
Contra Costa County is a suburban list of California counties in California's San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2000 census it had a population of 948,816. The county seat is Martinez, California. ==History== ===Pre-human=== In prehistoric times, particularly the Miocene Geologic_timescale, portions of the landforms now in the area (then marshy and grassy savanna) were populated a wide range of now extinct mammals, known in modern times by the fossil remains excavated in the southern part of the county. These included pig the size of modern rhinoceros and rhinoceri the size of modern pigs. In the northern part of the county significant coal deposits were formed in even earlier Geologic timescale. Other areas of the county have ridges exposing ancient but intact (not fossilized) seashells, embedded in sandstone layers alternating with limestone. Layers of volcanic ash ejected from geologically recent but now extinct volcanos, compacted and now tilted by compressive forces may be seen at the side of some road excavations. This county is an agglomeration of several distinct ''geologic terrains'', as is most of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, which one of the most geologically complex regions in the world. The great local mountain Mount Diablo State Park has been formed and continues to be elevated by compressive forces resulting from the forces of plate tectonics and at its upper reaches exposes ancient seabed shale rock scraped from their distant sedimentation location and elevated by these great forces. ===Native American period=== There is an extensive but little recorded human pre-Colombian history in this area, with the present county containing portions of regions populated by a number of native American tribes. Although the earliest occupation by modern man (homo sapiens) appears to be about six to ten thousand years before the present period, these numbers are not definitive and may possibly extend to far earlier times, at least as far as non–settling populations are concerned. The known settled populations were were hunter-gatherer societies that had no knowledge of metals and that produced utilitarian crafts for everyday use (especially woven reed baskets) of the highest quality and with graphic embellishments of great æsthetic appeal. Extensive trading from tribe to tribe transferred exotic materials such as obsidian (useful for the making of arrowheads) throughout the region from far distant Californian tribes. Unlike the nomad native American of the Great Plains it appears that these tribes did not incorporate warfare into their culture but were instead generally cooperative. Within these cultures the concept of individual or collective land ''ownership'' was nonexistent. As the culture and its values was not respected by either the first Spain colonizers (who considered the natives both Paganism to be converted to Christianity and easily slavery labor) nor the second United States of America occupiers (who did their best to genocide them), little of their history, lore or culture was recorded at the time. Most of what is known culturally comes from preserved contemporaneous and excavated artifacts and from inter-generational knowledge passed down through northerly outlying tribes of the larger region. ===Spanish colonial=== Early interaction of these native Americans with Europeans came with the Spanish colonization via the establishment of Spanish Missions of California in this area, with the missions in San Jose, Sonoma, and San Francisco and particularly the establishment of the Presidio of San Francisco (a military establishment) in 1776. Although there were no missions established within this county, Spanish influence here was direct and extensive, through the establishment of land grants from the King of Spain to favored settlers. These rancheros were not small farms, but extremely large — a modern county would accommodate only a few of them. With the land came the right to rule over its inhabitants, both native and immigrant laboring individuals and families. ===Mexican provincial=== In 1821 Mexico gained independence from Spain. Insofar as ranchero life was concerned in the remote province centered upon San Francisco, little was changed. ===Bear Flag Republic and the Statehood of California=== This was to change rapidly in 1846 with the Bear Flag Revolt, where a few settlers from the United States declared a republic, immediately petitioning for statehood. Following the Mexican-American War of 1847 the signing and ratification of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo California was formally transferred to the U.S. by Mexico in 1848, with California being admitted to the Union in 1850. The land titles in Contra Costa County may be traced to multiple subdivisions of a few original Spanish land grants from the King of Spain. Reminders of these grants may be seen the grantee's family names in a few city and town names such as Martinez, California, Pacheco, California and Moraga, California, with their subsequent divisions into large farms and orchards remembered in the