Map of Ross town, California

Ross is a small incorporated town in Marin County, California, United States, just north of San Francisco. Ross is located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west-southwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of 36 feet (11 m). The population was 2,338 at the 2020 census. The town is bordered by San Rafael to the east, Kentfield to the south, San Anselmo to the north, and the Mount Tamalpais protected watershed to the west.

Ross is named in honor of James Ross, who acquired Rancho Punta de Quentin in 1859.

Ross town overview:
Name:	Ross town
LSAD Code:	43
LSAD Description:	town (suffix)
State:	California
County:	Marin County
Incorporated:	August 21, 1908
Elevation:	36 ft (11 m)
Total Area:	1.56 sq mi (4.0 km²)
Land Area:	1.56 sq mi (4.0 km²)
Water Area:	0.00 sq mi (0.0 km²) 0%
Total Population:	2,338
Population Density:	1,500.6/sq mi (579.4/km²)
ZIP code:	94957
FIPS code:	0662980
GNISfeature ID:	0277587
Website:	www.townofross.org

Online Interactive Map

Click on to view map in "full screen" mode.

Ross online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Ross location map. Where is Ross town?

Ross location on the U.S. Map. Where is Ross town. — Ross location on the U.S. Map.

Ross location on the California map. Where is Ross town. — Location of Ross in 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 8,877-acre (3,592 ha) 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 acres (120 ha) comprises the present-day Town of Ross.

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