It isn’t easy managing the largest and oldest private property in Larkspur, what with falling trees, aging buildings, neverending mowing and trespassing turkeys that act like they own the place. 

But as the latest in an esteemed line of Escalle’s stewards, Mary Tiscornia handles it with aplomb. 

The historic Escalle Winery now occupies 29 acres along Magnolia Avenue at the eastern base of King Mountain, across from Creekside—the land for which was also once part of the original 300-acre estate purchased by Mary’s grandfather, Adolph in 1940.

Behind the trees and through the gates, Mary walks up her winding drive with her Jack Russell Tractor bouncing at her heels.  At the top, an 1881 winery, home and barn stand amid oak-and redwood-studded hills that border the King Mountain Open Space, a property she helped preserve for the public in 1990.  

Mary rarely opens Escalle’s gates to the public, but when she does, it is for a good cause. And we at LCF are extremely grateful that Mary will again host our Rose Bowl Dance fundraiser on Saturday, September 19.

LCF spoke with Mary about the storied history of Escalle, the challenges of land management, and what it’s like to ride a horse from Larkspur to Stinson for the day. 

 

Larkspur’s Oldest Property

At the turn of the 20th century, “Escalle” was not just the name of a property. The name represented a summer resort, a winery, an orchard, a train station and was actually thought of as its own town, separate from Larkspur.

Escalle’s modern history began in 1879 as a brickmaking operation but was soon purchased by Jean Escalle in 1881. He planted an apple orchard and 20 acres of grapes on the hillsides, which eventually produced 12,000 gallons of high quality claret each year. 

Soon, cars full of French, Italian and German immigrants would train in from San Francisco to spend the day drinking and eating in the sunny hills, playing bocce, singing songs and taking breaks to dip into the creek and cool off. 

“The train stopped right across the way, so people could easily come to Escalle from the city,” explains Mary. “In the summer, San Francisco is usually foggy so a lot of people liked Larkspur because between King Mountain and Mount Tam you don’t get as much wind and fog.”

In 1920, Escalle passed away at the same time that prohibition and a pest infestation destroyed his winery business. Adolph Tiscornia, a savvy land investor bought the 300-acre property in 1940, a deal that made him owner of one-third of Larkspur’s land. 

“My father [Marine Captain Edward Tiscornia] grew up here at Escalle,” says Mary. “He was killed in World War II when I was quite young so I was the only heir to my grandfather’s estate. My mother remarried, so I grew up down in Los Angeles but I would come up here to visit my grandfather.”

Escalle’s Youngest Caretaker

Unlike her grandfather, Mary’s passion was for horses, not land. She grew up in Southern California and visited him in the summer when he used Escalle as a summer retreat. She remembers the horse culture of Marin at the time.

“There were at least a hundred horses in Mill Valley,” said Mary. “People could afford horses—they were just backyard horses. We’d get together on our horses and ride to Stinson Beach. We’d tie up at the beach, take the saddles off, go for a swim, have a barbeque and then we’d ride home at night. I’m not sure how we did that – maybe there was moonlight?! Horses see really well at night so we’d just gallop home. We were sort of young and crazy but it was really fun. People just did things like that back then, and I really, really loved those times.”

Eventually, Adolph told Mary that her carefree days were going to come with big responsibility. 

“My grandfather asked me to come up here so he could teach me how this place works,” recalls Mary.

“I was about 20 and I was working and going to night school in Southern California. But I made the trip and that’s when we probably had the first real conversation about the property that we’d ever had. He died shortly thereafter, and I came up here feeling quite overwhelmed. Suddenly I had inherited all of this.”

When Adolph passed in 1967, the property was quite run down. In fact, the home had no running water.  The historic home was modernized but left in its original form. 

“It’s a little house, but what do I need?” Mary asked rhetorically, walking through the restored period dining and living room, complete with hearth of blue rock.  “The most important thing is preserving the historical sense of this place.”