names of streets, residential subdivisions, and business parks. A few mansions from the more prosperous farms have been preserved as museums and cultural centers and one of the more rustic examples has been preserved as a working demonstration ranch, [http://www.ci.walnut-creek.ca.us/openspace/osborges.htm Borges Ranch]. ===Contra Costa's creation and division=== Contra Costa County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. The county was originally to be called Mt. Diablo County, but the name was changed prior to incorporation as a county. The county's Spanish language name means ''opposite coast,'' because of its location opposite San Francisco, in an easterly direction, on San Francisco Bay. Southern portions of the county's territory, including the all of the bayside portions opposite San Francisco, and Northern portions of Santa Clara County, California were given up to form Alameda County, California in 1853. ===Orchards, farms, and ranches=== The great rancheros of the Spanish period were divided and sold for agricultural uses, with intensively irrigated farming made possible in some areas by the development of canals that brought water from the eastern riverside portions of the county to the central portion. Other areas could used the more limited water available from local creeks and from wells. Orchards dominated where such water was available, while other, seasonally dry areas were used for cattle ranching. In central parts of the county walnuts were an especially attractive orchard crop, using the thin-shelled English Walnut branches grafted to the hardy and disease-resistant American Walnut root stock. In the Moraga, California region, pears dominated, and many old (but untended) roadside trees are still picked seasonally by passers by. In eastern county, stone fruit, especially cherries, is still grown commercially, with many seasonal opportunities for people to pick their own fruit for a modest fee. ===Railroads=== The western termini of both Union Pacific transcontinental railroad routes are in Oakland, California, located in Alameda County. From Oakland, there are two primary routes east: *The former Southern Pacific line north through Richmond, California, closely hugging the San Pablo Bay coastline to Martinez, California, where it crosses Suisun Bay on a drawbridge before proceeding to Sacramento, California and the crossing of the Sierra Nevada via Donner Pass. *The former Western Pacific line which runs south through Niles Canyon, Livermore, California and over Altamont Pass en route to Sacramento, California and the Feather River canyon/Beckwourth Pass crossing of the Sierra Nevada. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe has the terminus of its transcontinental route in Richmond, California. Originally built by the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad in 1896, the line was purchased by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway shortly thereafter. The line leaves Richmond through industrial and residential parts of West County before striking due east through Franklin Canyon and Martinez, California on its way to Stockton, California, Bakersfield, California and Barstow, California. These railroads spurred the development of industry in the county throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly driving development of the Standard Oil (now Chevron) refinery and port complex in Richmond. There were a large number of short lines in the county between the late 19th century and the early 20th century. The rights of way of a number of these railroads also served as utility rights of way, particularly for water service, and so were preserved, and in the late 20th century enhanced as walking, jogging, and bicycle riding trails in the central portion of the county. Much of the western area of the county was well served by the trans-bay electrified commuter rail lines of the Key Rail System, until its ultimate decline in the late 1940's. ===Irrigation canals=== A concrete-lined and fenced irrigation canal still makes a loop through central county and provided industrial and agricultural grade water to farms and industry. While no longer used for extensive irrigation, it is still possible for adjoining landowners (now large suburban lot owners) to obtain pumping permits. Most of this water is destined for the heavy industry near Martinez. As with the railroad rights of way there is now an extensive public trail system along these canals. ===Commuter railroads=== The development of commuter railroads proceeded together with the subdivision of farms into parcels. In some cases, such as the development of Saranap, the same developer controlled both the railroad and the development. These early suburbanization developments were an extension of the earlier development of trolley car suburbs in what are now considered the highly urban environments of the near East Bay. ===Heavy industry=== Owing to its extensive waterfront on San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, and Suisun Bay bays the northwestern and northern segments have long been sites for heavy