San Anselmo Past & Present

Since the days when the Coast Miwoks roamed the oak-studded hills and fished the fresh waters of San Anselmo Creek, the climate, the beauty and serenity of San Anselmo have appealed to all who have passed this way. Most of what we now know as the Seminary area and downtown San Anselmo, from the Hub, westward toward Fairfax and Sleepy Hollow was part of a Mexican government land grant to the Sais family, Canada de Herrera. Juan Cooper's grant, Punta de Quintin Corte Madera, la Laguna y Canada de San Anselmo, which was later purchased by James Ross whose descendants still live and work on some of his land (Sunnyside Nursery).

San Anselmo was mostly pastoral until 1874 when the North Pacific Coast Railroad added to its line a spur track from San Anselmo to San Rafael. In 1875, the railroad completed a line from Sausalito to Tamales via San Anselmo. For a few years, the town was referred to on railroad maps as Junction, but in 1883, the name San Anselmo came back into use. Railroad officials eager to see towns and passengers along its line encouraged some feverish real estate activity, but it was not until the San Francisco Theological Seminary opened in 1890, that the town began to grow.

In 1906, after the San Francisco earthquake, things started to change. Visitors to this charming town started to build homes and become permanent residents. Businesses began to open and trees were planted. Ross Avenue was San Anselmo's "Little Italy," populated by quake refugees from North Beach who planted grapevines on the hills.

April 9, 1907, the Town of San Anselmo incorporated. The Town's name came from the Punta de Quintin land grant, which marked this valley as the Canada del Anselmo (Valley of Anselm - an Indian who was buried in the area). The Town government began with a board of trustees. W.E. Jones headed up this group as the Town's first mayor. The other members of the board were J. R. Raubinger, Douglas Lindsay, F.J. Crisp, and J.I. Taylor. Their first meetings were held in Pioneer Hall.

The first hired employees of the new Town were A. A. Moore, the first Town Clerk, who earned $300 a year; J.B. Queen, the first Town Treasurer, who earned $100 a year; George Martin, Town Marshall, who earned $300 a year. To complete the first town government a volunteer fire department was established. In November 1908, San Anselmo's first Chamber of Commerce formed. James Tunstead donated land for a town hall, which was completed in 1911. In 1915, Carnegie Library was built.

San Anselmo was a silent film capital in the early 1900s. Among the films made here: "The Two-Gun Man" and "Cowpuncher's Law." The old Tamalpais Theater opened in 1923 with Gloria Swanson's "The Hummingbird."

The next influx of growth came in 1937, with the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge; San Anselmo was now becoming a growing family-oriented town. People had roots and families grew up here. Schools were established, churches were built and small town life evolved.

On March 12, 1974, boasting a population of approximately 12,500, San Anselmo officially became a Town.

In the past twenty years, San Anselmo has enlarged its library, remodeled Town Hall, and built a new firehouse and undergone an incredible downtown beautification transformation.

San Anselmo is an especially charming and safe place to visit and live. Pacific Sun readers voted San Anselmo the "Best Non-Mall Shopping City or Town in Marin County." Sunset Magazine readers voted San Anselmo "Best in the West" for antiquing and the town is distinguished as the "Northern California Antique Capital."

The coastal Miwok Indians lived in Marin long before Mexicans and Europeans settled here. They hunted in the oak-studded hills and fished the fresh waters of San Anselmo Creek. Their artifacts are still discovered near the Hub, suggesting that it was as much a center of activity for them as it is for us today. Here’s some history about Miwok life:

• Origin in Marin County: 3,500 years ago!
• The three coastal Miwok Tribes: 1) The Hookooeko (Hoo'-koo-e'- ko) of Marin County; 2) the Olamentko of Bodega Bay; and 3) the Lekahtewutko of south-central Sonoma County.
• Population when Spanish colonizers began building missions and presidios (1761–1823): 5,000.
• Currency: Traded fine basketry, feather-work and clamshell beads
• Transportation: Tule canoes, or saka, made from woven marsh reeds.
• Homes: Called kotchas, domed or conical with grass or tule roofs, or conical redwood slabs.
• Food: The Miwok fished steelhead and salmon from San Anselmo Creek; hunted deer, elk, and bears from the forests; and ground oak acorns for flour and mush.
• Cause of diminished population: Diseases introduced by newcomers, intermarriage, and evictions or forced relocations.
• Today’s population: As of 2001, about 400 people of proven Miwok descent are members of the Federated Coast Miwok Tribe.

