San Anselmo
San Anselmo is nestled between Fairfax and San Rafael just north of Ross. The town’s natural skyline is dominated by the hills of Ross Valley. To the north are Red Hill and Grove Hill. To the south-west is Bald Hill. To the east is Moore Hill, and in the distance to the south is Mount Tamalpais.
In the mid 1800's the Mexican Government granted to the Sais Family roughly half of San Anselmo and the other half was granted to Juan Bautista Cooper in the "Punta de Quintin de Corte Madera, La Laguna y Canada de San Anselmo" grant. James Ross purchased most of the modern day San Anselmo but it changed hands again soon after his untimely death.
The land was primarily pastoral until the mid 1870's when the North Pacific Coast Railroad laid tracks from Sausalito to Tomales through San Anselmo. For a period of time, the town was referred to simply as "Junction" until it finally incorporated and took the name San Anselmo from the original land grant. The arrival of the railroad predictably brought growth, development, and expansion. In 1892 the San Francisco Theological Seminary was built.
San Anselmo was incorporated in 1907. Its 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). In 1974 San Anselmo officially became a town.
There are three main roads running through San Anselmo. Their junction is known as the Hub, which lies in the central business district. Sir Francis Drake Boulevard runs north from Ross, turns north-west at the Hub, and then proceeds west to Fairfax. Red Hill Avenue runs east from San Rafael, where it is called 4th Avenue, and into the Hub where it becomes Center Street. Center runs north-west from the Hub to Fairfax.
Shopping in San Anselmo is famous for antiques as there are over 100 antique dealers in town and is known as "The Antique Capital of North America". Downtown also offers a wide array of shops and restaurants along the banks of the San Anselmo Creek.
Community Sites
Chamber of Commerce; http://www.sananselmochamber.org
City Data: http://www.city-data.com/city/San-Anselmo-California.html
San Anselmo History: http://www.sananselmohistory.org
Town Information: http://www.townofsananselmo.org/council/index.htm
Click
here for a statistical overview of San Anselmo, including demographics, weather,
and education.
Community Phone NumbersChamber of Commerce: 415-454-2510
Fire Department - 415-258-4686
Library: 415-258-4656
Parks and Recreation: 415-258-4640
Planning: 415-258-4616
Police: 415-258-4610
Schools: 415-454-2162
More Utilities InformationSchoolsBrookside School (Grades K-5): 415-453-2948
San Domenico School (Private- K-8): 415-258-1990
St. Anselm School (Private – K-8): 415-454-8667
Wade Thomas School (Grades K-5): 415-454-4603
Ross Valley School District:
http://www.rossvalleyschools.org/Sir Francis Drake:
http://drake.marin.k12.ca.us/Marin Public Schools:
http://www.marinschools.org/Marin Private Elementary Schools:
http://marincountyprivateschools.com/Elementaryschools.htmlMarin Private High Schools:
http://marincountyprivateschools.com/template.html
School Scores
