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Tell me more about Marin County
The original natives of Marin were the Coast Miwok Indians whose descendents greeted Northern California's first European visitors.
In 1579 Francis Drake and the crew of the Golden Hinde set foot in Marin, the first-known European to do so. The Spanish explorer Viscaino landed about twenty years later in what is now called Drake's Bay.
The first Spanish settlement in Marin was established in 1817 with the founding of Mission San Rafael Archangel. In 1821 control of California passed from Spain to Mexico, and in the early 1830s secularization of mission properties was decreed.
During the next decade, when the Mexican government was parceling out large grants of land in return for services rendered, Marin was divided into great ranchos. A grantee was required to become a Mexican citizen and baptized Catholic; thereafter his first name was Spanish and he was known as a don. Juan Reed, Sausalito's first known English-speaking resident, was granted the Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio. Adjacent land was granted to Captain Guillermo Antonio Richardson, an Englishman and the first port captain of San Francisco. Timoteo Murphy was given an immense grant that included San Rafael, where he managed the mission properties.
The United States' occupation of California began in 1846, ending the "Days of the Dons." California became a state in 1850 and Marin one of its original counties. As settlement accelerated, the huge cattle-raising ranchos gradually gave way to smaller ranches.
Today, Marin County captures the quintessential nature of Northern California. With its charming small towns, coastal ridge lines and stands of giant redwoods - all within a 30 or 45-minute drive of San Francisco - Marin is a mecca of one-of-a-kind shops, unbeatable walks and hikes, and that laid-back West Coast attitude.
In Southern Marin, Sausalito is a popular tourist destination. Shops and galleries line the streets by the water, and picturesque, narrow roads wind through the hills, which are dotted with small houses and posh hotels. Mill Valley, sometimes called the hippest small town in America, is a haven for coffee-swillers and shoppers. The upscale boutiques and towering redwoods give the area its great atmosphere.
On Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, the town of Ross is made up of mansions, sport utility vehicles, and movie stars who live next door. The locally-owned stores and upscale restaurants on the Ross Common contribute a strong feeling of community to this causally hip and chic town.
Farther along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, the town of Fairfax shares its identity with an artsy community of artists, writers and aging hippies. It's the gateway to the agricultural and dairy capital known as West Marin.
In Central Marin, San Rafael is the political hub of the county. What used to be a quiet mission town is now a diverse city - the largest in the county - with a popular downtown shopping area and the Marin Civic Center, Frank Lloyd Wright's renowned architectural masterpiece.
Heading north, Novato is the second largest city in Marin. Once described as the wild, wild west, its breakfast cafes and old-town feel contrast with the technology companies that now call Novato home. The dairy farms and Birkenstock factory at the Novato-Petaluma border cap off a county filled with dynamic communities that reflect the spirit of the people who live in them.
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