Although first conceived of by Asbury Harpending, who had even obtained many of the right of ways, the SF&NP was bought and subsequently constructed by Peter Donahue, who drove the first spike on August 30, 1869.

[3] A Sonoma County atlas from 1877 claims that along the entire 60 miles (97 km) of the railroad line, there was no cut deeper than 10 feet (3.0 m).

[4] In 1879, the SF&NP was extended south through Petaluma to San Rafael in Marin County.

SF&NP ferry terminal facilities were moved to Tiburon in 1884; and Donahue Landing faded into the rural countryside.

[6] The California Northwestern Railway Company was formed in 1898 as part of Southern Pacific Railroad ambitions to reach the redwood lumber mills around Humboldt Bay.