Marin County, California

Marin County, California
Map
Map of California highlighting Marin County
Location in the state of California
Map of the U.S. highlighting California
California's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded February 18, 1850
Seat San Rafael
Largest city San Rafael
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water
828 sq mi (2,145 km²)
520 sq mi (1,346 km²)
308 sq mi (799 km²), 37.24
Population
 - (2000)
 - Density
247,289
476/sq mi (184/km²)
Time zone Pacific: UTC-8/-7
Website: www.co.marin.ca.us

Marin County (IPA: /məˈrɪn/) is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2000, the population was 247,289. The county seat is San Rafael and county government is the largest employer in the County. Marin County is renowned for its natural beauty, liberal politics, affluence and strong new age influence. According to the 2000 Census, Marin County has the highest per capita income in the country at $44,962, and the third highest mean personal income at $80,580, behind Manhattan and Teton County, Wyoming.[1] It is governed by local cities and the Marin County Board of Supervisors.

San Quentin Prison is located in the county, as is Skywalker Ranch. Autodesk, the publisher of AutoCAD, is located there, as are numerous other high-tech companies. The headquarters of film and media company Lucasfilm Ltd., previously based in San Rafael, have moved to the Presidio of San Francisco. United States Senator Barbara Boxer is from Marin.

The Marin County Civic Center was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and draws thousands of visitors a year to guided tours of its arch and atrium design.

America's oldest cross country running event, the Dipsea Race, takes place annually in Marin County, attracting thousands of athletes. Mountain biking is said to have been invented on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais in Marin.

Marin County's many beautiful natural sites include the famous Muir Woods redwood forest, the Marin Headlands, Stinson Beach, Point Reyes National Seashore, and Mount Tamalpais, one of the West's first tourist mountains.

Contents

History

Marin County is one of the original 27 counties of California, created February 18, 1850, following adoption of the Constitution of 1849 and just months before the state was admitted to the Union.[2]

The origin of the county's name is not clear. One version is the county was named for Chief Marin, of the Coast Miwok, Licatiut tribe of Native Americans who inhabited that section and waged fierce battle against the early Spanish military explorers. The other version is that the bay between San Pedro Point and San Quentin Point was named Bahía de Nuestra Señora del Rosario la Marinera in 1775, and it is quite possible that Marin is simply an abbreviation of this name.[3]

The Coast Miwok Indians were hunters and gatherers whose ancestors had occupied the area for thousands of years. About 600 village sites have been identified in the county. The Coast Miwok numbered in the thousands. Today there are few left, and even fewer with any knowledge of their Coast Miwok lineage. Efforts are being made so that they are not forgotten.[4]

The English explorer and privateer, Sir Francis Drake and the crew of the Golden Hind was thought to have landed on the Marin coast in 1579 claiming the land as Nova Albion. A bronze plaque inscribed with Drake's claim to the new lands, fitting the description in Drake's own account, was discovered in 1933. This so-called Drake's Plate of Brass was later declared a hoax.

In 1595 Sebastian Cermeno lost his ship, the San Agustin, while exploring the Marin Coast. The Spanish explorer Vizcaíno landed about twenty years after Drake in what is now called Drake's Bay. However the first Spanish settlement in Marin was not established until 1817 when Mission San Rafael Arcángel was founded partly in response to the Russian-built Fort Ross to the north in what is now Sonoma County.

