The land where the Marin Art and Garden Center sits was part of Rancho Punta de Quentin, a 10,000-acre Mexican land grant purchased by James Ross in 1859.[3] A few years later, the property went to Ross's daughter Annie and her husband George Worn.[4] The acres that make up the current Marin Art and Garden Center were eventually owned by the Jonathan Kittle family, who put the land up for sale in 1943.[3]
The Marin Art and Garden Center was founded in 1945 by women members of the Marin Conservation League.[5][6] This project was led by the League's president, Caroline Sealy Livermore, who organized fundraising to obtain the $25,000 needed to buy the property.[3][7] The site was the location for the Marin County Fair from 1947 to 1970.[6]
The Barn Theater is the headquarters of the Ross Valley Players. The barn was built in 1860 on the farm later owned by the Kittle family. During the Great Depression, the community in Ross began using the barn as a theater. The Ross Valley Players assisted in the effort to turn the land into a garden in 1945.[10]