The
privacy gained by lots of at least one acre, winding streets with
mature trees, gracious mansions set well back from the curbless streets
-- this is Atherton today.
Once part of a Spanish rancho, the town was incorporated in 1923. One of
its first rules was to assure that lots would not be subdivided into
parcels smaller than an acre. With a few exceptions -- primarily former
San Mateo County streets acquired through annexation -- that is still
the rule today.
A few of the early homes remain, including three built by Timothy
Hopkins for his daughters between 1901 and 1908 on Parkwood Drive,
Altree Court and Lowery Drive.