industry, including the a number of still active oil refineries (particularly Standard Oil in Richmond and Shell/Valero in Martinez) chemical plants (Dow Chemical) and a once substantial integrated steel plant (POSCO, formerly United States Steel that is now reduced to secondary production of strip sheet and wire. The San Joaquin River forms a continuation of the northern boundary turns southward to form the eastern boundary of the county. Some substantial Sacramento Delta "islands" (actually leveed former marshes) are included in this corner of the county. ===1941-45=== During World War II, Richmond, California hosted one of the two Bay Area sites of Kaiser Shipyards and wartime pilots were trained at what is now a civil airfield in Concord, California. Additionally, a large Naval Weapons Depot and munitions ship loading facilities at Port Chicago, California remain active to this day. The loading docks were the site of Port Chicago disaster. Port Chicago was bought out and demolished by the Federal Government to form a safety zone near the Naval Weapons Station loading docks. At one time the Atlas Powder Company (subsequently closed) at the town of Hercules, California produced gunpowder and dynamite. The site of the former Atlas Powder Company is located at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/ptpinole.htm], part of the East Bay Regional Parks District[http://www.ebparks.org]. ===Early postwar period=== With the postwar baby boom and the desire for suburban living, large tract housing developers would purchase large central county farmsteads and develop them with roads, utilities and housing. Once mostly rural walnut orchards and cattle ranches, the area was first developed as low cost, large lot suburbs, with a typical low cost home being placed on a "quarter acre" lot — actually a little less at 10,000 square feet (930 m²). Some of the expansion of these suburban areas was attributable to white flight, although in this politically liberal region, the phenomenon was mostly due to economics, a desire for a more rural environment, and higher school quality. ===Technical innovators=== In the 1970's and 80's many small and innovative technical firms were started in this county, most of which are no longer present, having either failed, been absorbed into larger corporations, or having outgrown their original location are now elsewhere in the Bay Area. ===Corporate headquarters=== During the 1980's and early 1990's, many corporations that were formerly housed in the more central metropolitan area followed their employees by moving to large suburban and edge city office areas and office parks. A number of large corporations now have headquarters in large developments along what is called the ''680 corridor'', that segment of Interstate Highway 680 that extends from Concord in the north to San Ramon, California in the south, continuing into inland Alameda County, California from Dublin, California to Pleasanton, California. ===West County=== The housing stock in the region was extensively developed after the great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. Much of the housing stock in these areas is becoming quite expensive. As an alternative to moving to either the very expensive central county, or the too-distant East County, this area is becoming gentrification, with a mix of races and income levels — a character actively sought by some housing purchasers. The downside of this is a corresponding lack of affordable housing for those in lower paying service jobs — a problem endemic throughout the region. As the public schools are not of the quality seen in the central county, many of the middle class residents of the area send their children to expensive private schools, further limiting the availability of resources to the public schools. ===Central County===[[Image:DinoHillPano2731x505.jpg|thumb|700px|none|Central county scene — Mount Diablo and portions of Concord, Pleasant Hill, and Walnut Creek ]]
The valley traversed by Interstate 680, by State Highway 24, and by portions of Interstate highway 580 (the Livermore Valley) are collectively called the ''Tri-Valley'' Area. West of this area are the cities near or on San Francisco and San Pablo bays, while east of this area is the Sacramento-San Juaquin river delta and California's Great Central Valley. The three major (and prosperous) towns east of the hills on or near Highway 24 and their surrounding areas (Lafayette, California, Moraga, California and Orinda, California) are collectively known as ''Lamorinda''. Owing to the high quality of its public schools (due largely to both demographics and added support from prosperous parents), this area has become a magnet for well–off families with children. This has driven (through normal supply-demand economics) the price of housing to astounding levels. An original, unmodified one bath, three bedroom large-lot house built in the late 1940 is now priced out of the range of those with the typical median income for the region. As the taxes on long occupied houses are quite low, owing to the tax-limiting California Proposition 