Mission San Rafael Arcángel was founded in what is now downtown San Rafael as the 20th Spanish mission in the colonial Mexican province of Alta California by four priests, Father Narciso Duran from Mission San Jose, Father Abella from Mission San Francisco de Asís, Father Gil y Taboada and Father Mariano Payeras, the President of the Missions, on December 14, 1817, four years before Mexico gained independence from Spain.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 828 square miles (2,145 km²), of which, 520 square miles (1,346 km²) of it is land and 308 square miles (799 km²) of it (37.24%) is water. According to the records at the County Assessor-Recorder's Office, as of June 2006, Marin had 91,065 acres (369 km2) of taxable land, consisting of 79,086 parcels with a total tax basis of $39.8 billion. These parcels are divided into the following classifications:

Parcel Type Tax ID Quantity Value
Vacant 10 6,900 $508.17 million
Single Family Residential 11 61,264 $30,137.02 million
Mobile Home 12 210 $7.62 million
House Boat 13 379 $61.83 million
Multi Family Residential 14 1,316 $3,973.51 million
Industrial Unimproved 40 113 $12.24 million
Industrial Improved 41 562 $482.83 million
Commercial Unimproved 50 431 $97.89 million
Commercial Improved 51 7,911 $4,519.64 million
The view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Marin Headlands.

Geographically, the county forms a large, southward-facing peninsula, with the Pacific Ocean to the west, San Pablo Bay and San Francisco Bay to the east, and – across the Golden Gate – the city of San Francisco to the south. Marin County's northern border is with Sonoma County.

Most of the county's population resides on the eastern side, with a string of communities running along San Francisco Bay, from Sausalito to Tiburon to Corte Madera to San Rafael. The interior contains large areas of agricultural and open space; West Marin, through which State Route 1 runs alongside the California coast, contains many small unincorporated communities whose economies depend on agriculture and tourism.

Notable features of the shoreline along the San Francisco Bay include the Sausalito shoreline, Richardson Bay, the Tiburon Peninsula including Ring Mountain and Triangle Marsh at Corte Madera. Further north lies San Quentin State Prison along the San Rafael shoreline.

National protected areas

Transportation infrastructure

State and interstate highways

Scenic roads

Public transportation

Golden Gate Transit provides service primarily along the U.S. 101 corridor, serving cities in Marin County, as well as San Francisco and Sonoma County. Service is also provided to Contra Costa County via the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Ferries to San Francisco operate from Larkspur and Sausalito. Ferry service from Tiburon is provided by Blue and Gold Fleet and by the Angel Island Ferry.

Local bus routes within Marin County are operated by Golden Gate Transit under contract to the Marin County Transit District. MCTD also operates the West Marin Stage, serving communities in the western, rural areas of Marin County. The Marin Airporter offers scheduled bus service to and from Marin County and the San Francisco Airport. The lines run 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Greyhound Lines buses service San Rafael.

Airports

Marin County Airport or Gnoss Field (ICAO: KDVO) is a general aviation airport operated by the County Department of Public Works. The nearest airports with commercial flights are San Francisco International Airport and Oakland International Airport as well as Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport north of Marin County.

Educational institutions

see

Ecology

Marin county is considered in the California Floristic Province, a zone of extremely high biodiversity and endemicism. There are numerous ecosystems present, including coastal strand, oak woodland, chaparral and riparian zones. There are also a considerable number of protected plant and animal species present: fauna include the California Red-legged Frog (Rana aurora draytonii) and California freshwater shrimp, while flora include Marin Dwarf Flax, Hesperolinon congestum; Tiburon Jewelflower, Streptanthus niger; and Tiburon Indian paintbrush, Castilleja neglecta.

A number of watersheds exist in Marin County including Walker Creek, Lagunitas Creek, Miller Creek, and Novato Creek.

The Lagunitas Creek Watershed is home to the largest-remaining wild run of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in Central California. These coho are part of the "Central California Coast Evolutionarily Significant Unit," or CCC ESU, and are listed as "endangered" at both the state and federal level.

Significant efforts to protect and restore these fish have been underway in the Watershed since the 1980s. Fifty-percent of historical salmon habitat is now behind dams. Strong efforts are also being made to protect and restore undammed, headwater reaches of this Watershed in the San Geronimo Valley, where upwards of 40% of the Lagunitas salmon spawn each year and where as much as 1/3 of the juvenile salmon (or fry) spend their entire freshwater lives. The Salmon Protection and Watershed Network ([1]) leads winter tours for the public to learn about and view these spawning salmon, and also leads year-round opportunities for the public to get involved in stream restoration, monitoring spawning and smolt outmigration, juvenile fish rescue and relocation in the summer, and advocacy and policy development.

