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B−History
History · San Anselmo

San Anselmo’s post office opened in 1892, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns · #158 of 847 in California. What drives it

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1910.

1892first post office
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From San Anselmo’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How San Anselmo began

When was San Anselmo founded?

1892

The San Anselmo post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,531 in 19102020 census: 12,830134 years

How historic is San Anselmo?

B−

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first San Anselmo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives San Anselmo’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, San Anselmo is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #158 of 847 in California. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of San Anselmo’s overall grade.
Founding era1892, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194028.8% of homes (±4.3) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical CA town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 49%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 81%

Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so San Anselmo’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (31% of California towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about San Anselmo’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18976 editions of the USGS map, 1897 to 1993. Watch San Anselmo change.Old housesHalf of San Anselmo’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start San Anselmo’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how San Anselmo’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCalifornia - San Anselmo through San An…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

San Anselmo on the map, 1897 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of San Anselmo. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

San Anselmo on the 1897 USGS mapSan Anselmo on the 1941 USGS mapSan Anselmo on the 1954 USGS mapSan Anselmo on the 1968 USGS mapSan Anselmo on the 1980 USGS mapSan Anselmo on the 1993 USGS map1897Tamalpais sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of San Anselmo.

The story

How San Anselmo came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of San Anselmo.

Read it all →

San Anselmo sits on Coast Miwok land which was inhabited prior to American and Spanish settlers. The land in and around San Anselmo was mostly pastoral until 1874, when the North Pacific Coast Railroad (NPC) added to its line a spur track from the newly built San Anselmo station to San Rafael. In 1875, the railroad completed a line from Sausalito to Tomales and north to Cazadero via San Anselmo. For a few years, the town was listed on railroad maps as "Junction", but in 1883 the name San Anselmo came back into use. The San Anselmo post office opened in 1892. Two postal substations were operated: Lansdale, from 1924 to 1962, and Yolanda, from 1924 to 1954.

ChaptersEarly historyWorld War IIPost-WWII

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

San Anselmo, 1892 to 1998

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892Post officeThe San Anselmo post office opens
  3. 1897On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1917In the archiveCalifornia - San Anselmo through San Antonio Range
  6. 1936In the archiveSan Anselmo, CA 1936 Aerial Photo
  7. 1984Born hereBrooke Smith is born here
  8. 1998Born hereDylan Woodhead is born here
By decade

San Anselmo, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1930s2 items
California - San Anselmo through San Antonio Range1917California - San Anselmo through San Antonio RangeSan Anselmo, CA 1936 Aerial Photo1936San Anselmo, CA 1936 Aerial Photo
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today10 recent
San Aselmo, CA USA - panoramio (3)2013San Aselmo, CA USA - panoramio (3)San Aselmo, CA USA - panoramio (2)2013San Aselmo, CA USA - panoramio (2)San Aselmo, CA USA - panoramio (1)2013San Aselmo, CA USA - panoramio (1)911 shot2012911 shotOmphalotus olivascens 1252182010Omphalotus olivascens 125218SanAnselmoMountainView2008SanAnselmoMountainViewOne Less Car2006One Less CarFEMA - 22527 - Photograph by Adam Dubrowa taken on 02-21-2006 in California2006FEMA - 22527 - Photograph by Adam Dubrowa taken on 02…FEMA - 22526 - Photograph by Adam Dubrowa taken on 02-21-2006 in California2006FEMA - 22526 - Photograph by Adam Dubrowa taken on 02…FEMA - 22524 - Photograph by Adam Dubrowa taken on 02-21-2006 in California2006FEMA - 22524 - Photograph by Adam Dubrowa taken on 02…
Every building

San Anselmo, building by building, 1909–1919

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

San Anselmo fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 11909Sheet 1 of 5
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

California - San Anselmo through San Antonio Range
Retake this viewCalifornia - San Anselmo through San Antonio Range, 1917

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on San Anselmo’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

San Anselmo, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 13,031

Between 1,531 and 13,031 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on San Anselmo’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in San Anselmo

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
D
Dylan WoodheadAmerican water polo player · b. 1998
B
Brooke SmithAmerican basketball player · b. 1984
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Sleepy HollowIts storyC−Ross1 historic placeAFairfaxIts storyC+San Rafael8 historic placesA−

Questions about San Anselmo’s history

What year was San Anselmo founded?

The San Anselmo post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does San Anselmo rank for history?

San Anselmo is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #158 of 847 in California. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in San Anselmo?

29% of San Anselmo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1955.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.