Chains of Fires

With over 100 years of history, Mill Valley's LGBTQ+ community widely contributed to the growth of Marin's culture, and the increasing recognition of queerness can be directly traced to the stories featured in this exhibit. Pillars of the Bay Area art world, grassroots collectives, and lifesaving organizations all found a home in Mill Valley, and our current celebratory moment has roots in generations of activists and liberation movements. These successes were not without struggles, though, as these individuals faced ostracization, suppression, and, in some instances, criminalization, providing us the tools to craft a more inclusive tomorrow.

The LGBTQ+ community has been overlooked in conversations and writings about Mill Valley’s history. Perhaps due to this specter of discrimination, close-knit communities formed to act as support systems or safe spaces for those that might otherwise feel unloved. Together, these communities flourished into a vivacious subculture of artists, poets, and activists. From Elsa Gidlow in Druid Heights to the Marin Flag Project, these communities are featured throughout this exhibition – the first of its kind to celebrate and examine Mill Valley’s LGBTQ+ history.

Over the last century, hard-won progress has reached unimagined heights of compassionate understanding and visibility. Where once a gay person might have lived their entire life “in the closet,” unable to pursue their truth, new generations are encouraged to explore their identity. The Lucretia Little History Room proudly celebrates Mill Valley’s LGBTQ+ history, its current communities, and our promising future. Inspired by Elsa Gidlow’s poem, “Chains of Fires,” this exhibit journeys through the community’s growth from an open secret into progressive action.

Author of the first “out,” complete-life lesbian autobiography and America's first book of lesbian love poetry, Elsa Gidlow (1898 – 1986) co-founded Druid Heights, a countercultural hub in Mill Valley. Her legacy continues to inspire new generations of artists and community builders to pursue spiritual fulfilment and trueness to oneself. Continue scrolling to learn more about Gidlow and her impact.

The Mill Valley Public Library proudly preserves many of Gidlow’s published writings and encourages you to explore her words through our collection.

In 1940, Gidlow initiated a winter solstice tradition: saving a piece of burnt wood from the ashes to become the “seed” to light her solstice fire the following year. Over time, she shared the ritual, linking her initial spark to hundreds of hearths over the years. Every winter solstice, Mill Valley residents and LGBTQ+ members honor Gidlow by kindling fire. In this way, she embodies history as a catalyst for the future and a foundation for community.

Influential activist Margo St. James (1937 – 2021) drew inspiration from Elsa Gidlow and her time in Mill Valley's Druid Heights. St. James advocated and fervently fought for oft-marginalized identities.

Crowned the “unofficial poet laureate of San Francisco” by Alan Watts, and an early supporter of Bay Area experimental film, James Broughton “followed his own weird” deep into the woods of Mill Valley. Scroll to learn more about Broughton and his work.

A talented artist, Gloria Churchman helped form what would become Mill Valley's  O'Hanlon Center for the Arts , and practiced illustration, painting, and ceramics inspired by Jungian dreamwork.

Churchman was a frequent muse and collaborator with legendary lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer. Together, they created the film Moon Goddess (1975), and Churchman's presence can be felt throughout Hammer's work from this time.

Bois Burk (1906 – 1993) was a Marin County native, Tam High graduate, and gay pioneer. Burk observed, cataloged, and participated in the emerging gay culture and modern gay rights movement. Click on the arrows to see Burk's images and learn more about his life.

As a young artist, Russell Hartley (1924 – 1983) designed window displays for his family's hardware store and caught the eye of Ruby Asquith, a dance instructor for the Mill Valley Outdoor Club. At Asquith's invitation, he became involved with San Francisco Ballet, where he sketched rehearsing dancers, took ballet classes, performed onstage, and designed hundreds of costumes. As Hartley's professional career flourished, he also collected theatrical ephemera, eventually establishing the San Francisco Dance Archives in 1950, now housed at the  Museum of Performance + Design.  Tragically, Hartley passed away in 1983, one of many lost to the HIV/AIDS crisis.

