Duncans Mills (or Duncan's Mills) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

located in Sonoma County, California.

History

Duncans Mills was once part of the Rancho Muniz Mexican land grant. In 1877, Alexander Duncan established a sawmill in what is today Duncans Mills. The mills sent lumber to the growing city of San Francisco. The town was founded in the 1870s. It featured two hotels, a general store, a saloon, a meat market, blacksmith, livery stable, and a notion shop. Starting in the 1870s, the narrow-gauge

North Pacific Coast Railroad The North Pacific Coast Railroad (NPC) was a common carrier narrow-gauge steam railroad begun in 1874 and sold in 1902 to new owners who renamed it the North Shore Railroad (California) (NSR) and which rebuilt the southern section into a standa ...

ran through Duncans Mills on its way from

Cazadero, California Cazadero (Spanish for "hunting ground") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in western Sonoma County, California, United States with a population of 354 in 2010. The downtown of Cazadero consists of two churches, a ...

, to

Sausalito Sausalito (Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge. Sausalito's ...

. After being sold several times, the railroad ceased operation in the 1930s. The town slowly faded, until a 1976 restoration project, associated with the celebration of the

U.S. Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...

, brought about a period of building restoration and business re-vitalization. Today, Duncans Mills resembles the way it was originally built. It has an authentic

Depot and several original cars from the old railroad line. A California State Park Sector Office is located in a building constructed to look like an original fixture of the town, but was actually part of the 1976 revitalization. The Blue Heron Restaurant has served as the destination entertainment center of the town for decades.

Geography

Duncans Mills is located on the Russian River about from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

. It straddles State Route 116.

Climate

The record high was 113 °F (45 °C) on July 14, 1972, and the record low was 14 °F (−10 °C) on December 23, 1990.

Demographics

According to the 2000 census, about 175 people live in Duncans Mills. There are around 42 family households and 31 non-family households. Each household has an average of 2–3 people. In Duncans Mills, there are 129 houses; 56 of them are vacant and 52 of them are of seasonal, recreational, or occasional use.

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20070106151720/http://visitormags.com/sonoma/features/duncans_mills_story.html * http://www.inn-california.com/sanfrancisco/Sonoma/Jenner/duncans-mills.html * http://www.weather.com/search/partner?Keywords=DUncans+Mills+weather+averages * http://www.russianriverrodeo.org/index.html * http://www.civilwardays.net

External links

Official website
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in California Unincorporated communities in Sonoma County, California