My Marin Blog

The colorful histories of Marin cities and towns

Larkspur was supposedly having been named Lupine.  Gergiana Wright, the wife of the city's first developer, Charles W. Wright, made a mistake thinking that blue flowers covering the hills were larkspur, the flowers she remembered from her homeland in England.  Actually the flowers were native lupine. Population: 12,014. Size: 3.05 Sq Miles. Median home price: $ 1,250,000. 6/07. Http://www.ci.larkspur.ca.us/ Happy 100 Anniversary, LARKSPUR!

Sausalito, dates to 1778, when Spanish explorer Manuel de Ayala mapped San Francisco Bay and named the area after the Spanish term for a glove of willows. Sausalito is often compared to a Mediterranean village. With the bay views, hillside homes, outdoor cafes, and art and boating history is a tourist mecca. Population: 7,411. Size: 2.2 SQ miles. Median home price: $1,611,000.

Corte Madera, which in Spanish , means "cut wood" or "a place where wood is cut" is first mentioned in 1816 as "el corte de Madera" a place where Spanish soldiers would travel for lumber. Population: 9,465. Size: 4.47SQ Miles. Median home Price: $1,125,000. 6/07. Http://www.ci.corte-madera.ca.us/

Other towns in Marin got their names when rail stations were built in the late 1800.

Ross was named for James Ross, who paid $ 50,000 in gold for 8,877 acres from Point San Quentin to Fairfax. in 1857.  With its sleepy downtown and quiet residential streets, Ross might not seem like much of a tourist destination. He donated 1.4 acres for the North Pacific Coast Railroad station with a stipulation that it bears his family's name. Population: about 2,350. Size: 1.6 Sq. Mile. Median Home Price: $3,840,225.00. 6/07.

Http://www.townofross.org/

Fairfax is named after Charles Fairfax, a member of the British royalty who ventured to California to hunt for gold.  He settled in what he called Bird's Nest Glen, a tract that later became popular country club destination to wealthy San Franciscans.  People used to say they are going to "Fairfaxes" and the name stuck. Population: 7,375. Size: 2.2SQ Miles. Median home price: $ 767,000 6/07. Http://www.townoffairfax.org/

Kentfield almost became Tamalpais, the name of the neighborhood train stop, but the name confused rides.  With the train station set amid the nursery fields of local landowners Albert E. and Adaline Kent, the name Kentfield was a natural fit.

The Kent family also played a role in naming of Muir Woods. William Kent, a son of Albert and Adaline, was a noted conservationist and a congressman who bought the magnificent redwood grove, saving it from reservoir development. Http://www.nps.gov/muwo

Tiburon, once named Punta de Tiburon, or shark point, by Spanish adventurers, Tiburon was incorporated in 1964, making it Marin's newest city. Historically, Tiburon launched an era of growth in 1884 when Col. Peter Donahue expanded his SF and North Pacific line from San Rafael, linking the trains with ferries to SF. The old  depot, located at 1920 Paradise Dr., is now a museum.  Population: 8,808. Size 14.5 Sq Miles. Median home price $1,650,000. 6/07. Http://www.ci.tiburon.ca.us/

March, 2008.  To be cont.

Victoria Wells/ Broker Associate

M. Properties Global Network, Inc.

415-710-4090 mobile vawells@comcast.net

Http://www.marinbesthomes.com