Corte Madera

History

The first post office in Corte Madera opened in 1878, and closed in 1880. Across from the railroad station, a huge barn was built in 1898, and was used as a livery stable, handy for horses to haul goods from nearby mines and for local freight delivery from the trains. In 1906, it then operated as Buckley & Co. general store for the next 50 years. After renovations, the barn exists today at the corner of Tamalpais Drive and Serra Street as a luxurious spa and full-service beauty salon. In 1905, Del Mahood came to Corte Madera to be the railroad agent and stationmaster. He was also a telegrapher and, along with his brother Foster, Del operated the local telephone agency, the post office and a sweets shop in their building next to the Episcopal Church. The Mahoods' building still stands, over a century later, on Redwood Avenue. Other buildings remain from that era: the dramatic triangular-peaked Holy Innocents church built in 1901 at the northeastern corner of Old Corte Madera Square still stands, as does the Presbyterian Church built on the old road above the square around the same time. Across from the Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, two stucco structures were built in the early 1900s. That property, featuring a creamery and an automobile repair shop, now exists as a yoga studio. Most of the remaining buildings around the historical village square went up in the 1920s and 1930s. The square around the train station was the original center of Corte Madera, around which everything bloomed. 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. Several…

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (28.19%) is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  79,567
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  73,275
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  69,590
• White-crowned Sparrow

  Zonotrichia leucophrys (J.R.Forster, 1772) · Aves
  60,898
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  56,482
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  56,457
• Western Gull

  Larus occidentalis Audubon, 1839 · Aves
  53,428
• California Towhee

  Melozone crissalis (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  48,679

Largest nearby schools

• Redwood High
  High · Larkspur · 1,862 students · 20.5:1 ratio
• Tamalpais High
  High · Mill Valley · 1,540 students · 20.3:1 ratio
• San Rafael High
  High · San Rafael · 1,265 students · 21.8:1 ratio
• Archie Williams High
  High · San Anselmo · 1,224 students · 19.4:1 ratio
• Terra Linda High
  High · San Rafael · 1,189 students · 20.9:1 ratio
• James B. Davidson Middle
  Middle · San Rafael · 1,063 students · 20.1:1 ratio
• Mill Valley Middle
  Middle · Mill Valley · 797 students · 16.3:1 ratio
• Venetia Valley K-8
  Elementary · San Rafael · 728 students · 20.2:1 ratio