Stinson Beach, California
Stinson Beach is a census-designated place (CDP) in Marin County, California, United States. The population was 305 at the 2000 census.
Stinson Beach is the first inhabited point on the Pacific coast of Marin County that is reached when travelling north on California's Highway 1 from the Golden Gate Bridge out of San Francisco. It is the nearest coastal town to important attractions such as Muir Woods National Monument, Muir Beach, and Mount Tamalpais. It has a long beach with good opportunities for surfing. It is not surprising, therefore, that Stinson Beach is a very popular resort for people from the San Francisco Bay Area and for tourists visiting northern California. Although most visitors arrive by private car, Stinson Beach is linked to Marin City by a regular bus service, and the network of hiking trails around Mount Tamalpais also reaches the town.
History
In 1870, the first road was built along the Pacific coast from Sausalito, California, and a tent settlement sprang up amongst the willow trees at the beach, which gave rise to the town's original name, Willow Camp. The Mill Valley and Mt. Tamalpais Scenic Railroad opened in 1896, making Willow Camp more accessable. Visitors could ride the train to West Point Inn and then hike or arrange a stagecoach to take them to the beach. In 1906, refugees from the San Francisco earthquake came to the area and built some of the area's first businesses. Stinson Beach became the official town name in 1916, in honor of the largest landowners, Rose and Nathan Stinson.
In 1939, the beach was sold to the Marin County, was transferred to the State of California in 1950, and was eventually transferred to the National Park Service in 1977.
Geography
Stinson Beach is located at 37°54′9″N 122°38′44″W / 37.90250°N 122.64556°WInvalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (37.902620, -122.645440)Template:GR.
Stinson Beach is east of Bolinas, California.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.8 km² (1.1 mi²). 2.7 km² (1.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (1.87%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 305 people, 374 households, and 178 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 273.5/km² (711.7/mi²). There were 693 housing units at an average density of 252.4/km² (656.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.87% White, 0.27% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.93% from other races, and 2.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.60% of the population.
There were 374 households out of which 18.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% were married couples living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 52.4% were non-families. 42.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.98 and the average family size was 2.75.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 16.9% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 39.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $87,679, and the median income for a family was $105,827. Males had a median income of $58,750 versus $56,875 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $62,452. About 3.8% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under the age of eighteen and 10.4% of those sixty five or over.
Annual Events
Every summer, the town hosts an annual outdoor Shakespeare festival on the beach (see http://www.shakespeareatstinson.org).
On the second Sunday of June, the town serves as the ending point for the annual running of the Dipsea Race.
Popular Media
Stinson Beach has been the setting and filming location for several movies:
The town was mentioned in an episode of M*A*S*H.
External links
Template:Geolinks-US-cityscale
Municipalities and communities of Marin County, California, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities and towns |  | |
| CDPs | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Former settlements | ||