Sausalito, California
Sausalito (Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) southeast of Marin City, 8 miles (13 km) south-southeast of San Rafael,[8] and about 4 miles (6 km) north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge.[6]
"Sausalito" redirects here. For the 2000 film, see Sausalito (film). For the Rosy & Andres song, see Sausalito (song).
Sausalito, California
September 4, 1893[1]
Ian Sobieski[2]
District 3
Kate Sears
2.26 sq mi (5.9 km2)
1.76 sq mi (4.6 km2)
0.49 sq mi (1.3 km2) 21.54%
10 ft (3 m)
7,269
4,120.74/sq mi (1,591.03/km2)
Sausalito's population was 7,269 as of the 2020 census.[7] The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, and prior to the building of that bridge served as a terminus for rail, car, and ferry traffic.
Sausalito developed rapidly as a shipbuilding center in World War II, with its industrial character giving way in postwar years to a reputation as a wealthy and artistic enclave, a picturesque residential community (incorporating large numbers of houseboats), and a tourist destination. The city is adjacent to, and largely bounded by, the protected spaces of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area as well as the San Francisco Bay.
Etymology[edit]
The name of Sausalito comes from the Spanish sauzalito, meaning "small willow grove", from sauce "willow" + collective derivative -al meaning "place of abundance" + diminutive suffix -ito; with orthographic corruption from z to s due to seseo. Early variants of the name included Saucelito, San Salita, San Saulito, San Salito, Sancolito, Sancilito, Sousolito, Sousalita, Sousilito, Salcido, Sausilito, and Sauz Saulita.[8]
It is sometimes claimed that Sausalito was named for the district in Valparaíso, Chile, where the bandit Joaquín Murrieta was born. Murrieta was the leader of bandits who settled at the northern end of the future Golden Gate Bridge after being banned from San Francisco in the bandit wars. However, this theory cannot be true because Murrieta was from Mexico, not Chile, and because he did not arrive in California until the Gold Rush around 1849.[9] The Rancho Saucelito had already been granted to William Richardson in 1838.[10]
History[edit]
Indigenous culture[edit]
Sausalito was once the site of a Coast Miwok settlement known as Liwanelowa. The branch of the Coast Miwok living in this area were known as the Huimen (or as Nación de Uimen to the Spanish).[14][15] Early explorers of the area described them as friendly and hospitable. According to Juan de Ayala, "To all these advantages must be added the best of all, which is that the heathen Indians of the port are so faithful in their friendship and so docile in their disposition that I was greatly pleased to receive them on board." European settlers took advantage of the Huimen's kindness and hospitality, and completely massacred them within the span of a few generations. As historian Jack Tracy has observed, "Their dwellings on the site of Sausalito were explored and mapped in 1907, nearly a century and a half later, by an archaeological survey. By that time, nothing was left of the culture of those who had first enjoyed the natural treasures of the bay. The life of the Coastal Miwoks had been reduced to archaeological remnants, as though thousands of years had passed since their existence."
Government[edit]
Federal and state[edit]
In the United States House of Representatives, Sausalito is in California's 2nd congressional district, represented by Democrat Jared Huffman.[25] From 2008 to 2012, Huffman represented Marin County in the California State Assembly.
In the California State Legislature, Sausalito is in:
According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, Sausalito has 5,430 registered voters. Of those, 2,905 (53.5%) are registered Democrats, 677 (12.5%) are registered Republicans, and 1,605 (30%) have declined to state a political party.[27]
Sausalito has three sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:
Sakaide is near the Seto Ohashi Bridge on the north coast of the island of Shikoku in Japan (established in 1988). The primary program is a youth cultural exchange program.
Viña del Mar is located on the coast of Chile not far from Santiago (established 1960). The relationship features a Sausalito Stadium and a Sausalito Lagoon. Conversely, Sausalito's main plaza is named Viña del Mar in honor of the Chilean city. The primary program is 777 (7 women, 7 days, 7 dreams), an entrepreneurial training for Chilean Woman in Sausalito.
Cascais is the newest sister city. This relationship was established in 2013. The primary program is a youth sailing exchange between Cascais and Sausalito, Clube Naval and the Sausalito Yacht Club.
Media[edit]
For several decades Sausalito had a local newspaper called the MarinScope,[32] owned at times by Paul and Billy Anderson, and Vijay Mallya. However, as of 2018 the newspaper had ceased publication. Sausalito retains a small radio station founded by Jonathan Westerling, Radio Sausalito 1610 AM, which also serves as the city's Emergency Broadcasting System. The city's primary websites are the city's official site ci.Sausalito.ca.us,[33] the Chamber of Commerce sausalito.org,[34] a reference site oursausalito.com[35] and a guide for locals and visitors to the area Sausalito.com.[36]
Education[edit]
Sausalito is served by the Sausalito Marin City School District for primary school and the Tamalpais Union High School District for secondary school.[37] Effective 2021 the sole public school for the elementary district is Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy,[38] with preschool and middle school in Marin City and elementary school in Sausalito.[39]
Previously residents had two public schools to choose from: the K-8 public school, then known as Bayside Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy, or the K-8 charter school Willow Creek Academy in Sausalito.[40] Willow Creek occupied ground of the former Bayside School in Sausalito.
There are two private elementary schools: The K-12 Waldorf style New Village School, and PreK - 5 campus of the Lycée Français de San Francisco. High schoolers in public school attend Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley.[37]
Sausalito City Hall houses the Sausalito Public Library.[41]