Demographics

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 247,289 people, 100,650 households, and 60,691 families residing in the county. The population density was 476 people per square mile (184/km²). There were 104,990 housing units at an average density of 202 per square mile (78/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.03% White, 2.89% Black or African American, 0.43% Native American, 4.53% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 4.50% from other races, and 3.47% from two or more races. 11.06% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 11.5% were of Irish, 11.0% English, 10.2% German and 8.4% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 80.8% spoke English, 9.6% Spanish, 1.4% French and 1.1% German as their first language.

In 2005 76.9% of Marin County's population was non-Hispanic whites. 12.6% of the population was Latino. 5.3% of the population was Asian and 3.1% was African-American.

In 2000 there were 100,650 households out of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.7% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the county the population was spread out with 20.3% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 29.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $71,306, and the median income for a family was $88,934. Males had a median income of $61,282 versus $45,448 for females. The per capita income for the county was $44,962. About 4.7% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.9% of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over. Marin County has the second highest median household income in California behind Santa Clara County.

Marin County has the highest per capita income of any county in the United States. This is driven in particular by expensive enclaves in Belvedere, Kentfield, Larkspur, Ross, Tiburon, Mill Valley, Sausalito, San Anselmo, Corte Madera and portions of San Rafael and Novato where displays of conspicuous consumption, especially luxury cars, are common. The county has the highest density of BMW cars (locally known as 'Basic Marin Wheels') in the United States, according to the local BMW dealership [2].

The traditionally middle class towns of Fairfax, Novato and San Rafael (where per capita incomes typically paralleled the California state average as late as 1985) also have experienced especially sharp rises in real estate values, due in part to their proximity to the "prestige" address areas. The county's resistance to urban sprawl and its preservation of open space have also had an upward impact on housing prices by reducing the number of new subdivisions built in the area since 1970. The precedent for this was set after a huge development project that would have put a suburb atop the Marin Headlands called Marincello was defeated in court.

The trend of increased affluence has not held true for two neighborhoods in particular, populated almost exclusively by low-income disadvantaged groups (aside from Asians): Marin City (which shares a ZIP code with Sausalito) and the Canal Neighborhood in San Rafael. Government policies have both forbidden property owners from raising rents and have also subsidized housing prices in these neighborhoods for tenants who do not report incomes higher than 200% of the poverty level on their IRS tax return. Marin City has a population of 3,000 and is ethnically diverse with large East Asian, Hispanic, and African American populations. Many families live in public housing apartment buildings. The population in The Canal is largely Hispanic, with many households residing in apartment units. San Rafael has asserted to the Federal Government that this population is significantly undercounted by the U.S. Census due to the high percentage of undocumented immigrants, depriving the city of tax funds for improved social services. They assert that the 6.6% of the county-wide population listed as below the poverty line is both under-reported, and heavily concentrated in The Canal.

Politics

Presidential election results
Year DEM GOP Others
2008 78.0% 93,772 20.4% 24,478 1.6% 1,949
2004 73.2% 99,070 25.4% 34,378 1.4% 1,877
2000 64.2% 79,135 28.3% 34,872 7.4% 9,148
1996 58.0% 67,406 28.2% 32,714 13.8% 16,020
1992 58.3% 76,158 23.3% 30,479 18.4% 24,070
1988 58.9% 69,394 39.7% 46,855 1.4% 1,671
1984 49.6% 57,533 49.0% 56,887 1.4% 1,630
1980 36.2% 39,231 45.8% 49,678 18.1% 19,598
1976 42.9% 43,590 52.5% 53,425 4.6% 4,700
1972 45.6% 47,414 52.1% 54,123 2.3% 2,346
1968 43.8% 36,278 50.1% 41,422 6.1% 5,055
1964 61.6% 46,462 38.1% 28,682 0.3% 220
1960 42.5% 27,888 57.3% 37,620 0.2% 157

Marin is part of California's 6th congressional district, which is held by Democrat Lynn Woolsey.