“This old kitchen is fun,” Mary says, pointing at the stove from more than a century ago. “I baked a pie in that oven once, but it takes all day. It reminds you how tied people were to the lack of convenience. You have to make the fire, tend the fire, watch the fire. Everything took so long.”

Eventually, Mary’s mother and stepfather moved to Escalle along with her half sister and brother while Mary moved out to Bolinas, where she raised her family and lived on a ranch until 2001, becoming an accomplished horsewoman. 

Mary excelled at many events, becoming perhaps the world queen of the uniquely challenging “Ride and Tie” competitions. These endurance races last 24 hours and stretch up to 100 miles, often in the High Sierras. A pair competes with one horse. One person rides the first stretch while the other runs it. The first rider eventually ties off the horse and continues on foot. The runner later arrives, unties the horse and rides the next stretch on horseback. The team alternates in this manner until the finish line.

“You work as a team so you both have to run and ride. You have to tie the horse up so that it doesn’t get loose but is easy for your partner to untie. Sometimes the horse gets all tangled up… And when you are trying to get on, all these other horses and runners are racing by. It’s amazing! We went all over California and The West to be in these competitions.”

An Open Space Champion

When Mary first took possession of Escalle as a young woman, Adolph made his secretary Alice Copeland Vincilione executor of his estate until she could take over in 1979. In 1972, Alice and her husband Paul proposed a 310-acre development on the property, with 190 townhomes, 110 homes, a commercial center and 150 acres of open space.

Though turning hillsides into housing was the prevailing land practice of mid-century Marin, Larkspur locals—led by LCF boardmember Joan Lundstrom—pushed back against housing projects of this scale and won, preventing further development in the hills above town. 

In the ensuing years, Mary worked to make much of the original Escalle property into public open space. In 1990, she reached a deal to preserve 131 acres of her property as open space and make 129 acres an open-space easement, which enabled the creation of the trail that local hikers love: The King Mountain Loop. 

The deal set aside one final parcel for development of a large estate atop King Mountain. Though it was on the market for years, the parcel was never developed. The property was ultimately purchased for preservation in May 2026, cementing Mary’s legacy as a champion of environmental preservation.

“Sure, you could have just mowed everything down and built apartments, but I don’t think anybody would really want that,” recalls Mary. “We gave most of the land to open space and trails. There’s a lot of people who hike on the property now all over King Mountain. It felt good to be able to preserve the land that so everyone can enjoy it.”

Life at Escalle

After her mother passed, Mary became a full-time resident of Escalle, as did her horses. They typically grazed near Magnolia and the red Limerick Inn building, which served as a restaurant during Escalle’s resort days.

But on occasion, the horses would sneak out. 

“Once the Peso called me, ‘Mary, your horse is here,’ she remembers. “Somehow he got out and up on the mountain, then walked straight into downtown.”

Another time, a few of her horses got out and made their way down to Hall Middle School! But most of the time, they could be seen grazing in the corral.

The horses have since moved along but Mary continues to preside over the Escalle property, which is a full-time job.

“Land management is a huge thing. It’s a real balance. I can afford to live here, but the average person wouldn’t be able to take care of this place. It’s just too expensive. I can’t tell you how much money it takes just to keep this place mowed. There are thousands and thousands of dollars involved, and you have to do it several times a year just for fire protection. People think they want land, but they don’t want to have to take care of it.”

And there are the intruders. 

“Last year I counted 20 turkeys—they’re always fanning around. I found them in my patio the other day. I don’t know what they were doing, but they thought it was theirs.”

But the experience of living on a 19th century property in 21st century Marin is an extraordinary one. And whether it is in the genes or comes from decades of life on the land, Mary Tiscornia makes it look easy.

 

Mary Tiscornia has graciously hosted many fundraisers at Escalle over the years, including the Buckelew art show for more than three decades and several revivals of Larkspur’s historic Rose Bowl dance, beginning with the one for town’s centennial celebration. Join us for the 2026 Rose Bowl on Sept. 19, 2026 to get a glimpse inside Escalle and support our work at the Larkspur Community Foundation.