How Millbrae got its name

Millbrae may be home to more than 20,000 people today, but some may not know that Darius Ogden Mills originally gave the town its name.

Mills was born in North Salem, N.Y. on September 25, 1825.

At the start of his career, Mills worked as a banker and retailer. He later became founder of the Bank of California in 1864.

Though standing strong in the mid 1800s, Bank of California encountered financial problems created in part by William Chapman Ralston, the institution's chief cashier at the time. Mills contributed money from his own fortune to save the bank and it re-established itself three years later.

Mills married Jane Templeton Cunningham in 1882. Together they had a son, Ogden, and a daughter, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth later married Whitelaw Reid, who served as US Ambassador to France and Great Britian and was the 1892 GOP vice presidential nominee.

In the 1860s, Mills bought a portion of Rancho Buri Buri to build his home, calling it Millbrae. In addition to using his last name, he also added the Scottish word for rolling hills, brae. 

Land surrounding Mills' 150 acre estate also received the Millbrae name. 

Mills retired from the banking idustry and returned to his childhood home in New York, where he engaged in a number of building developments.  

Moving back to Millbrae in 1910, Mills died of a heart attack on January 3. His body was buried at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.

In honor of Mills, several local institutions were named after him, including Mills Hospital and Mills High School.