We're getting married!

We have been dreaming of sharing the Colby House with all the people we love since Natalie first brought Christian to the house in 2017 on spring break from the University of Alabama. Now 90 minutes from our apartment in San Francisco, we’re grateful to stay at the house a few times a year with friends and family, enjoying the natural beauty and immense peace that can be felt throughout the property. Colby House also has a rich history: Natalie’s Dad Mike's Colby family have had vacation homes in Inverness for almost 115 years, dating back to 1911 when Natalie’s great great grandparents William E. Colby and Rachael V. Colby bought property in Inverness up the street from Colby House. By the time he established his summer home in Inverness, Will Colby had already become a prominent lawyer in San Francisco, and a leader in the Sierra Club. Starting in 1898, when he spent the summer in Yosemite Valley, Will Colby worked alongside Sierra Club founder John Muir to expand Yosemite National Park and establish many other State and National Parks. In 1901, Colby conceived of the annual High Trips that began the Club's popular outings program, and he personally led these trips until 1929. In 1927, Will served as the first Chairman of the California State Park Commission which established the California State Park system. Rachael was a lawyer herself, one of the first women to graduate from law school in California, and often lectured Will's classes at Berkeley while he was away with the Sierra Club. She was a close friend of architect Julia Morgan who designed their Berkeley home. In 1961, Will Colby became the first recipient of the Sierra Club's John Muir Award—its highest recognition for achievement in conservation. A close friend and admirer, Ansel Adams wrote of him: "You knew who he was without inquiry—he comes with him a deep humanity, and the mood of rivers and forests and clean white stone." Growing up, the Colbys’ sons, Henry and Gilbert, spent most of their summers in Inverness. They traveled from Berkeley by train, multiple ferries to San Francisco and then Sausalito, and then by horse-drawn wagon, as the bridges that span the San Francisco Bay didn’t exist until well into the 1930s. As a teenager, Henry worked summers at Brock’s wharf as a boat man, helping vacationers with sailing, fishing and canoeing on Tomales Bay. Henry became an avid sailor on the Tomales and San Francisco Bays. After Henry and Ruth Colby were married in 1929, they regularly brought their children Marjorie (Mike's mom), Mary, and David to Inverness for summers and long weekends in Inverness. Eventually Henry and Ruth bought their own property, now Colby House. Henry and Ruth discovered the property was for sale while they were active members of the Inverness Tennis Club. On the property was a private tennis court, a small cottage, and separate garage. When this property came up for sale in the early 1930s, Henry advocated to the “ITC” board that it should buy the property to provide more capacity for club players, and perhaps add a community clubhouse. When the Club declined the purchase, in the mid 1930s, Henry and Ruth bought the one acre property on Forres Way. Henry hired an architect friend, John Dinwiddie, to design an additional wing to add three bedrooms for a total of five including the garage’s second floor “master suite.” Henry helped build the addition himself, adding a sun deck along the front of the bedroom wing. Now owned by Mike and his cousins, “Colby House” continues to host family and friends who value the shade and sun under the beautiful oaks. We’re so grateful to be able to celebrate our marriage in our home away from home and to share this beautiful part of our lives with you all!