Editing Mill Valley, California (section)

===Coast Miwok===
The first people known to inhabit Marin County, the [[Coast Miwok]], arrived approximately 6,500 years ago. The territory of the Coast Miwok encompasses all of Marin County, north to [[Bodega Bay]] and southern [[Sonoma County]]. More than 600 village sites have been identified, including 14 sites in the Mill Valley area. Nearby archaeological discoveries include rock carvings and grain-grinding sites on [[Ring Mountain (California)|Ring Mountain]].<ref>C. Michael Hogan. 2008. [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=19244  ''Ring Mountain'', The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham]
</ref> The pre-[[Spanish missions in California|Missionization]] population of the Coast Miwok is estimated to have been between 1,500 (Alfred L. Kroeber's estimate for the year 1770&nbsp;AD)<ref>Kroeber, Alfred L. 1925. Handbook of the Indians of California. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 78. (Chapter 30, The Miwok); available at Yosemite Online Library</ref> and 2,000 (Sherburne F. Cook's estimate for the same year<ref name="Cook, Sherburne 1976">Cook, Sherburne. 1976. The Conflict Between the California Indian and White Civilization. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. {{ISBN|0-520-03143-1}}.</ref>). The pre-Spanish era Coast Miwok population may have even been as high as 5,000. Cook speculated that by 1848, their population had decreased to merely 300, from foreign disease-exposure and Spanish violence, and was down to 60 by 1880. As of 2011, there are over 1,000 registered members of the [[Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria]], which includes both the Coast Miwok and the [[Southern Pomo]], all of whom can date their ancestry back to 14 survivors as original tribal ancestors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gratonrancheria.com/ourpeople.htm |title=FIGR |publisher=Graton Rancheria |access-date=February 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306224736/http://www.gratonrancheria.com/ourpeople.htm/ |archive-date=March 6, 2018 |url-status=dead  }}</ref><ref name="millvalleylibrary.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.millvalleylibrary.org/Index.aspx?page=532|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721180602/http://www.millvalleylibrary.org/Index.aspx?page=532|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 21, 2011| publisher= Mill Valley Public Library |title= Oral Histories|date=July 21, 2011|access-date=December 30, 2019}}</ref>

In Mill Valley, on Locust Avenue (between Sycamore and Walnut avenues), there is now a metal plaque set in the sidewalk in the area believed to be the birthplace of [[Chief Marin]] in 1781; the plaque was dedicated on May 8, 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marinij.com/millvalley/ci_12329056 |title=Birth of Marin's namesake marked in Mill Valley neighborhood |website=Marinij.com |date=March 19, 2015 |access-date=February 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201144106/http://www.marinij.com/millvalley/ci_12329056 |archive-date=February 1, 2015 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> The village site was first identified by Nels Nelson in 1907, and his excavation revealed tools, burials and food debris, among other things, just beyond the driveway of a residence on Locust Ave. At that time, the mound was {{convert|20|ft|m}} high. Shell mounds have been discovered in areas by streams and along Richardson Bay, including in the Strawberry and Almonte neighborhoods.

Another famous Mill Valley site was in the Manzanita area, underneath the Fireside Inn, previously known as the Manzanita Roadhouse (and the Manzanita Hotel, Emil Plasberg's Top Rail, and Top Rail Tavern); the bulk of such establishments were notoriously regarded during the time of United States [[Prohibition]]-era [[Speakeasy|gin joints]] and [[brothels]]. The Manzanita was located near the intersection of [[U.S. Route 101]] and [[California State Route 1]]. Built in 1916, the "[[Blind Pig]]" [[Roadhouse (facility)|roadhouse]] was located outside of the [[Dry county|dry]] 
laws that were enforced more strictly within the city itself.

In 1776, with the foundation of [[Mission San Francisco de Asís]] (commonly known as Mission Dolores), the Coast Miwok of southern Marin began to slowly enter the mission; first, those from Sausalito came, followed by those from areas now known as Mill Valley, Belvedere, Tiburón and Bolinas. They called themselves the "Huimen" people. At the mission, they were taught the Catholic faith, lost all of their known freedom, and over three-quarters died as a result of exposure to foreign diseases, to which the Native Americans lacked immunity. Nearly just as many people died from violent acts perpetrated by the Spaniards and Europeans. As a result of the high death rate at Mission Dolores, it was decided to build a new Mission San Rafael, built in 1817. Over 200 surviving Coast Miwok were taken there from Mission Dolores and Mission San Jose—including the 17 survivors of the Huimen Coast Miwok of the [[Richardson Bay]] area California Missions.<ref>Goerke, Betty. 2007. Chief Marin, Leader, Rebel, and Legend: A History of Marin County's Namesake and his People. Berkeley, CA: Heyday Books. {{ISBN|978-1-59714-053-9}}</ref>