Communities: Mill Valley

13,600 people, 6,147 households, and 3,417 families residing in the city (2000 Census).

View 40-Year Annual Home Sales in Tiburon from 1965 to 2006

Mill Valley is tucked between Highway 101 and Mt. Tamalpais about 11 miles north of San Francisco.

It began as a Mexican land grant to an Irish settler, John Thomas Reed, who became a Mexican citizen in 1834. He built the first saw mill in Marin county, the "Old Mill" in Mill Valley, which is now home to a high-quality annual art festival each Fall and to the city Public Library.

In 1834 , the Mexican government gained control of the area. Miwok ancestral lands were divided and doled out to willing pioneer ranchers. Huge tracts of land, called "ranchos" by the Mexican settlers, soon covered the area. The Miwoks that had not died or fled were employed on these ranches. With the Gold Rush of 1848, Mill Valley saw unprecedented growth. Shrewd entrepreneurs such as Samuel Throckmorton (for whom Mill Valley's most prominent street is named) began purchasing and selling land to the droves of prospecters that arrived from abroad. Mill Valley's growth, and the simultaneous growth of its neighboring towns, ousted the native Miwok population for once and for all. In 1852, a census counted 218 full-blooded Miwoks remaining. By 1888, there were only six.

From 1896 to 1930, the Mt. Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railroad ran service from Mill Valley to the summit of Mt Tamalpais. The 8.25 mile long line had 22 trestles and 281 curves earning it the nickname "The Crookedest Railroad in the World".

Mill Valley is home to the Dipsea, a serious over-the-mountain foot race, run annually since 1905 (with a few exceptions). It is the oldest cross-country race in the nationand in 1918 it was the first cross-country race for women. Among its grueling aspects are three long flights of stairs (originally built for hillside residents to walk to town before the arrival of cars.)

For a couple of decades, Mill Valley's quiet wooded surroundings have been a most desirable enclave in Marin. And if the town wasn't on everyone's road map by the mid-1970s, elementary school teacher Rita Abrams and her class did their best to get it there with their original song "Mill Valley - That's My Home, " which became a popular hit -- at least in California.

I'm gonna talk about a place that's got a hold on me (Mill Valley)
A little place where life feels very fine and free (Mill Valley)
Where people aren't afraid to smile
And stop and talk to you a while . . .

It looks as pretty in the rain as in the sun (Mill Valley)
And there's a mountain that belongs to everyone (Mill Valley)
And there are creeks that run on endlessly
And trees as far as you can see
It makes you feel as if your life has just begun (Mill Valley)
Talkin' 'bout Mill Valley
Talkin' 'bout Mill Valley, California, that's my home . . .

Copyright 1970 Great Honesty Music

Mill Valley is now an affluent residential suburb built from the valley floor up the sides of Mt Tamalpais and affording dramatic views of the Bay. Many of the homes are reached by narrow, winding roads built in the early 20th century.

If you are interested in living in Mill Valley, please view available properties here: Mill Valley Homes.

MILL VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION

The Mill Valley Planning Commission meets meets on the second and fourth Monday of each month in the City Hall Council Chambers. Please check current agenda for precise starting time. Council Chambers, City Hall, 26 Corte Madera Avenue, Mill Valley.