Marin County Visitors Bureau

Marin County Visitors Bureau

Photo by Dennis Anderson

San Anselmo

Sunny San Anselmo’s climate, rich history, creek-side location, and strong sense of community make it a wonderful place to visit and live.

The railroad played a vital role in San Anselmo’s history. The town was mostly pastoral until 1875, when the North Pacific Railroad completed a line from Sausalito to Tomales, via San Anselmo. The town quickly became the “Hub” of much activity.

With numerous annual events, hiking and biking trails, and fine dining opportunities, San Anselmo is still known as the “hub” today. Later in the early 1900s, San Anselmo was a silent-film capital producing numerous films, including The Two-Gun Man and Cowpuncher’s Law.

The town began to grow when the San Francisco Theological Seminary relocated its school from San Francisco in 1892. Castle-like grand stone-masonry buildings stand like sentinels on the knoll above Ross Valley. The hilltop and surrounding grounds are favorites for town residents out for their morning or evening stroll.

A walking tour of the grounds is available from the San Anselmo Historical Society. Click on: www.sananselmohistory.org/seminarywalkingtour.pdf to download a PDF of the Self-Guided Historical Walking Tour. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this. If not, you can get a free download at: Adobe.

Sunset Magazine readers voted San Anselmo “Best in the West” for antiquing and the town is distinguished as the “Northern California Antique Capital”. Creek-side restaurants, cafes, galleries, antique shops, boutiques and a small winery contribute to downtown San Anselmo’s charming atmosphere. Self-guided walking tours of downtown area are available at Town Hall.

Some of San Anselmo’s many other attractions include the Robson-Harrington House and Park, the Carnegie Library and the American Legion Log Cabin. Annual events such as the Art and Wine Festival, Antiques Fair and town-wide antique sale, draw visitors from the surrounding communities and the entire San Francisco Bay Area.