Belmont

In 1864, William Chapman Ralston, one of the Silver kings and a founder of the Bank of California, purchased a large ranch in Belmont and built the first ranch house.  He went on to build a huge mansion, which is still standing today as part of Notre Dame du Muir University, and has been completely restored.

The town grew slowly until after WWII.  Chrysanthemums were grown in the hills at that time.  By 1950, the town had about 5000 residents.  By 1960 the population had grown to over 16,000 and kept growing until available land for building was used up.

Belmont, whose name means Beautiful Mountain, today has a population of 25,835 people according to the 2010 US Census.  With schools ranking high, and residents willing to pass bond measures to sustain good schools, it’s a family friendly place to live.

Home prices until recently were a little less than surrounding communities, but that changed when people discovered this hidden gem .  Prices jumped and are staying high.  Many homes command beautiful views of the San Francisco bay, north up to San Francisco or south down towards San Jose.

Belmont rises from the flatlands near US 101 to the steep hills just below highway 280, where you see sage and chaparral growing and deer wandering around.  Homes with views command much higher prices than those without and the narrow streets hugging the hills keep traffic down and quiet the norm.

The downtown is small with a few shops and restaurants.  There is a shopping center up Ralston Road at the Alameda de las Pulgas called Carlmont Center with major shopping there.  Belmont has sixteen parks and playgrounds, including one surrounding Waterdog Lake.  During the summer, free concerts are held on Sunday afternoons at Twin Pines Park.

Belmont is an easy commute to either San Francisco or Silicon Valley.  The weather is moderate.  There is a canyon in the city originally known as “La Canada del Diablo” or Devil’s Canyon. Spanish missionaries decided the name was inappropriate, so they rechristened it, “Canada de San Augustine” in the 1780’s.  It now has many homes sitting along the sides of the canyon walls.