An inquiring Lafayette resident recently dropped into the historical society with the closest we’ve ever gotten to an aquatic engineering question: when was the Weir at the end of 4th Street built and why? Luckily for our curious visitor, the weir at 4th street not only has a story, it has a partner at Victoria Court. Weirs, which are a […]
Pleasant Hill Annexed to Lafayette!
The dirty deed actually happened on November 24, 1980. Thirty-one years ago. And Pleasant Hill has been part of Lafayette ever since. Don’t believe it? City Resolution Number 40-80. Look it up. The story begins back in 1821, coincidentally the same year Mexico declared her independence from Spain. A British ship named Lady Blackwood slipped into Bodega Bay, which was, of course, Mexican territory at the […]
Meet Our Board and Volunteers
Nancy Flood, Board Member Nancy is a local gal having grown up in Lafayette. She attended Lafayette Elementary School and Acalanes before receiving her college degree and teaching credential from San Francisco State. Before her retirement she taught Kindergarten at Burton School and Montecito School (both now closed) and then at Springhill School until her retirement. Nancy is from two local historical families, the Lamps and the Floods. The Lamps arrived from Germany […]
July 18, 2012 — Historical Railroad Expert Stephen Drew (Speaker Series)
Mr. Drew will trace the history of one of America’s richest short line railroads which operated between Reno, Carson City, and the Nevada Comstock Lode at Virginia City. After 80 years of operation, the last train ran on May 31, 1950. But in 1976, Orinda resident Robert C. Gray began bringing the Bonanza Railroad “back […]
Using The Lafayette Sun
One of the greatest resources the Lafayette Historical Society possesses is it’s collection of back issues of the Lafayette Sun. There are a few missing years, but for the most part, we have all the papers from the late 1930’s till they became the Contra Costa Sun in 1980. Expect to do a little digging […]
LHS Annual Potluck Dinner — Imagining History’s Lost Voices: the Women of the Gold Rush
“In the small settlement of the Motherlode, a group of disparate characters have set up a community, held together by the formidable Emaline, hostess of the Wayside Inn. It is there that Alex, on the run from something and disguised as a teenage boy, finds refuge. But once she strikes gold, buried secrets are revealed […]
Downtown Lafayette – Then & Now (Speaker Series and Walking Tour)
Two events for Lafayette Historical Society Supporters in April! Are you smarter then a third grader? Now is the time to find out! And if you are not, you will be at the end of this exceptional pair of informative and fun events from the Lafayette Historical Society in April. Mark your calendars now and […]
100th Anniversary of Lafayette Improvement Association Photos
100th Anniversary of Lafayette Improvement Association (Library display from November 2011)
Marquis de La Fayette Display In Library
LHS currently has the display shown above on the Marquis de La Fayette. It tries to answer the question: Who was the Marquis de La Fayette and why are we named after him? After you enter the library, walk forward past the media shelves and you will see the display over on the far […]
Lafayette Recreation Photos
Lafayette Recreation (Library display from Fall 2011)
