Contra Costa County Historical Society

The Contra Costa County Historical Society's History Center is located at:

724 Escobar St.
Martinez, CA
Phone: 925-229-1042

Our normal hours of operation are:

• Tuesdays, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
• Wednesdays, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
• Thursdays, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
• 3rd Saturday of the month, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

From time to time, we may be open for special events, such as exhibit open houses, or if there is an event in downtown Martinez.

Remember, we are staffed largely by volunteers, so we may not always be open the entire time. To be sure we are open, please call ahead. We are also available via email at "info@cocohistory.com".

Come see the Contra Costa County Historical Society's current exhibit, Justice and Judges: The History of the Law in Contra Costa County. The exhibit is in honor of Judge Richard Arnason and features artifacts and court documents that belonged to him, as well as a brief history of the Judicial system as it has evolved in Contra Costa County.

The exhibit is open to the public during our open hours, Tuesday-Thursday from 9AM to 4PM, as well as the third Saturday of each month from 10AM to 2PM.

The Society recently received a substantial donation from the Contra Costa County Superior Court. The donation consists of artifacts and court documents that once belonged to Judge Richard Arnason, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 94. Judge Arnason served as a Superior Court Judge for 49 years, longer than any judge in the history of the county.

He was also the judge in the Angela Davis trial, in 1972, arguably one of the most significant (for both legal and political reasons) cases of the latter 20th century.

The donation was received from Judge Barry Goode, who suggested that an exhibit honoring Judge Arnason would be welcomed. The Society's Executive Director also saw the potential for using the materials to educate the citizens of Contra Costa County, and thus, an exhibit was born.

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On November 2, 2015, the Contra Costa County Historical Society was chosen to be the non-profit "partner" for that night's lecture in the "Newsmakers: Lesher Speaker Series" held at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek. In addition to a generous donation of event tickets to the society, media sponsor KTVU Channel 2 sent a video crew to the Center to make a video highlighting some of our accomplishments. The 2 1/2 minute video was screened to the audience at the event, and a copy of the finished product was given to the Society to use as it sees fit. You may see the video shown that night by clicking on this link.

Looking for a gift for that hard-to-buy for history buff? The History Center offers a wide variety of books, photographs and services that they will just love. A membership in the Contra Costa County Historical Society makes a great gift too. For details on Society membership, whether for yourself or as a gift, please click here.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Board Member Steve James, producer/volunteer Santiago Chen and many other volunteers at the Center, the Contra Costa County Historical Society has released a YouTube video showing the many facets and facilities available to the public at our History Center in Martinez. If you wish to see the video, click on this link.

While cleaning up the map room recently, we came across a number of duplicate copies of our topographical county maps, along with a few that were from outside the county. We are making them available for sale, but please note that the quantities are quite limited and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. For information on what maps available, please click on this link.

CCCHS Past President and Curator of the San Ramon Valley Museum Beverly Lane has extended the great photos and research from our wildly successful exhibit on Electric Trains in Contra Costa County in 2012 into a booklet that the Society is proud to make available to the public. Click here to get more information on the booklet and how to purchase your own copy.

Click here to see a list of the Society's charter members.

You can also see a list of the Society's presidents from 1951 to the present by clicking here.

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The Contra Costa County Historical Society's mission is to preserve for the benefit of the people of our County, the relics of our past. We are using the World Wide Web in order to give more of us access to the wonderful stories of the people who lived in our County, so many years ago. The Society hopes that these Web pages will bring the people of Contra Costa's present, closer to those who lived, worked and died in our County and who are, our History.

The current officers and board of directors of the Contra Costa Historical Society are: