The Fielding Garr Ranch is a historic landmark.
The first permanent structure on this site was a small log cabin built by Fielding Garr in 1848. Within two years, Garr expanded the ranch grounds to include the adobe house and other outbuildings. From then until 1981, the ranch was continuously occupied.
The ranch continued operations uninterrupted under various owners. Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, the ranch focused on sheep ranching. Under the leadership of John Dooly Jr., the sheep operation grew to over 10,000 sheep and developed into one of the largest and most industrialized cattle ranches in the Western United States. When sheep ranching became unprofitable in the 1950s due to the weakening wool market, the focus shifted back to cattle ranching. The island ranch remained part of one of the state's largest commercial cattle ranches until the island was declared a state park in 1981.