History center unveils stories behind Corte Madera’s 1991 anniversary quilt

Richard Block, program director of the Corte Madera History Center, presented a slide talk at Town Hall on a 1991 quilt created to mark the town’s 75th anniversary and described the historic photographs and local stories that inspired each of its 12 panels. He said the physical quilt had recently been rediscovered in the History Center archives and is now on display behind the chambers.

"I'm Richard Block, Program Director of the Corte Madera History Center," Block said at the start of the presentation. He told the audience the quilt panels draw on images dated roughly 1901 to 1940 from the Jerry Reichardt collection and that he planned to post the PowerPoint as a PDF on the town website and a video of the talk soon.

Block grouped the quilt panels around recurring themes of community connection and generosity. He described individual panels that depict downtown life (the Parkside Hotel), the town’s marshland origins and later suburban growth after World War II, livery and general‑store commerce, local dairies and daily routines, volunteer fire protection, the former train station at what is now Menke Park, and early schools built on donated land.

The presentation included several anecdotes drawn from local records and oral histories. Block recounted that when Jerry Adams, the Parkside Hotel’s proprietor, was appointed postmaster around 1902 he reportedly offered the post office the town name “Adams, California”; public objections helped preserve the name Corte Madera. He also noted period details such as a hotel dinner costing 35 cents in an era where trains and horses anchored daily life.

On education, Block discussed an 1894 school built on land partly donated by Amelia Pixley and said the original donation carried a proviso that the land be used for school purposes or it would revert to the original owners or heirs. He reviewed the local naming heritage, explaining that early civic leaders and later school principals gave names to streets and schools still recognized today.

Block showed historic images of the Corte Madera train station and a 1942 photo of a Northwestern Pacific steam locomotive crossing a marsh trestle, and he described how the rail and ferry connections once linked the town directly to the wider Bay Area. He pointed out that the station platform footprint was visible until a 1994 park renovation removed it.

Near the end of the talk Block shared a proposal for a contemporary quilt concept generated by rendering current town photographs through an AI tool to imagine a modern set of panels; he presented that strictly as a visual exercise and as an idea for future community projects.

During questions, online and in‑person attendees thanked Block for bringing the quilt to life. Nancy Reichard, who identified herself as one of Jerry Reichardt’s daughters, praised the presentation and the revived visibility for her mother’s collection. Margo Running, who also identified herself as Reichardt family, added recollections including that rocks at Menke Park had been laid by Chinese laborers and that the church at Holy Innocence once hosted large post‑holiday tree fires — local memories Block said are part of the archive’s oral histories.

Block urged residents to sign up for the forthcoming community class on local history and to share photographs and family stories for the archives. He said the PDF and video of the presentation will be posted to the town website and announced in the town newsletter and that he hopes teachers and students will use the materials as a local history resource.

The History Center holds the quilt and related materials from the Jerry Reichardt collection; Block encouraged anyone with materials, photos or oral‑history leads to contact the History Center so the town’s visual and documentary history can be preserved and digitized.