13 (1978), there is little incentive for "empty nesters" to move away, further limiting the supply for new entrants to the market. Proposition 13 has also discouraged the "upgrade move", instead encouraging extensive remodeling of existing owner–occupied buildings. This has lead to beneficial stability in some neighborhoods, further increasing the desirability of many locations. While there are small patches where houses are completely torn down and replaced with larger, more modern houses, this is less economically attractive (owing to the high cost of purchase) than is the practice of extensive remodeling, refurbishment, and expansion via the addition of a large master suite and removal of interior partitions to create larger rooms. There are a number of speculative remodelers who will refurbish an unoccupied structure over a period of a year, using high quality materials and finishes, yet making enough profit to provide a comfortable living. Although the pace housing sales has slowed recently (2004), prices continue to increase and the market remains attractive to the remodeling industry. In this way the central county region has become a mix of older suburbs, newer developments, small lot "infill" developments, and extensive shopping areas. ===East County=== Lower cost modern tract developments continue along Suisun Bay and into rural "East County" - new "bedroom" communities" to serve the now "edge cities". This results in some incredibly long and slow commutes for some county residents, as roadbuilding is (as usual) unable to keep pace with the development patterns. Some political control has been established to restrict the development somewhat, with "urban limit lines" now established, but yet to prove their long term effectiveness. ===Urban decay at the fringes=== Other cities in the once heavily industrialized northwestern and western waterfront areas such as Richmond, California and Bay Point, California (formerly West Pittsburg) have fallen on harder times, with Richmond having difficulty balancing its school budget. This may be arguably attributed to a side effect of Proposition 13: it applies also to large industrial and merchandising companies, which have seen their share of property taxes (the bulk of which is used to support local schools) decline severely. As housing prices have not kept pace with the more central and outlying regions, the school districts are having difficulty obtaining proper funding. A lack of the availability of the kind of community support available in the more prosperous regions also contributes to the problem, with higher income residents of some of these declining areas sending their children to private schooling, creating a self reinforcing decline in the public schools. ===Redevelopment=== There are currently political fights over the potential redevelopment of the county seat (Martinez, California), with long term residents and many elsewhere in the county concerned that it will lose its remaining small-town charm and utility in an effort to become more like the county's major recreational shopping center of Walnut Creek, California. == Geography == According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,078 square kilometer (802 square mile). 1,865 km² (720 mi²) of it is land and 213 km² (82 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 10.25% water. It is bounded on the south and west by Alameda County, California, on the northwest San Francisco Bay, on the North by San Pablo Bay and Suisun Bays, and on the east by the San_Joaquin_River. == Landmarks == The most notable natural landmark in the county is Mount Diablo, at the northerly end of the Diablo Range. == Demographics == As of the censusGeographic references#2 of 2000, there are 948,816 people, 344,129 households, and 242,266 families residing in the county. The population density is 509/km² (1,318/mi²). There are 354,577 housing units at an average density of 190/km² (492/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 65.50% Race (U.S. census), 9.36% Race (U.S. census) or Race (U.S. census), 0.61% Race (U.S. census), 10.96% Race (U.S. census), 0.37% Race (U.S. census), 8.06% from race (U.S. census), and 5.13% from two or more races. 17.68% of the population are Race (U.S. census) or Race (U.S. census) of any race. There are 344,129 households out of which 35.40% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.50% are Marriage living together, 11.50% have a female householder with no husband present, and 29.60% are non-families. 22.90% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.00% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.72 and the average family size is 3.23. In the county the population is spread out with 26.50% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 30.60% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 11.30% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 92.20 males. The median income for a household in the county is $63,675, and the median income for a family is $73,039. Males have a median income of $52,670 versus $38,630 for females. The per capita income for the county is $30,615. 