Summary
The town of Corte Madera is part of the 8,000 acres of ranch lands once called the Corte de Madera del Presidio Rancho that was granted to John Reed in 1834 by Mexican Governor Figueroa. Reed quickly took to the lumber industry, logging the area's immense supply of redwoods and shipping the lumber to San Francisco by way of Corte Madera Creeksome of this wood was used to build the Presidio in San Francisco. And the town kept growing.
In 1885, a New England lawyer, Frank Morrison Pixley, was guaranteed a title for 160 acres from Reed's daughter, Hilarita. (Pixley later practiced law in San Francisco, became involved in local politics and founded an esteemed magazine called The Argonaut, whose writers included Mark Twain and Ambrose Bierce.) The Pixley family was credited with creating Corte Madera's first subdivision and ' with developing downtown. Population continued to grow (eventually exploding after construction of the Golden Gate Bridge was completed in 1937).The square around the train station was the original center of Corte Madera, around which everything bloomed exponentially-and literally. Established in 1916 and preserved by the Women's Club, Railroad Park is located in the northwest quadrant of the old train station square. It was renamed Menke Park in the early 1950s after the town leased the property from the railroad and took-over maintenance of the land. Today Menke Park is a beautifully landscaped area with rose bushes and hydrangea, and the bright romanticism of Piccolo Pavilion's gazebo, bordered by a walkway and antique lampposts with hanging baskets bursting with bouquets of red, purple, yellow and pink flowers.See the full content of this document
Extract
Madera About You
Although it's known throughout Marin mainly as "the town with the malls," Corte Madera has a vibrant heritage and quaint charm that is most apparent in the historic district surrounding the former train station at the foot of Mt. Tamalpais.
Twelve miles north of San Francisco, Cor...See the full content of this document
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