In 1982, Rev. Dr. Jane Spahr founded Ministry of Light (later named Spectrum), which launched the Marin AIDS Support Network to respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Today, the Spahr Center continues to provide programs and care for Marin County. They are dedicated to supporting the queer and HIV-affected communities through health resources, cultural events, and awareness training. Scroll to learn more about this fantastic resource doing meaningful work in Marin County.

From the momentum of the gay liberation movements of the 1970s, social networks began to form across Marin County and Mill Valley, connecting a vibrant queer community together through grassroots activism and volunteer organizations. Scroll to continue reading about a few of these networks.

Helping shape life in Marin through two decades of civic involvement as the County's Ombudsman along with countless cultural contributions such as participating in the 1993 March on Washington, Marin Gay Parades, and The Slant publications, Joan Glassheim exemplifies the collaborative leadership that built the LGBTQ+ movement into its momentous state today. Listen to  Joan's oral history interview  for wisdom on the significance of community and visibility.

Featuring scores of local leaders, organizations, and allies, the first Marin Gay Parade, held on June 17 ^th , 1990, provided an opportunity to celebrate Marin’s queer community.

Started by Rula Planet, Galaxy Girls was a Marin-based troupe of drag queens that would perform across the Bay Area through the late 1990s and early 2000s. They would perform at bars such as New George’s and host Miss Gay Marin Pageants, where they would crown the year’s top queen. 

During the early days of digital media and online spaces, data could be lost in an instant with no physical permanence. Thankfully, resources like the Wayback Machine, hosted by the Internet Archive, provide snapshots of now-defunct websites, allowing us to  explore the Galaxy Girls’ universe  and learn of a thriving drag community proudly centered in Marin County.

Local author and regular contributor to The Slant, Jane Futcher has published multiple queer-centered novels including Crush -- an “underground lesbian classic" -- and Dream Lover. She won the California Newspaper Publishers Association awards for her work in the Marin Independent Journal.

Futcher currently lives with her wife in Sonoma County and is working on a collection of short stories.  Listen to Jane's Oral History interview for a great look into her journey as a lifelong writer. 

Futcher's 1981 travel book Marin: The Place, The People provides a terrific introduction to the wonders of Marin.

Throughout the book Futcher captures the remarkable variety of people, history, and natural beauty of Marin County.

Futcher (front, center) at a Women's Spirituality Group retreat in Sonoma, circa 1992. Writing was a significant component of this retreat and this group provided an encouraging framework for women to meet and discuss queerness with each other and through their written work.

Pictured: front, L-R: Sylvia Israel, Jane Futcher, Laura Wilensky; middle: Julie Beach; rear, L-R: Lisa Zimmerman, Jenny Ogier, Cheryl Goldberg.

A longtime advocate for marriage equality, gay rights, and civil liberties, longtime Mill Valley resident Bob Harmon exemplifies the ability of an individual to enact great change. Click on the arrows to read more about Harmon and listen to his  oral history interview , accessible via the Mill Valley Public Library.

A feminist poet, Suzanne C. Gary (1961 – 2019) confronted patriarchy as part of the women's movement and, as an Artist in Residence at Mill Valley's The Redwoods, fostered a poetry group that continues to thrive.

A socialist activist, Laura Bock raised consciousness for the intersections of gender, sexuality, and disability rights, and passionately grows communities that provide crucial support. Bock and her partner Gary moved to The Redwoods, where Bock organizes Women's History Month events and continues her advocacy to this day.

With a history almost as old as Mill Valley itself, the  Community Church  proudly interweaves social activism and spiritual practice.

CCMV was often cited by The Slant as a safe and welcoming gathering place for congregants across the sexuality spectrum, and today defines itself as a “small and vibrant, open and affirming, progressive Christian Church.”

Marriage equality and an expanded awareness of the gender spectrum brings even more light to Mill Valley. Together, we kindle the linked fires of history. Click on the arrows to access a few of the oral history interviews conducted by the Mill Valley Public Library in an effort to celebrate and preserve our local LGBTQ+ community. We are encouraging more individuals to share their story and help grow the tapestry of the local queer community.

If you would like to share your story, please contact Benja Thompson at bthompson@cityofmillvalley.org to schedule an interview session.