| Red Hill Photo Album |
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View of Red Hill from Tamal Avenue,
1898. The zigzag road on the western slope was constructed in 1878 by Dr. Henry DuBois who owned a portion of Red Hill and the Mt. Tamalpais Cemetery on the other side. Dr. DuBois hired Chinese laborers to build a road over the hill to provide access to the cemetery. The road was too steep for a horse and buggy to make it to the top and to the cemetery and access was eventually provided to the cemetery through San Rafael. The jagged road, dubbed “DuBois’ Folly,” is still clearly visible on the upper portion of the hill. I n 1916, an auto made it to the top of Red Hill!
Lil Minstrel and Donald Eastman made an auto trip Sunday to the top of Red Hill, going up in Lil’s Ford, and from reports they had some time. It was not so much the length of the trip or the steepness of the incline but the numerous short turns in winding back and forth across the face of the hill, and the fact that it was the first vehicle to go to the top of the hill in twenty-three years, and the second one that was ever taken to the top that made it a novelty trip. They had taken a mattock along and had to dig out in places so they could make some of the turns. The speedometer showed that it was three quarters of a mile up the hill, but it took them an hour and a quarter to make the trip up. Mr. McGetta, who lives at the foot of the hill, went up with them. He has lived there 32 years and says he was the only man who had ever taken a vehicle up the hill previous to that time. He went up once and brought down a wagonload of wood, but the road was too dangerous to try it again. The report has started that several others have said they would make the trip in their cars, but unless the cars are coupled up pretty short it will be impossible for them to make all the turns, and might result disastrously. At any rate we don’t believe we should venture to take such a ride unless we had a pretty good amount of accident and life insurance. from East Side Return to Photo page.
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