Cradled by San Andreas Lake on the west and the San Francisco Bay on the east, Millbrae was originally home to the Ohlone tribe, whose diet was based largely on shellfish and who used coastal reeds to construct their canoes, teepees and baskets.

In 1834, when José Antonio Sánchez, a Spanish officer stationed at The Presidio, retired he received a grant of 14,639 acres from the Mexican governor. The property, called Rancho Buri Buri, extended from modern day South San Francisco to Adeline Drive in Burlingame, and was used for both grazing and agriculture. Sánchez’ grant was honored even when Mexico ceded California to the United States in 1848 and when he died, the property was divided among his ten children.

Eventually the heirs of Rancho Buri Buri were forced to sell their portions to pay for property taxes and legal fees, and that is how California’s wealthiest citizen, Darius Ogden Mills, was able to purchase 1,500 acres for his country estate. The Mills Estate was bordered by what is now Skyline Boulevard and U.S. Route 101, and it came to be called "Millbrae," which is a combination of "Mills" and the Scottish word "brae," which means "rolling hills.” 

The dairy that Mills and his partner built on the land was Millbrae’s only industry for several decades and was followed by other small businesses, a large ceramics company and eventually housing developments to serve the growing population.  After his death in 1910, his heirs continued to work Millbrae estate and for a while, during World War II, it was also used as a rest and recovery facility for wounded seamen. 

The city was finally incorporated in 1948 after a decade of heated discussion and eight years later the Mill’s mansion burned down. When the estate was subdivided and sold not long afterward, the Paul W. Trousdale Construction Company bought the largest portion and today it is the home of Mills High School, Spring Valley Elementary School, and Peninsula Hospital. 

Almost a century after Mills bought his property from the Sánchez family, the town economy was still based on dairy, agriculture and porcelain. Today, Millbrae is home to a variety of flourishing local businesses and also connected to tech and other large industries nearby. It’s the perfect location for families that want to work in San Francisco, only 16 miles to the north, and also want to live in a charming, smaller town community characterized by cafes, parks and exceptional schools. 

Once a simple dairy estate, Millbrae now boasts the largest intermodal station west of the Mississippi, providing access to BART, Caltrain, SamTrans and future High Speed Rail. Millbrae’s proximity to both San Francisco, and Silicon Valley as well as universities like Stanford and UC Berkeley, is one of the reasons for its unusually high median and household income. 

Millbrae is characterized by vibrant community life, including art and culture festivals, a farmer’s market and live music. Green spaces include 12 parks, multiple bike paths and a community garden. Green Hills Country Club, built in 1929 by famed architect, Dr. Alister MacKenzie, is a lush, green expanse in the heart of town and is home to natural, over-ground creeks and local wildlife.