For details on Society membership or to make a donation or contribution, please click here.
You may also contact us by mail at:
610 Main Street
Martinez, California 94553
Phone: 925.229.1042
FAX : 925.229.1772
Or, you can e-mail us by clicking here
The first 2012 exhibit at the History Center traces the evolution of the electric railroad system in Contra Costa County. Beginning early in the twentieth century, electric interurban railways offered convenience and flexibility for short-distance passenger and freight travel and became the historic transportation link between steam railroads and motor vehicles.
Several electric railroads operated in the County from 1904 to 1957. Beginning in 1913, the Oakland, Antioch and Eastern Railway extended 85 miles from the Oakland pier to Sacramento. It also connected Moraga, Lafayette, Saranap, Walnut Creek, Concord and Port Chicago with branch lines to Danville, Pittsburg and Walwood.
Students regularly took the train to Mount Diablo and San Ramon Valley High Schools. Special trains were provided to Mount Diablo and to the Pan-Pacific International Exposition of 1915 in San Francisco. For several years, “The Produce Cannonball” brought fresh vegetables, fruit and fish to the Oakland Produce Market.
Beginning in 1904, the Eastshore & Suburban trolley system provided vital community transportation for people and industry in Richmond and environs. Soon absorbed into the Key System, it included branches to Point Richmond and Alvarado Park. From 1942-1945, the Kaiser Shipyard (electric) Railway delivered workers from all over the East Bay to Richmond’s shipyards during World War II.
In 1928, The Sacramento Northern Railway (SN) merged the Northern Electric and Oakland, Antioch & Eastern Railways and ran trains from Oakland, through Contra Costa County to Sacramento and Chico. The Sacramento Northern became the longest main line electric railway in the United States, providing service from the Oakland pier to Chico for 177 miles. Passenger service ended in 1941 and freight service in 1957.
Today the Bay Area Rapid Transit system and the Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail. travel on part of the Sacramento Northern’s original right-of-way. And, for many people who rode and studied the SN, it is gone but not forgotten.
The Before BART exhibit will be open from Tuesday, January 17 to June 28, 2012. The public is invited to an opening reception on Saturday, January 21 from 1-4 pm. Contra Costa County Historical Society's History Center is located at 610 Main St. in Martinez, CA, and is open every Tues-Thurs from 9AM-4PM and the 3rd Saturday of each month from 10AM-2PM. For information, e-mail us at: info@cocohistory.com
Stuart Swiedler has built and maintains a valuable web site focused on the Sacramento Northern Railway. It provides information and images featuring this railroad from west to east and adds new information regularly. View the site at www.eastbayhillsproject.org.
Located in their own building at Larkey Park in Walnut Creek since 1974, the Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society operates the "Diablo Valley Lines", over 4,000 feet of hand-laid track at HO gauge, representing over 25 miles of prototype railroad. Simultaneous action on this famous layout - one of the largest in the country - includes city street trolleys, interurban cars, and local transit buses, plus as many as 10 mainline diesel and steam-hauled trains, each routed to a unique destination by the Dispatcher, with an Engineer operating each train, just as in real life. A feature of the system is a reconstructed car ferry "Ramon" and its yard at Mallard in Bay Point. The "Ramon" carried Sacramento Northern electric trains across the San Joaquin River from Mallard to a terminal in Solano, part of SN's service to Chico in the far north.
Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society
2751 Buena Vista Ave.
Walnut Creek, CA 94597
925-937-1888
Website: www.wcmrs.org
Effective immediately, all books will be shipped using USPS 1st class postage at a flat fee as follows:
Please note that these new shipping charges override any shipping noted on the individual book pages on this site. We are working on correcting the pages as quickly as we can!
The Contra Costa County Historical Society's History Center is located at 610 Main St. in Martinez. Our normal hours of operation are:
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 at (925) 229-1042.
"Be it resolved that such an organization shall be known as
The Contra Costa County Historical Society."
April, 1951
You can also see a list of the Society's presidents from 1951 to the present by clicking here.
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:
| Officer | Name | Home Town | Term Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Beverly Lane | Danville | 12/31/2013 |
| 1st Vice President | Melissa Jacobson | Lafayette | 12/31/2013 |
| 2nd Vice President | John Burgh | Concord | 12/31/2014 |
| Secretary | Webb Johnson | Walnut Creek | 12/31/2012 |
| Treasurer | - open - | - | - |
| Director | Harriett Burt | Martinez | 12/31/2012 |
| Director | Mary-Ellen Jones | Orinda | 12/31/2012 |
| Director | Paula Wherity | Antioch | 12/31/2012 |
| Director | John Mercurio | Concord | 12/31/2012 |
| Director | Donald Bastin | El Sobrante | 12/31/2013 |
| Director | Kathy Leighton | Byron | 12/31/2013 |
| Director | Traci Parent | Danville | 12/31/2013 |
| Director | Andrea Blachman | Martinez | 12/31/2014 |
| Director | Steve James | El Sobrante | 12/31/2014 |
| Director | Scott Saftler | Walnut Creek | 12/31/2014 |
| Director Emeritus | Betty Maffei | Walnut Creek | --- |
For our location please see map.