more history
Mar 24, 2011 | 0 
| 6 
| 
| 6 |
George Gambel became mayor of Brentwood in 1970. Before that, he attended the first Excelsior School, located at the corner of Marsh Creek Road and Highway 4. George forwards this picture, which he...
Mar 16, 2011 | 0 | 15 |
| 15 |
Traditionally, the mayor reads proclamations at Oakley City Council meetings, but Mayor Jim Frazier returned the duty to three-time Mayor Pat Anderson for the reading of the Women’s History Month p...
Mar 10, 2011 | 0 | 8 |
| 8 |
The East Contra Costa Historical Society is looking for people interested in local history to become museum docents. No experience is necessary, and membership is not required. One session of docen...
Mar 02, 2011 | 0 | 9 |
| 9 |
Some say high school was the best four years of their lives while others are content leaving the past in the past, abandoning outdated lingo or bad hair styles in the history books. But if you were...
Feb 17, 2011 | 0 | 8 |
| 8 |
This month’s History Mystery postcard is an unsent, real photo postcard (RPP), gelatin (silver) print, divided back card featuring a team of four horses pulling what appears to be a grain wagon.
Fo...
Feb 10, 2011 | 0 | 10 |
| 10 |
Discovery Bay resident Virgil Koehne solved last month’s History Mystery by correctly identifying the images in an old postcard.
Koehne, the Discovery Bay water and wastewater manager, and his coll...
Jan 20, 2011 | 0 | 10 |
| 10 |
While historian Carol Jensen owns a vast collection of historical postcards, she’s looking to add to it, and she needs your help.
Jensen’s collection features images of old Brentwood, Oakley and Kn...
Jan 05, 2011 | 0 | 12 |
| 12 |
Thanks to the help of Press reader Ray Parkins, local historian Carol Jensen has identified Bethel Island’s History Mystery fisherman as William “Bill” E. Schaadt.
December’s History Mystery featur...
Jan 04, 2011 | 0 | 7 |
| 7 |
Longtime Antioch historian Charlie Bohakel has studied this area extensively for most of his life. He can picture when the Antioch Lumber Company was a bustling major employer, identify when the ci...
Dec 23, 2010 | 0 | 6 |
| 6 |
Brentwood’s downtown enhancement project currently underway will take a year to complete, but once it’s finished, the city’s historical district is expected to be transformed into a vibrant, pedest...
Dec 09, 2010 | 0 | 8 |
| 8 |
For the December History Mystery, historian Carol Jensen is asking Press readers to help identify the man in this postcard from the 1950s.
Jensen has no information other than what’s printed on the...
Dec 01, 2010 | 0 | 14 |
| 14 |
New information about Knightsen’s history has been revealed as a result of November’s History Mystery contest, but the winner isn’t from East County. Ed Kreyenhagen, a resident of Coalinga, was abl...
Nov 25, 2010 | 0 | 12 |
| 12 |
Antioch historian and lifelong resident Elizabeth Rimbault is working to correct what she feels has been a long-overlooked mistake.
When William Wiggin Smith founded Antioch in 1851, he staked out ...
Nov 18, 2010 | 0 | 25 |
| 25 |
Byron’s historic Taylor Ranch, home to four generations of the Taylor-Cross family, is now on the housing market, and for a cool $1.89 million, it could be yours.
The Tim Abney Estate currently own...
Nov 18, 2010 | 1 | 19 |
| 19 |
This month’s History Mystery historical postcard was sent from Knightsen to Oakland in 1910 and saved as one of more than 800 postcards in a collection found by local resident John Gonzales in the ...
Nov 18, 2010 | 0 | 6 |
| 6 |
The Antioch Historical Society Museum got an early Christmas present this week with the arrival of the first copies of the restored diary of Antioch founder William Wiggin (W.W.) Smith. The origina...
Nov 11, 2010 | 0 | 10 |
| 10 |
State and local park officials have drafted a general plan for a state historic park south of Brentwood, but funding problems could make it hard for the park to open anytime soon.
The area for the ...
Nov 02, 2010 | 0 | 12 |
| 12 |
No one was able to identify the photographer or the people sitting on the porch in the Press’ October History Mystery.
The closest guess to identifying the photographer came from retired LIFE Magaz...
Oct 28, 2010 | 0 | 8 |
| 8 |
A preliminary General Plan and draft Environmental Impact Report for the John Marsh State Historic Park will be reviewed during a workshop on Thursday, Nov. 4.
The workshop will be held from 5:30 t...
Oct 07, 2010 | 0 | 33 |
| 33 |
After a successful venture into the calendar business last year, the East Contra Costa Historical Society is now distributing its 2011 compilation of local photos, trivia and milestones.
Last year’...