Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Sir Francis Drake Boulevard is an east–west arterial road in Marin County, California, running from just west of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge (where it intersects with Interstate 580) to the trailhead for Point Reyes Lighthouse at the end of the Point Reyes Peninsula. It is a main thoroughfare through the communities of Larkspur, Greenbrae, Kentfield, Ross, San Anselmo, Fairfax, Woodacre, San Geronimo, Forest Knolls, Lagunitas, Olema, Point Reyes Station, and Inverness. It is named for the English explorer Francis Drake, whose ship "The Golden Hinde" landed somewhere along the Pacific coast of North America in 1579,
Francis M. Drake Francis M. Drake Francis Marion Drake (December 30, 1830 – November 20, 1903) was an American merchant, lawyer, banker and politician. He fought in the American Civil War and later became the 16th Governor of Iowa. He is the namesake of Drake University. Drake was born in Rushville, Illinois, the son of John Adams Drake and Harriet Jane O'Neal. He later moved to Centerville, Iowa. He got a good business education, and became a merchant. He married Mary Jane Lord on December 24, 1855. They had seven children. During the California Gold Rush, he led two expeditions across the plains