The Old Mill in Mill Valley for kids
Why It's Called Mill Valley. The true story of The Old Mill in Mill Valley, near Mill Valley, CA, told for kids.
Read along
Here's a riddle. Why is our town called Mill Valley? Because of a mill! A long, long time ago, a sailor named John Reed came here from Ireland.
He built a sawmill right here by the creek, under the redwood trees. The water from the creek helped run the mill, and it cut big logs into boards to build houses. You can still visit the old mill in Old Mill Park. It's been rebuilt, so it looks just like it did long ago.
And right next to the park, there are stairs that go up, and up, and up into the hills. Almost seven hundred steps! It's the very first big climb of the Dipsea Race, one of the oldest trail races in America. Could you climb all those steps?
Quiz the back seat
Why is our town called Mill Valley?
Show the answer
Because of a sawmill. Because of John Reed's sawmill, right by the creek!
3 fun facts
- John Reed built a sawmill here in the 1830s.
- The Dipsea Race started in 1905.
- The Dipsea Steps have about 688 steps.
For grown-ups
Every Tumbly story is checked claim by claim against the sources below before it's published; stories that don't pass stay off the app and this site. Narration is pre-recorded, and nothing you do on this page is tied to your kids.
Sources
- cityofmillvalley.gov/m/newsflash/Archive/Item/1312?arcId=3798
- cityofmillvalley.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=2059&meta_id=100005
- facebook.com/groups/MillValleyKids/posts/10158833393631513
- hmdb.org/m.asp?m=91858
- tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60909-d144426-Reviews-Old_Mill_Park-Mill_Valley_Marin_County_California.html
- cityofmillvalley.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/Old-Mill-Park-18
- stairwayfreedom.weebly.com/mill-valley--sausalito/the-famous-dipsea-steps
- alltrails.com/trail/us/california/dipsea-trail-from-mill-valley-trail-head
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Town and county names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).