Residents of San Francisco, the East Bay, and the adjacent town of Port Chicago were jolted awake by a massive explosion that cracked windows and lit up the sky when ammunitions being loaded into two ships accidentally detonated. Everyone within 1,000 feet of the loading dock perished including 300 men, the majority of whom […]
Please Join us for our Annual Meeting, Potluck and Historical Presentation
When it opened in 2010, the overall goal of the Oakland Museum of California’s history gallery, called Coming to California, was to provide a new type of public space within the Museum—an inclusive place of inquiry, reflection, and public conversation about the history of California, with room for ongoing contributions by OMCA’s communities over time. Many “permanent” […]
President’s Message
Many thanks to those of you who have renewed your memberships….to paraphrase Blanche in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” the Historical Society is “dependant on the kindness of our friends.” I hope that you are receiving our newsletters and program announcements and will take full advantage of what we offer to our members. And please let […]
It Was Fifty Years Ago Today….Taxes and Traffic and Schools, Oh My….
This being the month we annually dance with the IRS, we thought you’d be interested in the tax situation in the county half a century ago. The State Board of Equalization issued a press release on taxation results for fiscal 1963-64, which noted that assessed property valuation in Contra Costa County was $1,042,992,000, making the […]
What’s in the works for Summer Programs from LHS
Save Wednesday, July 2 at 2:30 for a commemoration of the July 17, 1944 Port Chicago explosion. Wayne Korsinen, local World War II Historian and Isabel Jenkins Ziegler, Supervisory Museum Curator at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine NM will provide historic and current perspectives on this significant local disaster. Nilda Rego, Contra Costa Historian and author […]
Those Trees!
Remember in January we asked you if you knew where the trees that had been in front of the temporary Post Office were now? Helene Kremer had an idea, but it wasn’t correct. Those trees have grown up in the back of the Springhill School playground! And are still shading generations of Lafayette kids today!
Please join us for Lafayette Historical Society’s First Speaker Series Presentation of 2014!
Come listen to Steve Minniear speak about sailors, Seabees, and the stories behind all those old buildings you used to see in and around the Interstate 580/680 intersection. Between 1942 and 1946 over 300,000 sailors lived, worked, trained, and transited through what is now Dublin, California. Camp Parks, Camp Shoemaker and Shoemaker Naval Hospital played […]
President’s Message
As we gaze at 2013 in a rearview mirror, we look forward to an exciting New Year in 2014. As you may recall, we experimented with the days and times of our Speaker Series events last year. Each of the programs was very successful, and different folks were able to make each of the talks, […]
Eagle Scout Creates Lafayette Historical Walking Tour iPhone App
Acalanes High School junior Marc Davis, a member of Troop 204 of Lafayette, recently completed a unique Eagle Project. Recalling his memorable docent-led walking tour of Lafayette in third grade, a rite of passage for all Lafayette third graders, Marc decided to make that experience available to all residents of Lafayette through his passion for […]
Do These Trees Look Familiar?
Long time resident, Sue Cross brought this interesting bit of Lafayette history to our attention! In 1978 the temporary Lafayette Post Office was located in a trailer while the new (and current) Post Office building was under construction. In order to soften the look of the trailer four large pots with little trees were placed […]
