Ross, California

History

After the Mexican Revolution of 1821, the "land grant" system of parceling out land gave rise to what is now known as Marin County. Ross was originally part of an 8877 acre Mexican land grant to Juan B.R. Cooper in 1840 known as Ranch Punta de Quentin Canada de San Anselmo.

In 1857, James Ross (1812–1862) bought Rancho Punta de Quentin for $50,000. Ross, a Scot who had arrived in San Francisco from Australia in 1848 and made his fortune in the wholesale liquor business, set up a trading post called "Ross Landing". He built his home on Redwood Drive and moved there with his wife and three children. When James Ross died in 1862, his wife, Annie Ross, was forced to sell a portion of her husband's larger land holdings to pay each of their daughters $10,000. The remaining 297 acre comprises the present-day Town of Ross.

The first post office opened in 1887, and Ross incorporated in 1908.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.6 sqmi, all of it recorded as land.

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Ross had a population of 2,338. The population density was 1,500.6 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Ross was 89.1% White, 0.1% African American, 0.0% Native American, 1.8% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 1.3% from other races, and 7.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.6% of the population.

The census reported that 97.8% of the population lived in households, 2.2% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.

There were 799 households, out of which 43.6% included children under the age of 18, 70.0% were married-couple households, 2.3% were cohabiting couple households, 18.3% had a female householder with no partner present, and 9.5% had a male householder with no partner present. 15.9% of households were one person, and 10.3% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.86.

The age distribution was 28.7% under the age of 18, 6.3% aged 18 to 24, 13.6% aged 25 to 44, 29.1% aged 45 to 64, and 22.2% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 45.8years. For every 100 females, there were 94.0 males.

There were 880 housing units at an average density of 564.8 /mi2, of which 799 (90.8%) were occupied. Of these, 87.9% were owner-occupied, and 12.1% were occupied by renters.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was more than $250,000, and the per capita income was $148,198. About 0.0% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

At the 2010 census Ross had a population of 2,415. The population density was 1,551.8 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Ross was 2,265 (93.8%) White, 6 (0.2%) African American, 2 (0.1%) Native American, 45 (1.9%) Asian, 3 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 19 (0.8%) from other races, and 75 (3.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 94 people (3.9%).

The census reported that 2,363 people (97.8% of the population) lived in households, 52 (2.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.

There were 798 households, 357 (44.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 575 (72.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 55 (6.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 28 (3.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 13 (1.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 7 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 120 households (15.0%) were one person and 60 (7.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.96. There were 658 families (82.5% of households); the average family size was 3.26.

The age distribution was 731 people (30.3%) under the age of 18, 108 people (4.5%) aged 18 to 24, 362 people (15.0%) aged 25 to 44, 801 people (33.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 413 people (17.1%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 45.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males.

There were 884 housing units at an average density of 568.0 per square mile, of the occupied units 686 (86.0%) were owner-occupied and 112 (14.0%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.7%. 2,078 people (86.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 285 people (11.8%) lived in rental housing units.

Arts and culture

Landmarks include the Ross Bear sculpture by Beniamino Bufano located near town hall, and the Marin Art and Garden Center. The town doubled for New Hampshire in the 1972 film The Godfather when a scene was shot using the Ross School.

Government

According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, Ross has 1,606 registered voters. Of those, 685 (42.7%) are registered Democrats, 380 (23.7%) are registered Republicans, and 472 (29.4%) have declined to state a political party.

Education

Ross is in the Ross Elementary School District and the Tamalpais Union High School District.

Institutions include:

• The Branson School
• Ross School

Notable people

Main article: List of people from Marin County, California

• Signy Coleman, actress
• Dylan Penn, model and daughter of actors Sean Penn and Robin Wright
• Maria Pitillo, actress
• Jack Woolams, test pilot
• Isabella Worn, garden designer
• Alan Sues, actor, comedian

References

References

1. {{Cite GovTrack. CA. 2
2. "2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files: California". United States Census Bureau.
3. "P1. Race – Ross town, California: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau.
4. {{gnis. 277587
5. {{California's Geographic Names. 692
6. Larkspur]] to the southeast, [[Kentfield, California. Kentfield]] to the south, [[San Anselmo, California. San Anselmo]] to the north, and the [[Mount Tamalpais]] [[Marin Municipal Water District. protected watershed]] to the west. Ross is named in honor of James Ross, who acquired [[Rancho Punta de Quentin]] in 1859.Capace, Nancy (1999). ''Encyclopedia of California''. North American Book Dist LLC. p. 394. {{ISBN. 9780403093182.
7. [http://www.moya-rhs.org/history.htm A Ross History Timeline] {{webarchive. link. (March 9, 2010)
8. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
9. "Ross town, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing".
10. "Ross town, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing".
11. "Ross town, California; DP03: Selected Economic Characteristics - 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates Comparison Profiles".
12. "2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA - Ross town". U.S. Census Bureau.
13. Wright Hession, Stephanie. (January 26, 2021). "Ross Common, Ross". [[SF Gate]].
14. Blackford, Chas. (September 11, 2015). "Ultimate Weekend Hike: Amble Around Marin's Phoenix Lake".
15. "The Godfather, Ross, Ca. Location".
16. "CA Secretary of State – Report of Registration – February 10, 2019".
17. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Marin County, CA". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
18. (April 17, 2014). "Treats magazine fetes Dylan Penn cover, inaugurates Club James".