7.60% of the population and 5.40% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 9.80% of those under the age of 18 and 6.00% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. == Cities and towns == *Alamo, California *Antioch, California *Bay Point, California *Bayview-Montalvin, California *Bethel Island, California *Blackhawk-Camino Tassajara, California *Brentwood, California *Byron, California *Canyon, California *Clayton, California *Clyde, California *Concord, California *Crockett, California *Danville, California *Diablo, California *Discovery Bay, California *East Richmond Heights, California *El Cerrito, Contra Costa County, California *El Sobrante, California *Hercules, California *Kensington, California *Knightsen, California *Lafayette, California *Martinez, California *Moraga, California *Mountain View, Contra Costa County, California *Oakley, California *Orinda, California *Pacheco, California *Pinole, California *Pittsburg, California *Pleasant Hill, California *Port Costa, California *Richmond, California *Rodeo, California *Rollingwood, California *San Pablo, California *San Ramon, California *Tara Hills, California *Vine Hill, California *Waldon, California *Walnut Creek, California == Other named regions and developments == *Saranap *Rossmoor (A senior development incorporated into Walnut Creek, not the Southern California Rossmoor, California) == Museums and Historic sites == *[http://www.blackhawkauto.org/ Blackhawk Automotive Museum] (This site also contains a paleontology museum of the University of California, Berkeley) *[http://www.johnmarshhouse.com/marsh_hs.htm Dr. John Marsh House] *[http://www.nps.gov/euon/ Eugene O'Neil National Historic Site] *[http://www.nps.gov/jomu/ John Muir National Historic Site] *[http://www.wildlife-museum.org/ Lindsay Wildlife Museum] *[http://www.conhistsoc.org/WalkingTour/16.html Don Salvio Pacheco Adobe] *[http://www.museumsrv.org San Ramon Valley Museum] *[http://www.ci.walnut-creek.ca.us/openspace/osborges.htm Borges Ranch] == Parks and related places== *[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/briones.htm Briones Regional Park]* *[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/diablo.htm Diablo Foothills] *[http://www.ci.walnut-creek.ca.us/openspace/oshowe_homestead.htm Howe Homestead Park] *Mount Diablo State Park *[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/lastram.htm Las Trampas Regional Wilderness]* *[http://www.ci.walnut-creek.ca.us/openspace/shell_ridge.htm Shell Ridge Open Space] *[http://www.ci.walnut-creek.ca.us/openspace/oslime_ridge.htm Lime Ridge Open Space] *[http://www.ebmud.com/services/recreation/east_bay/san_pablo/default.htm San Pablo Recreation Area] (San Pablo Dam Reservoir) - Read caution if eating fish caught here. *[http://www.ci.walnut-creek.ca.us/openspace/sugarloafpage.htm Sugarloaf Open Space] *[http://www.ci.walnut-creek.ca.us/openspace/osacalanes.htm Acalanes Open Space] * *Adjoining or nearby these parks are lands of the East Bay Municipal Utility District. These require special annual permits for hiking, bicycle riding and horse riding, available for a small fee. At least one member of a party traversing these areas must have such a permit. ==Trails== *Iron Horse Regional Trail *[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/calrhktr.htm California State Riding and Hiking Trail] *[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/canaltr.htm Contra Costa Canal Regional Trail] *[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/deanza.htm Delta de Anza Regional Trail] *[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/brdiotr.htm Briones-Mount Diablo Regional Trail] *[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/canaltr.htm Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail] *[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/marshtr.htm Marsh Creek Trail] == External links == *[http://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/ Contra Costa County government information] San Francisco Bay Area California counties Contra Costa County, California
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The WikiProject U.S. Counties standards might help. 63.197.235.94 - I reverted your re-edits of my corrections. Please note that if a name in a link (especially an unsatisfied link to be later filled in) is overspecified it will not be likely to be found by article title. As city names tend to be not unique, these are always followed by the state name. However, well known major cities usually have a redirect - so that you may enter ''San Francisco'' and will get to the article ''San Francisco, California''. I have also satisfied the links, mostly with external references that I found by simple search engine and page navigation. I do not have time now for your Alameda County, California changes, so these are also reverted. For example - ''Blackhawk Auto Museum''. Only one of these - ''Blackhawk Auto Museum Blackhawk'' both incorrect and rather useless, as it is unlikely to be entered in an article search, and while more technically correct, ''Blackhawk