Editing Novato, California (section)

===Post-Conquest era===
Following the American [[Conquest of California]] and the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]], Novato, along with the rest of California, became part of the United States on February 2, 1848. Early pioneers included Joseph Sweetser and Francis De Long who bought {{convert|15000|acre|km2|0}} in the mid-1850s and planted orchards and vineyards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.novatohistory.org/novato-1839-1900-land-grants-and-farming/|title=Novato 1838-1899: Land Grants and Farming {{!}} NOVATO HISTORICAL GUILD|access-date=November 12, 2019}}</ref>

The first post office at Novato opened in 1856; it closed in 1860, and a new post office opened in 1891.<ref name=CGN>{{California's Geographic Names|673}}</ref>

The first school was built in 1859, at the corner of Grant Avenue and what is today Redwood Boulevard.
[[File:Hamilton Field, CA Squad Barracks 5 AUG 1936 (2825155892).jpg|thumb|left|[[California Churrigueresque]] architecture at [[Hamilton Army Airfield|Hamilton Airfield]], 1936]]
The original town was located around [[Novato Creek]] at what is now South Novato Boulevard. A railroad was built in 1879, connecting Novato to [[Sonoma County, California|Sonoma County]] and [[San Rafael, California|San Rafael]]. The area around the train depot became known as ''New Town'', and forms the edge of what today is Old Town Novato. The [[Novato Flatiron Building]] was built in 1908.