History

What is the Mill Valley Almonte Neighborhood – The Almonte Neighborhood is located north of the Tamalpais Valley neighborhood, on a minor high ridge which runs parallel to Richardson Bay. The area is currently defined by the boundaries of the Almonte Sanitary District.

Homestead Valley & the Almonte Pathway – In 1890 the Tamalpais Land & Water Company (TL&WC) started to sell properties that are today part of Mill Valley, Almonte, and Homestead Valley. Subdivision maps located lots and larger parcels as well as streets. In addition, lanes were established to connect some of the streets in the hills.

History of the Almonte District – The Almonte District as it is today (1982) is an amalgam of Marin Heights, Wisteria, and Tamalpais High School areas. The Almonte (“to the mountain” in Spanish) Train Station, which used to sit on the marsh directly opposite the existing bus stop, was an important transfer point on the Northwestern Pacific Electric Railroad. When coming by ferry from San Francisco and arriving at the Sausalito slip, the traveler to Marin County was offered trains to San Anselmo, San Rafael, Tiburon Peninsula and Mill Valley. Almonte Station was the division point. Trains from this point went their varying directions. Also, to reach Mill Valley from the North, one again changed at Almonte Station.

History of the Fireside – The big, white landmark called the Fireside has stood as a gateway to Mill Valley for 92 years, a symbol of a rough, rollicking era when the Bay Area was awash in rum running. But the celebrants who caroused inside the former speakeasy never knew they were dancing on Indian graves.