Mill Valley Lodge History

Golden Anniversary

This year, 1953, our Golden Anniversary, the thoughts of our brethren turn back to the doughty brothers who had the courage, vision and confidence in the future to found our Lodge in a town only then recently incorporated.

The founding and growth of our Lodge is primarily and intimately a part of the growth of Mill Valley as will be readily apparent as we proceed with its history.

First - something about Mill Valley - the Lodge's setting and the background of its erection and growth.

Among the earlier settlers of the area, later to become known as Mill Valley, was John Reed who, in 1843, erected the mill which we now refer to as the Old Mill and which was adopted as the central feature of the city seal as well as the name of the town.

Another important name in the early development of Mill Valley is that of Samuel Throckmorton, attorney, who acquired a major portion of the valley in the 1850's.

After his death, in 1887, the San Francisco Savings and Union Bank became the owners of the major portion of Throckmorton's holdings and in 1888 organized the Tamalpais Land and Water Company to use as an agency for disposing of these properties. The board of directors of the organization was Joseph Eastland, president, Louis L. Janes, secretary, Thomas Magee, Albert Miller and Lovell White. This company is responsible, more or less, for the street layout of our town and you will readily recognize the origin of the names for some of the streets - Throckmorton, Miller, Lovell, Magee, Janes and Old Mill.

One of the interesting developments in the sale of the lots by the Tamalpais Land and Water Co. as pointed out by Brother Fred Thompson, is that they auctioned the lots. What a busy time they must have had - not only surveying the area for streets and lots but coaxing people to attend the public auction of the lots at a time when transportation to the property was a real problem.

Eventually, though, these enterprising citizens had organized a railroad company and constructed a railroad into town which made life a little easier. Through several manipulations, this railroad was purchased by the North Shore Railroad, the auditor of which was Bro. A.F. Thomas, Past Master of Durant Lodge, Berkeley, California. In the Spring of 1890, the auction was quite successful and among the early buyers, we find the names of Bingham, Varkan, Bostwick, Billings, Bridge, Coffin, Costigan, Eloesser, Frese, Gardner, Heuter, Harrold, Hills, Hayes, Harris, Kelly, Lenhart, Magee, Marcus, Martin, McCan, O-Shaughnessy, Runyan, Staples, Sharpe, Steward, Steele, Thompson, Windmuellers and White.

Among the early shopkeepers of this period were August Muntz who had a general merchandise store on the Southeast corner of Miller and Throckmorton, Latch Dowd's Livery Stable and Tobin's wood and coal business.

Grethels' Hall, mentioned in our Lodge History and also used as a town hall for many years, was located on the south side of Miller Avenue, and near Muntz's store and was owned by Bernard Grethel who started the first bakery there in the late 1880's.

In due time, consideration was given to the problem of providing schooling for the youngsters. One of the favorite stories of Bro. Fred Thompson is about this first effort to obtain a teacher from the state school board. Remember, the time is the 1880's. The good citizens of our town, having decided that the youngsters education should be professionally cared for, counted noses and found that there were ten children of school age. So, armed with this information, they made proper application for aid.

From the Superintendent of schools they learned, much to their dismay, they must have a minimum of twelve pupils before a teacher could be furnished them.

Things dragged along then until the Coffin family moved into the valley with their three children.

They were most welcome because now the valley was qualified to again apply for the teacher, having thirteen pupils, one more than the minimum, that is, until Latch Dowd heard of it. When he learned there were thirteen, he said he would not send his children to a school having thirteen pupils and especially not since the last three were named Coffin. Well, - it was far from dull for awhile. This problem, like most problems, was solved and the first school was opened in 1890 with Lila Forsythe as the first teacher. It is interesting to note that Harvey Klyce built Summit School in 1904.

Another interesting fact concerns Bro. Louis Janes. He conceived the idea of building a railroad up Mt. Tamalpais which was eventually realized with the financial aid of Sidney B. Cusing, A.E. Kent (who also gave the right of way through his land in upper Corte Madera Canyon), Charles F. Runyan, Daniel Hayes and David McKay. This was in the late 1890's.

Do you remember how it was advertised as "The crookedest railroad in the world"? Do you remember the little logging type steam engines that were used on the line?

Mid-year of 1900, the sturdy residents of this bustling valley, numbering approximately 1000, voted to incorporate the town under the name of Mill Valley and elected the board of trustees Frank Fiske Bostwick, O.C. Cappelman, Jacob Gardner, A.W. Bush and Charles L. Storck.

The board, under the leadership of Frank Bostwick, among their first acts, set the official incorporation date as September 1, 1900; adopted the Old Mill as the central feature of the City seal; selected Louis Lyman Janes as clerk, A.L. House as treasurer, S.H. Roberts as recorder, Richard McDonald as marshal, C.E. Cline as poundmaster, and Osgood Putnam as attorney. Then they rented Grethel Hall to be used as town hall.

Even then, as now, picnickers were troublesome by their lack of consideration of the rights of others and, as a result of this, the Outdoor Art Club, under the leadership of Mrs. Harvey Klyce and others, was formed to protect the redwoods.

Since we, as Masons, sponsor the cause of public schooling, it is interesting to learn that in 1907 the Tamalpais High School District was formed by joining of the Mill Valley and Sausalito school districts. The first principal was our brother E.E. Wood whom the younger generation of Masons remember well.

In the good old days, when the town was small and everyone knew everyone else, it was easy to keep informed but we soon outgrew that quaint situation. The first editor was Thomas Pantrell who started the Enterprise. Then, in 1901, Harvey Klyce, Frank Bostwick, Tom Greaves, John Fred Schligman, Gordon Selwood and Hal Barnard organized the Record which was purchased in its entirety by J. Fred Schligman and later combined with the Enterprise as the Record Enterprise. In succession, the paper was owned by Winona and Elizabeth Douglas, Fred Drexler, Sr., and finally by Stanley Wilson, its present owner [as of 1953].

It is interesting to note here that the formation period of Mill Valley brought forth the high ideals and principles of its citizens and how energetically and forcefully they will work to obtain a compatible atmosphere for these to flourish in. It is also interesting to note that these ideals coincide with our own and that of many of our Masonic Brothers and men who were later to become members of our Lodge and prominent in this organizational work.