Auto Museum, Blackhawk'' does not improve the situation much and ''Blackhawk Auto Museum, Blackhawk, California'' is even worse. ''San Ramon train Museum'' is improperly capitalized - If the title seen at the site is capitalized, then this would be ''San Ramon Train Museum''. There is no such museum, but there is a "San Ramon Valley Museum" located in a refurbished train station. ''Lindsay Wildlife Museum Walnut Crk'' - no, we do not abbreviate ''Creek'', and if we were to use the name for disambiguation purposes, it would be ''Lindsay Wildlife Museum, Walnut Creek''. The city name is not required at this time. Generically, if there is only one of something, say ''Fubar Towers'' located in Walnut Creek, California, ''Fubar Towers'' works fine. Now suppose there is discovered a Fubar Towers in some remote location. ''Fubar Towers'' then becomes a disambiguation page, pointing to the renamed original, now ''Fubar Towers (California)'', or some such (someone more expert than myself should be consulted concerning this name). Rather than create twenty unsatisfied links as you have recently done, it would be better to write one article. You even broke the one link that I fixed (Mount Diablo) by putting editing it back to ''Mount Diablo State Park Danville Walnut Crk.'' Your coping of display text from Mount Diablo State Park to Mt. Diablo State Park resulted in a junk article - no pictures. Besides, this is not the way it is done. Go to the Mt. Diablo State Park article and click on edit to see how it is done using a REDIRECT command. Just as with programming, it is bad to do the same thing in two locations - fixing anything is double the work, articles may diverge, and what the user gets is dependent upon the wording used. So please think about studying and writing one article - for example, where is the San Ramon Valley Museum, what does it exhibit, include some pictures, link to the external web site so the viewer may get current operating hours, etc. Then link to the article from the appropriate places, replacing any external link references (replace single bracketing with double bracketing). By the way, if you are using a Macintosh you may turn on the built-in on-the-fly spell checker, which works when editing article text. Also, It would be best if you registered as a user - you will find a lot of help in our community. It is also possible to communicate privately by e-mail. Your addition of information will be welcome if it does not degrade the article through too many misspellings, bad link names, bad link syntax, etc. I will try to get back to the Alameda article re-insert the material with proper links. Best wishes, -- User:Leonard G. 05:58, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC) (Trolling for 63.197.235.94) - Please stop entering unsatisfied links. Do some internet research to find the appropriate external link for park, museum, etc info. To see how a these links are written, use the edit button and read, then cancel or simply navigate elsewhere. I restored your previous edits in this article after correcting them. You are going all over the place, Philo, Mendocino, Animal, etc. and are making a lot of work for others. I prefer to believe that your work is well intentioned and not vandalism, though others have doubts. Failure to listen and modify your actions may result in your IP address being blocked. -- User:Leonard G. 03:49, 25 Oct 2004 (UTC) == Native American section == :''Unlike the nomadic native American of the Great Plains it appears that these tribes did not incorporate warfare into their culture but were instead generally cooperative. Within these cultures the concept of individual or collective land ownership was nonexistent.'' These sound like they could be "noble savage" factoids. Can anyone cite a source? -- User:Beland 21:01, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC) :''As the culture and its values was not respected by either the first Spanish colonizers (who considered the natives both heathans to be converted to Christianity and easily enslavable labor) nor the second U.S.A occupiers (who did their best to exterminate them)'' This is more than a little one-sided. -- User:Beland 21:01, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC) :But it is factual - In the early days of California statehood there were actually "Black Sundays", the sport on this day off was to ride out and hunt and kill any free natives. I'll get some sources User:Leonard G. 21:12, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC) :See also California 4th Grade Mission Project. ::Certainly in other areas, there was hostility and violence on both sides, and disease also played a major role in facilitating the military subjugation of native peoples. I'd be interested to hear what various historians have to say about the influence of these factors in this particular area. -- User:Beland 01:50, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC) ==Expansion== Can anyone fill in the modern history of the native tribes, including the various casino controversies? -- User:Beland 