Ross Centennial
“One Hundred Years of Community.” We celebrate like this just once in a hundred years!
2008 is Ross’ Centennial year. A momentous yearlong celebration of the incorporation of the Town of Ross. It’s a rare occasion to honor the community’s roots and welcome its future. Hundreds of your friends and neighbors have been at work since last year to prepare for this special occasion. It’s also the 100th anniversary of the Ross School, St. John’s, and St. Anselm so festivities abound!
All are welcome on the Centennial committee. To join in the fun, please call 415-453-1453 x176 or email ross.events@gmail.com.
The Centennial celebration will begin on Friday evening, September 19th with a Town Dinner on the Ross Common featuring lively entertainment.
On Saturday, September 20th, the Centennial festivities will begin at 10:00 a.m. Some highlights will include:
- A Parade down Shady Lane will showcase music, period costume, collectible cars, and a “Ross through the Decades” theme.
- Following the parade, picnic on the Common with food, music, and an array of old-fashioned fun, children’s activities, exhibits and games.
- Rides include a train and horse & buggy hayrides.
- Town Fair contests will include prizes for the best produce (tomatoes, pumpkins), best gardening (flowers) and best baking (pies). Start planning your prize-winning entry now!
- Huge cake decorated with a map of the Town.
Frequently asked questions regarding the Centennial upcoming events and activities.
What is the Honorary Committee?
This committee was established to honor all residents who have lived in the Town for more then 50 years.
How can I get more information about Centennial activities?
If you have not yet signed up on the Town’s email list, please join the list so you can stay in the Centennial loop. Contact Linda Lopez via email or call her at 415-453-1453 x105.
Once you’re on the email list, you’ll receive electronic copies of The Ross Semperviren Centennial newsletter, which has information about events in September as well as brief, but informative, looks at Ross history. A modified version is also printed and distributed at the post office, and is posted for display at Town Hall and at the post office. See a copy of the newsletter’s first edition, and second edition.
Please also check the information kiosk at the post office for Centennial news throughout the year.
What’s so special about September 20, 2008?
Please mark your calendars for a Town-wide parade, picnic, and fair Saturday, September 20th starting at 10:00 a.m. There will be lots of old-fashioned fun including rides, contests, exhibits, cakewalk, games….and even a huge cake decorated with a map of the Town. Feel free to bring your own picnic or pre-order your meal.
Tickets for rides and for pre-ordered food go on sale in early September. Stay tuned for more details throughout the year, but for now please save the date.
Can you tell me more about events scheduled for September 20, 2008?
A “Ross through the decades” parade down Shady Lane will showcase music, period costume, collectible cars, and neighborhood groups. Following the parade, celebrate with a picnic on Ross Common. Rides include a train and horse & buggy hayrides.
How can I participate in the Town fair on September 20, 2008?
Cultivate your blue-ribbon produce and garden items for the Town fair, which will feature a competition for the best tomatoes, pumpkins, and flowers grown by Ross residents. Get ready for baking contests, too. Residents will also have the opportunity to create and exhibit art projects about what Ross means to them.
More information will follow throughout the year.
I hear the Town dinner will be different this year….is that true?
Yes, there will be a “grownups only” Town dinner with lively entertainment on Friday, September 19th at 6:00 p.m. on Ross Common. When you receive your mailing, please send your response cards in early to reserve your space, as we will not be able to accommodate those who are late in replying. We will be serving Ross Centennial wine and so no one under age 21 is allowed. A nominal fee will be charged to reserve your space and will help cover support services (i.e. table rental, portapotties, clean up and security).
What is the Centennial cocktail party?
A Centennial cocktail party is planned this spring to honor all current and former Ross mayors and council members, the Honorary committee and our Town fire, police and staff. It is a thank-you to the many people who have shaped our Town.
Is Centennial merchandise available?
A lovely selection of Ross limited edition merchandise is being offered throughout the year, from wine glasses to tumblers to picnic blankets, totes, hats, and our very own Ross Centennial wine. You’re sure to find something to help you remember this special time in our Town’s history.
Where can I get Centennial merchandise?
Merchandise is scheduled for sale at various community events throughout the year, including the events below.
May 10 Garden Tour at Marin Art & Garden Center
June TBA Ross Farmers Market (weekly)
June 13 Movie night on Ross Common
July 4 Picnic on Ross Common
What if I have other questions about the Centennial?
Call 415-453-1453 x176 or email ross.events@gmail.com.
The Naming of the Town
by Gary Scales
Most Ross residents are aware the Town was named for James Ross, a Scottish immigrant who made his way to San Francisco as a Gold Rush pioneer. Ross staked his savings on selling mercantile goods and liquor to miners. He prospered, and soon sent for his wife, Ann and three children who had remained in Australia. Ross expanded his ventures into real estate and purchased the 8,887 acre Rancho Punta de Quentin in 1852. He leased large portions of the Rancho to dairy and timber interests and concentrated his efforts on a shipping wharf he called Ross Landing on the Corte Madera Creek, near present day College of Marin.Ross needed substantial operating capital and borrowed heavily from his business partner, George A. Worn, pledging the Rancho as security for the loan. In less than five years Ross was in failing health and died at the age of 50. His family inherited intensive real estate holdings but little income. George Worn married Ross’ oldest daughter, Annie, and they selected a 20 plus acre site, on which to build their family home. Seventy-five years later a portion of this property would become the Marin Art & Garden Center. When the estate was completed in 1865, the Worns christened it “Sunnyside.” It became such a prominent landmark that the North Pacific Coast Railroad soon named the train stop between Ross Landing and San Anselmo as “The Sunnyside Station.”Worn assumed responsibility for managing the financial affairs of Ross’s widow but was forced to liquidate large portions of the Rancho to satisfy certain codicils of the will and to meet living expenses. Ann Ross lived in the family home on Redwood Drive for a number of years and then moved into a smaller home near the Common. When she died in 1901, all of the Rancho land had been sold, except for approximately four acres.
In the decade following the Gold Rush, San Francisco emerged as the West’s financial and mercantile center, and the North Bay witnessed steady growth in both permanent residents and visitors. Many San Franciscans maintained substantial summerhouses and on weekends rode ferries across the Bay to Sausalito. There, they boarded trains, which carried them northwards to their country homes. Guests came for the weekends and large staffs of cooks, gardeners and housemaids welcomed them.
The North Pacific Coast Railroad wanted to expand the Sunnyside Station and add a full time stationmaster to handle the increasing patronage. The Ross family previously had granted right of way easements for most of the tracks. In 1882 Ann Ross, agreed to sell an acre and a quarter parcel of land to the railroad to build a larger and permanent depot. Her one condition of the sale being that the name of the station be changed from “Sunnyside Station” to “Ross Station” in honor of the Ross family. Historians have marked this occasion as the “birthday” of the Town of Ross, as the new name of the depot began to establish the surrounding area as a community. That same year, Jonathan G. Kittle and his wife Harriet (DeWitt Allen) purchased “Sunnyside” from George and Annie Worn for $12,000, and Kittle descendents remained there for the next fifty years.
Moya Library/Ross Historical Society
May 2, 2008, marked the release of the new book “Ross, California: the People, the Places, the History” by the Moya Library/Ross Historical Society to commemorate the Centennial. The book is available for purchase by contacting the Moya Library/Ross Historical Society at 258-9595. For further information on the Moya Library/Ross Historical Society events, please go to http://www.moya-rhs.org/.
(Photos courtesy of Ken Fineman, Ross Historical Society, and private collections)