| 1839 | Mexico grants Domingo Sais 6,658 acres, including Sleepy Hollow and northern half of San Anselmo. Sais builds first permanent home. |
| 1840 | A second grant awarded to Juan Cooper covering the southern portion of San Anselmo. |
| 1851 | Harvey Butterfield begins a dairy ranch in Sleepy Hollow. |
| 1853 | Domingo Sais dies. The breakup of his lands begins. |
| 1856 | James Ross buys Cooper’s land grant. |
| 1860 | James Ross dies triggering several San Anselmo land sales. |
| 1861 | Daniel Showalter kills fellow State legislator Charles Piercy in a duel at Lansdale. |
| 1869 | First large house in San Anselmo; two-story home built by Minthorne Tompkins. |
| 1874 | North Pacific Coast Railway adds spur track from San Anselmo to San Rafael and in 1875 completes line from Sausalito to Tomales via San Anselmo. |
| 1876 | The first school opens on Butterfield Road. |
| 1880 | Great Red Hill Cemetery road built by Dr. Henry DuBois. |
| 1881 | San Anselmo’s first subdivision, Sunnyside, holds lot sales. |
| 1883 | Station renamed San Anselmo after being called Junction since 1875. |
| 1890 | Contract for main building of San Francisco Theological Seminary let for $52,000. |
| 1892 | The Seminary relocates to San Anselmo. |
| 1892 | San Anselmo post office established. |
| 1892 | First homes receive electricity. |
| 1893 | San Anselmo School District is formed. |
| 1898 | Main School opens. |
| 1899 | Trees planted along the highway between San Anselmo and Ross Stations. |
| 1900 | New buildings of the Presbyterian Orphanage at San Anselmo dedicated February 4th. |
| 1903 | Electric rail service starts October 17th between Sausalito, Mill Valley and San Rafael via San Anselmo. |
| 1903 | First homes receive telephone service. |
| 1904 | The Bush Tract of 447 acres between San Anselmo and Fairfax sold to Hoag and Lansdale for $40,000. |
| 1906 | The April 18th earthquake brings an influx of new residents. Seminary Buildings are damaged to the extent of $25,000. |
| 1907 | San Anselmo incorporated. |
| 1907 | Independent Volunteer Fire Department organized in August. |
| 1908 | Chamber of Commerce organized. |
| 1909 | Lansdale School opens. |
| 1910 | James Tunstead donates land for Town Hall and fire house. |
| 1910 | Rossi’s Villa burns in December. Cheda Building constructed on site the following year. |
| 1911 | Contract for building of Town Hall and Fire House let for $5,291 in January. |
| 1911 | San Anselmo Herald founded. |
| 1913 | Robert Dollar School at Presbyterian Orphanage destroyed by fire in May. |
| 1914 | A bandit holds up the Bank of San Anselmo in March. |
| 1915 | The San Anselmo Carnegie Library dedicated in February. |
| 1922 | A heavy snowfall covered Marin February 2nd; six inches deep in places. |
| 1922 | Main buildings of the Presbyterian Orphanage destroyed by fire in May. Loss estimated at $100,000. No children injured. |
| 1924 | Town buys land for recreation (Memorial Park). |
| 1924 | St. Anselm’s School opens. |
| 1925 | Sleepy Hollow Dairy sold to developers. |
| 1925 | Worst flood in the history of Marin followed seven inch rainfall in February. San Anselmo, Ross, and Kentfield suffer heaviest damage. |
| 1926 | San Anselmo Women’s Club open new clubhouse on Tunstead Avenue. |
| 1926 | Home mail delivery begins. |
| 1927 | Red Hill School built; later changed to Isabel Cook School. Lansdale School name changed to Yolansdale School. |
| 1929 | A fire starting on Bald Hill burns over 250 acres in August. |
| 1938 | Sir Francis Drake School built on site of present high school. Continues until 1948. |
| 1940 | February storms brings 11.38 inches of rain in three days and $10,000 damage. |
| 1941 | Two Air Force planes crash on Bald Hill on November 2nd. Pilots killed. |
| 1941 | Passenger train service through San Anselmo ends; freight service in 1942. |
| 1943 | Several hundred Army, Navy and civilian firefighters battle blaze starting on Bald Hill and endangering Ross Valley, on September 2nd. |
| 1946 | Wade Thomas School built on site of old Main School. |
| 1947 | Red Hill School renamed Isabel Cook School. Brookside School built. |
| 1948 | Carmel Booth first woman elected to City Council. |
| 1951 | Sir Francis Drake High School opens in September. |
| 1952 | Geneva Hall built on the crown of Seminary Hill. |
| 1957 | Hotaling Mansion in Sleepy Hollow destroyed by fire. |
| 1957 | Hidden Valley (Upper Brookside) School opens. |
| 1960 | Contract awarded in January to demolish old Northwestern Pacific powerhouse building at the Hub. |
| 1961 | San Anselmo Fire Station No. 2 opens in February. |
| 1963 | Town’s historic train station razed. |
| 1965 | San Domenico moves to new Sleepy Hollow campus. |
| 1965 | City Council opposes U.S. Army Engineers proposed flood control plan to put concrete ditch through San Anselmo. |
| 1965 | City acquires 62 acre Sorich Ranch in October. |
| 1966 | Red Hill Middle School opens. |
| 1967 | Four apartment buildings collapse in slide on Red Hill during heavy rains in January. |
| 1967 | Grand opening of Red Hill Shopping Center on June 28. |
| 1973 | Gift of fourteen acres of open space for park given to city by Fredrick Faude. |
| 1974 | Fire destroys Robson Estate carriage house. |
| 1979 | Town Hall’s renovation completed and building is dedicated. Robson Harrington House refurbished for public use. |
| 1982 | A flood caused by a combination of heavy storms and high tides brings disastrous results. |
| 1982 | San Anselmo and Fairfax Fire Departments merge. |
| 1984 | San Anselmo and Fairfax School Districts merge. |
| 1987 | San Anselmo celebrates its 80th birthday. |
| 2000 | A “community build” erects Millennium Playground |
| 2005 | Another disastrous flood |
| 2007 | San Anselmo celebrates its 100th birthday |
| 2015 | San Anselmo Public Library celebrates its 100th birthday |
Preserving and sharing our town's unique history