01:50, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC) The "Technical innovators" and "Corporate headquarters" sections pique one's interest, but seem incomplete. Can anyone name any of the specific companies involved? -- User:Beland 01:57, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC) == Early post-war period == Can anyone cite sources for the reasons behind suburban expansion in this period? This paragraph sounds like an off-hand analysis. -- User:Beland 01:51, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC) :Much of the suburban expansion can be attributed to several factors: ::White flight from urban areas becoming populated by Negro workers from the southern US employed as shipyard workers during WW ||. Although some of this flight may be attributed to cultural and racial bias, the primary driving factor was parental concern for obtaining a quality education - a bias that still exists and has been deepened by the extensive volunteering of both time and money to suburban school systems, combined with reduced support for public schools in general, much a consequence of Proposition 13. ::The growth of the suburbs was aided by the rise of the personal automobile as a commuting device and the willingness and ability of the Dept. of Transportation to create state highways, these eventually becoming our modern freeway system. This was made possible by an excess of funding from gasoline taxes dedicated to road building and maintenance and a rather arrogant attitude on the part of CDOT (now CalTrans). ::The availability of relatively cheap land, enabling the construction of large-lot subdivisions (1/4 acre). These could be relatively cheap to construct owing to relatively flat land not requiring extensive grading, they did not require sidewalks, and most of these suburban streets were not required to meet modern standards as to width, 33 ft widths being typical, nor modern drainage standards. ::Relatively low costs due lower standard of habitability than now expected - despite a more severe climate than that of the immediate bay area, these houses were neither insulated nor air conditioned. While not economical to operate in the modern sense, natural gas for heating was relatively cheap and a fireplace was a standard amenity. ::General prosperity in the post war period, especially among second and third generation immigrant families of European origins. ::Prior to California's Proposition 13, most families would make several "upgrade" moves over a period of 12 to 16 years, living in from three to five owned houses. With constantly increasing housing values, equity built in one house could be used to found the down payment on the next, more expensive house. This was also an era of steadily rising standards of living, with wages outpacing the cost of living. To an certain extent the upgrade move was wise under these circumstances, as newer suburban housing increased in value faster than that older established neighborhoods, and prices in the later could sometimes stagnate if the social structure of the communities were not improving. Proposition 13 in the long run has significantly changed these dynamics, with fewer moves, more investment in improvements, and extensive gentrification in the more urban housing regions. ::Attractiveness of the inland suburban lifestyle as compared to urban districts formerly established as "streetcar suburbs" of San Francisco. A typical move from Oakland to Walnut Creek would exchange a 50 year old two bedroom one bath 800 sq. ft. house with detached single car garage on a 2,500 sq. ft. lot for a new 1,200 sq. ft three bedroom one bath house with attached two car garage on a 10,000 sq. ft lot. This would prove to be especially attractive to families in the thick of the postwar "baby boom", where a working father, a stay-at-home mother, and three of four children would be considered a normal sized family. While such houses appear quite modest by modern housing standards, with small rooms and very limited closet space, these comprised a significant increase in habitability for the larger families that were becoming prevelant at the time. :Sources: personal experience. I have lived in the region since my birth (late 1930's) and have observed what I have stated. :User:Leonard G. 02:02, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC)
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Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County is a suburban list of California counties in California's San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2000 census it had a population of 948,816. The county seat is Martinez, California. ==History== ===Pre-human=== In prehistoric times, particularly the Miocene Geologic_timescale, portions of the landforms now in the area (then marshy and grassy savanna) were populated a wide range of now extinct mammals, known in modern times by the fossil remains excavated in the southern part of the county. These included pig the size of modern rhinoceros and rhinoceri the size of modern pigs. In the northern part of the county significant coal deposits were formed in even earlier Geologic