Vignette > Fernwood

Residents of Mill Valley live either in the city or in one of six unincorporated communities: Alto, Strawberry, Tamalpais Valley, Almonte, Homestead Valley, Muir Woods Park. They all have the same zip code, 94941. They are all in the Mill Valley School District. Interesting sites exist outside the city limits in 94941.  One example is the cemetery in Tamalpais Valley on Tennessee Valley Road. Fernwood consists of thirty-two acres of forest and grassland. It is home to the remains of over two thousand. In the 1880s, the Sausalito Cemetery had reached its capacity. Having an urgent need for more burial space, residents purchased property on Coyote Creek in Coyote Hollow (now Tamalpais Valley). The first burial was in 1891. The name “Fernwood” was not applied until 1903. The cemetery association was reincorporated in 1929.  By 1950 the grounds were terribly neglected. Not until 1972, when the Daphne family purchased the cemetery, did any real improvements begin—a crematorium was erected. In 2004, Forever Enterprises and Memorial Ecosystems purchased Fernwood and developed it as a “green” cemetery with four fulltime groundskeepers. Walking through Forever Fernwood today is a pleasure. Famous residents include Lucretia Hanson Little, Mill Valley’s unofficial historian. The Portuguese Trail passes the graves of local dairy farmers who emigrated from the Azores.