"Mill Valley is located on the western and northern shores of Richardson Bay, fed by Pickleweed Inlet and Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio which traverse through Mill Valley. Beyond the flat coastal area, it occupies narrow wooded canyons, mostly of second-growth redwoods, on the eastern slopes of Mount Tamalpais.
At least 5000 years ago, the region that now encompasses the town of Mill Valley was inhabited by the Coast Miwoks. In 1579, Sir Francis Drake is reported to have anchored at Drake's Bay, just north of what is currently Mill Valley. However, he did not land for any specific purpose other than to make minor repairs on his vessels. His stay was limited to five weeks, during which he traded items with the Miwoks which have since been recovered in local excavation sites.
Nearly two decades later, in 1595, the Portuguese captain Sebastian Cermenho landed at Drake's Bay while piloting a treasure galleon from Manila to Mexico. He, too, came in contact with the indigenous inhabitants during his brief stop there. No further European contact was made with the Miwoks until 1775. On August 5th, 1775, Juan Manuel de Ayala sailed into San Francisco Bay. It only took one year before the Spanish had erected the Fort Presidio and the Mission Dolores, both of which still exist today. In the following years, many of the Miwoks were relocated to labor in the Mission Dolores, and later in the San Rafael mission. Unaccustomed to these living conditions, many Miwoks died working in the missions. Epidemics of consumption, syphilis, measles, and smallpox--introduced by Spanish settlers in the 1820s and 1830s--also contributed to the skyrocketing mortality rate of the local peoples. By 1840, 90 percent of the region's Miwok population had been indirectly eradicated. Marin, the name of the county in which Mill Valley now resides, was named after a Miwok "outlaw" whom the Spanish had dubbed Chief Marin, because of his abilities on the water ("marinero"). He was later converted, baptized, and buried at the San Rafael Mission.
In 1834, the Mexican government gained control of the area. Miwok ancestral lands were divided and doled out to willing pioneer ranchers. The 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. John Reed, mentioned above, was one of the first of these new settlers, and it was Reed's saw mill that provided the lumber and employment that served as Mill Valley's first impetus for growth. Soon after, 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 prospectors that arrived from abroad.
Mill Valley's growth, and the simultaneous growth of its neighboring towns, ousted the native Miwok population once and for all. In 1852, a census counted 218 full-blooded Miwoks remaining. By 1888, there were only six. Today, there are none who claim even fifty-percent ancestral heritage among the Miwok.
The city is named for a saw mill established by John Reed in the 19th century, the site of which is now Old Mill Park. When the wooded area had been completely logged over, it was divided into small and irregular building lots, which were sold at auction. Many of the vacation homes built at that time were converted to residences during the Great Depression of the 1930s, especially after the Golden Gate Bridge eased access to San Francisco. It is now an affluent residential suburb, much of which is reached by narrow, winding roads created in the early 20th century that often incorporated the old logging roads carved out in the previous century.
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"."
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