Stories in the Sand: San Francisco's Sunset District, 1847-1964

A history that includes the little-known, colorful, and often surprising stories of people who embodied the pioneer spirit by moving into an area of San Francisco once considered uninhabitable and transforming it into a thriving neighborhood.


“San Francisco history is more than the Gold Rush, the 1906 earthquake, and the Summer of Love. Stories in the Sand reveals the nuanced and fascinating history of the western half of

San Francisco.”


—Woody LaBounty, cofounder of San Francisco’s 

Western Neighborhoods Project

See parts of Stories in the Sand

Stories in the Sand is a much-needed history

of San Francisco’s Sunset District. It details the legal strife that

determined the ownership of these western lands,the pioneers who settled the sandy wastes,and those who wrested from sand an expansionof San Francisco’s residential area. A must read

for all those interested in San Francisco history.”

—Charles Fracchia, historian and founder of the 

San Francisco Museum and Historical Society