LVHA History

The Lucas Valley Homeowners Association traces its origins to famed California modern builder Joseph Eichler, who developed 435 Eichler homes in Upper Lucas Valley from 1963-1967. Other builders, including the American Housing Guild, built an additional 103 homes. The open space next to the development was purchased by LVHA and donated to the county, dedicated as open space in perpetuity. See The Eichlers of Lucas Valley from The Eichler Network Magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

• The Native American Coast Miwok lived throughout the Santa Margarita (Las Gallinas) valley.
  • In 1817, Spanish missionaries established Mission San Rafael as a hospital.
• In 1844, a Mexican Land Grant (rancho) of 21,679 acres in what is now known as Santa Margarita & Las Gallinas was given to Timothy (Don Timoteo Murphy) Murphy, the administrator of Mission San Rafael. Murphy, a Catholic, baptized in Ireland, became a naturalized Mexican citizen in 1839.
  • In 1846, James Miller purchased 680 acres of land from Timothy Murphy.
• Lucas Valley was named after John Lucas, a 19th-century rancher and nephew of Timothy Murphy, who inherited the 7,600-acres that include Lucas Valley.
• In 1880, Marin County’s Board of Supervisors voted to establish a county farm to house and care for the ill and indigent elderly. They purchased the land from John Lucas.
• In 1898, John Lucas sold ~1,200 acres of land to Manuel T. Freitas.
• In 1922, Irish immigrant Frank Patrick Grady bought the 2,200 acre Lucas Valley Ranch and founded the Lucas Valley Dairy.
  
  • In 1936, it was estimated that in all of Marin County there were 30,000 dairy cows.
• In 1942, the Redwood Highway became Highway 101.
• In 1949, Joseph Eichler founded Eichler Homes, Inc. with a vision of creating modern homes with architecturally distinct elements for the average family.
• In 1955, Joseph Eichler started building what would eventually become about 900 homes in Terra Linda (Marinwood, Santa Venetia, and Lucas Valley), with the homes in Upper Lucas Valley being the final phase of Marin County Eichlers.