Cultural History
The name Tamalpais was first recorded in 1845. The meaning of the name is not well-established and there are several versions of the etymology of the name. One version holds that the name comes from ostensibly Coast Miwok words for "coast mountain" (tamal pais). Another holds that it comes from the Spanish Tamal pais, meaning "Tamal country," Tamal being the name that the Spanish missionaries gave to the Coast Miwok peoples. Yet another version holds that the name is the Coast Miwok word for "sleeping maiden" and is taken from a "Legend of the Sleeping Maiden." However, this legend actually has no basis in Coast Miwok myth and is instead a piece of Victorian-era apocrypha.
The Coast Miwok are said to have believed that an evil witch dwelled at the top of Mount Tamalpais and therefore never set foot on the peak. However, it has been said the Miwoks did this in order to keep settlers off the sacred mountain.
Tamalpais was home to the Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway, also known as "The Crookedest Railroad in the World," a railroad which meandered its way up to the peak from downtown Mill Valley until a road was constructed to the peak, and automobiles gained popularity. The 8-mile standard-gauge railroad required geared steam locomotives and operated from 1896 to 1930.
Early wireless towers were constructed on the mountain in the early 20th century, only to be destroyed by one of the periodic hurricane-force windstorms.
The U.S. Weather Bureau operated a weather station at the site of the now defunct Mill Valley Air Force Station for many years.
The peak and its surrounding areas are the birthplace of mountain biking in the 1970s, where early mountain bikers such as Gary Fisher, Charlie Kelly, and Joe Breeze were active.
British philosopher Alan Watts owned a Cabin on Mount Tamalpais later in his life, where he ultimately died in his sleep of heart failure on November 16, 1973 .
In 1979 and 1980, Mount Tamalpais was the scene of a series of murders of hikers carried out by serial killer David Carpenter, also known as the "Trailside Killer."
Read more about this topic: Mount Tamalpais
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