—Sources: The Coast Miwok Indians, by Sylvia Barker Thalman; The Marin Historical Society

The silhouette of Mount Tamalpais is said to resemble a reclining woman. A legend of this “sleeping maiden” has a somewhat murky origin. Some swear the tale has Indian roots. But others say playwright Dan Totheroh, who wanted to base a play on the legend, invented the tale in writing the Mountain Play Tamalpa in 1921 after his research dug up nothing. In either case, here’s one version of the story:

The Tamal Indian tribe who lived at the base of Mount Tam never traveled its upper slopes because they believed that an evil witch, Ah- Sharon-nee, lived there and guarded her domain with a curse of sickness and death. Even so, the tribe’s village suffered a pestilence and widespread death. The Great White Spirit took pity on them and promised health if anyone would ascend the mountain. Yet no one was brave enough, except for a strong young man, Piayutuma.

When he reached Ah-Sharon-nee’s lair, he met and fell instantly in love with the witch’s beautiful daughter, Tamelpa. Ah-Sharon-nee tried to have Tamelpa dissuade Piayutuma from his quest, but he still refused. Ah-Sharonnee became infuriated and cursed Piayutuma never to return. Tamelpa knew that there was only one way to save her love. Running with all her might to reach the peak before him, she beat him to the top, lay down, and turned instantly into stone. For it was Ah-Sharon-nee’s curse that “whoever first reaches the top becomes a part of the mountain.”

—Sources: Lincoln Fairley and James Heig, Mount Tamalpais: A History; “The Legend of Tamalpais’ Sleeping Maid,” by Mabelle Nelson.

• In 1862, William Barber, who owned more than 130 acres in Ross Valley, married Elizabeth Bartlett Jackson, whose father was a discoverer of ether and whose uncle was Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson wrote glowingly about the area after a visit with his niece in 1871.
• San Anselmo’s first post office, built in 1892, was said to be the smallest in the state, measuring only seven feet by seven feet. No one but the postmaster was allowed in, so people had to stand outside—whatever the weather.
• Upper Ross Avenue was dubbed San Anselmo’s Little Italy because it was populated by 1906 quake refugees from North Beach who planted grapevines on the hills. Townsfolk used to make wine together, taking the grape press from house to house. On hot autumn evenings, you could smell crushed grapes and fermenting wine in the air.
• In the early 1900s, San Anselmo’s few businesses were clustered along the dusty county roads of today’s Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Ross Avenue. When James Tunstead donated land for a town hall and firehouse in 1911, businesses moved to what is now San Anselmo Avenue instead.
• The town was once a hot spot for filming silent movies, such as Cowpuncher’s Law (1911) and Two-Gun Man (1931).
• Through the 1920s, the sidewalks of San Anselmo Avenue around Mariposa Avenue were made out of wood.
• San Anselmo’s Ongaro Plumbing Company has been a family-run operation since 1932. Same with Sunnyside Nursery, which opened in 1940 and is run by the great-great-grandsons of early Marin pioneer James Ross.
• The Montgomery Chapel’s architecture contains unusual symbols that would have had strong appeal to men steeped in the lore of Freemasonry, as was Alexander Montgomery.
• San Anselmo once had a miniature golf course, a bowling alley, an iceskating rink, and Arthur Murray’s dance studio.

Source: The Marin Historical Society

Today, San Anselmo—which just celebrated its 100th birthday in 2007—is an especially charming place to visit and live. Pacific Sun readers recently voted San Anselmo the “Best Town Other Than Your Own” and “Best Non-Mall Shopping Town in Marin Country.” Sunset readers also voted San Anselmo “Best of the West” for antiquing, and the town is still distinguished as the “Northern California Antiques Capital.”

—Source: The Marin Historical Society

Population....................................................................................12,387
Area ..............................................................................2.7 square miles
Climate
Average temperature................................................................53°–75° F
Average annual rainfall: ....................................................30–40 inches
Elevation ......................................................42–500 feet above sea level
Average family income ........................$86,528 (State average: $53,025)
Per-capita income ................................$41,977 (State average: $22,711)
Average value of owner-occupied
housing units ..................................$507,300 (State average: $211,500)
Median price asked for housing units ..............$583,300 (State average:
$151,900)
Average family income ..............................................................$81,730
Average home selling price............$917,000 (October–December 2006)
Total number of housing units ......................................................5,455
Average monthly rent asked for vacant units ................................$1,113
Average rent for businesses ....................................$2.50 per square foot