Image from www.townofross.org

Marin Communities:
Ross, CA

Ross is a small, largely residential community in Marin County, California located approximately 15 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Ross celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2008.  While the railroad and horses of 1908 are gone, the residential neighborhoods still suggest a changeless quality. Ross’ small-town feel and its open and tree-covered hills, winding creeks, graciously landscaped streets and gardens, and low density development all contribute to its special charm.

For thousands of years prior to 1800, the Coast Miwok Indians lived and were sustained by the land that is now called Ross Valley. The Coast Miwok revered the land, plants and animals of the Ross Valley through tribal cultural beliefs and practices. European diseases eventually decimated the Indian population. The settlement in 1817 of Mission San Raphael, with its vast land holding, also resulted in further incursions into areas occupied by the Coast Miwok Indians.

Image from www.townofross.org

After the Mexican Revolution of 1821, the “land grant” system of parceling out land gave rise to what we now know as Marin County. Ross was originally part of an 8,877-acre Mexican land grant to Juan B.R. Cooper in 1840 known as Ranch Punta de Quentin Canada de San Anselmo. The Town of Ross itself was named in honor of James Ross, who purchased the land in 1857 for $50,000. Ross built his home on Redwood Drive and moved there with his wife and three children. When James Ross died in 1862 his wife, Annie Ross, was forced to sell a portion of James Ross’ larger land holdings to pay each of their daughters $10,000. The 297 acres she had remaining make up part of the Town of Ross today.

Once the Town was incorporated one of the first actions of the new Town Council was to make it illegal to cut down trees without Town approval. Soon the streets were paved, streetlights erected, concrete bridges built over the creek and a firehouse constructed. Thanks to the foresight of our early leaders, the Town today rests under a leafy canopy that is unique in Marin County. [1]
www.townofross.org

Ross Links of Interest:

Town of Ross - http://www.townofross.org/

Current Events - http://www.townofross.org/pages/about_our_community/town_events.html

School District – http://www.rossvalleyschools.org/