous Coast Miwok people were the first in the history of handmade shelters to build homes made from redwood timber and bark along these coastlines. In coastal Marin, the Coast Miwok were the earliest builders of sustainable handmade shelters. Snug houses were made of layers of tule mats over round bent branch frames or slabs of redwood bark over conical frames.

Images: Driftwood Houses at RCA Beach, 1970, C-Prints, Bolinas Museum History Archives, 2000.43