In the state legislature Marin is in the 6th Assembly district, which is held by Democrat Jared Huffman, and the 3rd Senate district, which is held by Democrat Carole Migden.

Presidential elections results

The county has become a stronghold of the Democratic Party in recent decades. Out of California counties, only San Francisco County and Alameda County voted more Democratic in the 2004 Presidential election.

On Nov. 4, 2008 Marin County voted 75.1 % against Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.

According to the California Secretary of State, Marin County has 143,628 voters. Of those, 76,163 (53.0%) are registered Democratic, 30,992 (21.6%) are registered Republican, 6,917 (4.8%) are registered with other political parties, and 29,556 (20.6%) have declined to state a political party.[6] Except for Belvedere, every city, town, and the unincorporated areas of Marin County have more registered Democrats than Republicans. As of April, 2008, Republicans hold only a thin advantage of 8 voters over the Democrats in Belvedere.

Economy

As of 2008, the largest private-sector employers in Marin County were:[7]

  1. Kaiser Permanente (1,626 full-time employees in Marin County)
  2. Marin General Hospital (1,267)
  3. Autodesk (1,200)
  4. Fireman's Fund Insurance Company (1,200)
  5. Comcast (619)
  6. Safeway Inc. (452)
  7. Macy's, Inc.
  8. Frank Howard Allen Realtors (423)
  9. BioMarin Pharmaceutical
  10. Fair Isaac
  11. MHN (350)
  12. Dominican University of California (325)
  13. W. Bradley Electric (295)
  14. Brayton Purcell (288)
  15. Guide Dogs for the Blind (287)
  16. Novato Community Hospital (274)
  17. Mollie Stones (270)
  18. Wells Fargo
  19. Costco
  20. Ghilotti Bros. (250)
  21. Kentfield Rehabilitation and Specialty Hospital
  22. Lucasfilm
  23. Longs Drugs
  24. Nordstrom (211)
  25. Coldwell Banker (207)

Media

Marin county has several media outlets that serve the local community.

Notable current and former residents

Main article: Notable residents and former residents of Marin County

Cities, towns and unincorporated districts

Adjacent counties

south (across the Golden Gate Bridge)
east (across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge)
north

Books and films

Marin County has been used as the venue for numerous films and books; in some cases these works have also incorporated scenes set in neighboring San Francisco or Sonoma County. The following are representative works produced in whole or in part in Marin County:

Notes

  1. ↑ "BLS county personal per capita income". Retrieved on 2008-08-26.
  2. ↑ California's Legislature, "APPENDIX M, Origin and Meaning of the Names of the Counties of California With County Seats and Dates Counties Were Created," p. 302. Spring 2006, Accessed March 26, 2007
  3. ↑ Gudde, Erwin G. (1949). California Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary, p. 204. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press; Paperback edition (2004). ISBN 0520243173.
  4. ↑ Thomas, Robert C., Drake at Olompali
  5. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  6. ↑ Voter registration statistics, January 2008
  7. ↑ Cochrane, Laura; Princesa Pabalan (2008-06-09). "Private-sector employers - Marin County", North Bay Business Journal, pp. M3-9. 

See also

External links

Municipalities and communities of
Marin County, California
County seat: San Rafael
Cities and towns

Belvedere | Corte Madera | Fairfax | Larkspur | Mill Valley | Novato | Ross | San Anselmo | San Rafael | Sausalito | Tiburon
Marin County map
CDPs

Black Point-Green Point | Bolinas | Dillon Beach | Inverness | Kentfield | Lagunitas-Forest Knolls | Lucas Valley-Marinwood | Muir Beach | Point Reyes Station | San Geronimo | Santa Venetia | Stinson Beach | Strawberry | Tamalpais-Homestead Valley | Tomales | Woodacre
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