Vignette > Lion Hill

Lion Hill 1903 – click to enlarge

Thaddeus and Ludmilla Welch were famous landscape artists.  In 1896, they built a snug cottage on Webb Creek near the bottom of Steep Ravine. They painted scenes of Mount Tamalpais, the spit at Stinson Beach, Bolinas Bay, Steep Ravine itself and many other scenes near Mt. Tam.  In 1902 they moved to a cottage in San Geronimo Valley where they would have easier access to San Francisco via the railroad, as well as a better climate.  In 1903, Thaddeus produced a painting titled “Springtime, Lion Hill, Millwood”. He positioned himself where Whole Foods is today on Miller Ave.  In the foreground are ranch buildings that survived the fire of 1900 that destroyed “The Homestead” ranch headquarters. In the background is Lion Hill. In his 1988 book, “On Foot in Homestead”, Matthew Davis named the 858 ft. hill “Homestead Hill”.  The hill appears in the background of a 1973 photo of the Chevron station on Miller Ave. Ludmilla Welch also painted a picture of Lion Hill.  It is displayed in the History Room of the Mill Valley Library.

Homestead Hill 1973 – click to enlarge