Millbrae's History

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Millbrae’s History

Millbrae was once home to Native Americans known as the Ohlone Indians. These peace-loving people subsisted on shellfish from the San Francisco Bay. Shell mounds from the bay gave evidence of their principle source of food, although they did hunt deer, rabbit and bear in the hills of Millbrae. Mortar and pestles were found in the hills as late as the 1950’s.

When the Ohlone lived here, the bay extended up to the area where the El Camino Real now runs. They built their teepees and canoes from reeds gathered from the marshes. They also wove their baskets from these reeds and gathered acorns from the oak trees on the hillsides from which they made their meal for bread.

In the early 1800’s a man named José Antonio Sanchez joined the Spanish army and patrolled the area from San Francisco to San Jose. In 1822, Mexico took control of the area. José continued his military service until 1834 when he retired, with pay and a land grant for Rancho Buri Buri. The ranch extended from South San Francisco to the Adeline Drive area in what is now Burlingame.

A small portion of Rancho Buri Buri was later sold to Darius Ogden (D.O.) Mills, a gold rush entrepreneur and the man for whom
Millbrae is named. He combined part of his last name “Mill” with the Scottish word “brae”, which meant rolling hills, and together they formed the word “Millbrae”.

Records show that when Mills, who was also the founder of the Bank of California, built his dairy on El Camino Real, he hired
Chinese laborers to fill portions of the marshlands from the bay up to the El Camino Real. For a time, the dairy that Mills established was the primary source of employment in Millbrae. In the early 1900’s, small businesses, a porcelain factory, and construction companies became the primary employers in Millbrae.

A major turning point in the city’s history came in 1926 when the City of San Francisco decided to establish an airport on the land east of Millbrae. In fact, the airport was originally called Mills Field. The airport brought new attention – and jobs – to Millbrae; however, the community remained an unincorporated area of San
Mateo County.

Finally, on January 14, 1948 after a decade of heated discussions about incorporation, members of the Millbrae City Council-elect drove to Sacramento where the Secretary of State handed them a certificate giving Millbrae legal entity as a California city. The City of Millbrae celebrated its 60th Anniversary in January 2008.

You can learn more about Millbrae’s history by visiting the
Millbrae Historical Museum, located at Constitution Plaza (across from the Millbrae Library). This very special museum, housed in a turn-of-the-century building, offers visitors a wonderful glimpse of furnishings, clothing, documents, photographs and books through the years. The museum is open on Saturdays from 12-4 p.m.
For more information call 692-5786.