Marin

Formed February 18, 1850 (7^th county)

Marin County (262,318), San Rafael (61,277)

The Modern style courthouse is located at the civic center area with its sweeping large structure.  It is on Civic Center Drive north of San Pedro Road.  It was built in 1962 using the designs of Frank Lloyd Wright and Aaron Green.  The 1872 courthouse in San Rafael went through two remodeling before being replaced.  San Rafael has been the only county seat.  An original county, Marin County was formed on February 18, 1850 as the 7^th county.  The Spanish word for “mariner” or the name of a local Native American are the two traditions indicating the source of the county’s name.  The San Rafael Archangel Mission provided the county seat name.  The mission was named for the Archangel Saint Rafael. 

Marin County government consists of a sheriff, assessor, controller, and treasurer (executive).  It has 5 Supervisors (legislative.)  Twelve Superior Court Judges, clerk, and counsel serve Marin County (judicial.)  The county is located just north of San Francisco, California in the north part of the state.  The Pacific Ocean is its west border and the San Francisco Bay is its east border.  The county center is 18.6 miles Northwest of San Rafael nearer Point Reyes Station.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Sonoma, Contra Costa, and San Francisco counties and the Pacific Ocean.  The county is shaped like a plow.  San Rafael is in the southeast part of the county on the bay.  The county is pronounced MA-RIN.  The county seat is pronounced SAN RA-FELL.  San Rafael is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 23.4% of the county population. 

The area of the county is 520 square miles.  It is 55 out of 58 in the state.  It ranks 26 out of 58 in population in the state.  It has a density of 504.5 persons per square mile making it 13 out of 58 in the state.  Marin County has 73.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 101 crosses north to south, Sonoma County to San Francisco County.  This county is in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont Metropolitan Statistical Area.