timescale. Other areas of the county have ridges exposing ancient but intact (not fossilized) seashells, embedded in sandstone layers alternating with limestone. Layers of volcanic ash ejected from geologically recent but now extinct volcanos, compacted and now tilted by compressive forces may be seen at the side of some road excavations. This county is an agglomeration of several distinct ''geologic terrains'', as is most of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, which one of the most geologically complex regions in the world. The great local mountain Mount Diablo State Park has been formed and continues to be elevated by compressive forces resulting from the forces of plate tectonics and at its upper reaches exposes ancient seabed shale rock scraped from their distant sedimentation location and elevated by these great forces. ===Native American period=== There is an extensive but little recorded human pre-Colombian history in this area, with the present county containing portions of regions populated by a number of native American tribes. Although the earliest occupation by modern man (homo sapiens) appears to be about six to ten thousand years before the present period, these numbers are not definitive and may possibly extend to far earlier times, at least as far as non–settling populations are concerned. The known settled populations were were hunter-gatherer societies that had no knowledge of metals and that produced utilitarian crafts for everyday use (especially woven reed baskets) of the highest quality and with graphic embellishments of great æsthetic appeal. Extensive trading from tribe to tribe transferred exotic materials such as obsidian (useful for the making of arrowheads) throughout the region from far distant Californian tribes. Unlike the nomad native American of the Great Plains it appears that these tribes did not incorporate warfare into their culture but were instead generally cooperative. Within these cultures the concept of individual or collective land ''ownership'' was nonexistent. As the culture and its values was not respected by either the first Spain colonizers (who considered the natives both Paganism to be converted to Christianity and easily slavery labor) nor the second United States of America occupiers (who did their best to genocide them), little of their history, lore or culture was recorded at the time. Most of what is known culturally comes from preserved contemporaneous and excavated artifacts and from inter-generational knowledge passed down through northerly outlying tribes of the larger region. ===Spanish colonial=== Early interaction of these native Americans with Europeans came with the Spanish colonization via the establishment of Spanish Missions of California in this area, with the missions in San Jose, Sonoma, and San Francisco and particularly the establishment of the Presidio of San Francisco (a military establishment) in 1776. Although there were no missions established within this county, Spanish influence here was direct and extensive, through the establishment of land grants from the King of Spain to favored settlers. These rancheros were not small farms, but extremely large — a modern county would accommodate only a few of them. With the land came the right to rule over its inhabitants, both native and immigrant laboring individuals and families. ===Mexican provincial=== In 1821 Mexico gained independence from Spain. Insofar as ranchero life was concerned in the remote province centered upon San Francisco, little was changed. ===Bear Flag Republic and the Statehood of California=== This was to change rapidly in 1846 with the Bear Flag Revolt, where a few settlers from the United States declared a republic, immediately petitioning for statehood. Following the Mexican-American War of 1847 the signing and ratification of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo California was formally transferred to the U.S. by Mexico in 1848, with California being admitted to the Union in 1850. The land titles in Contra Costa County may be traced to multiple subdivisions of a few original Spanish land grants from the King of Spain. Reminders of these grants may be seen the grantee's family names in a few city and town names such as Martinez, California, Pacheco, California and Moraga, California, with their subsequent divisions into large farms and orchards remembered in the names of streets, residential subdivisions, and business parks. A few mansions from the more prosperous farms have been preserved as museums and cultural centers and one of the more rustic examples has been preserved as a working demonstration ranch, [http://www.ci.walnut-creek.ca.us/openspace/osborges.htm Borges Ranch]. ===Contra Costa's creation and division=== Contra Costa County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. The county was originally to be called Mt. Diablo County, but the name was changed prior to incorporation as a county. The county's Spanish language name means ''opposite coast,'' because of its location opposite San Francisco, in an easterly direction, on San Francisco Bay. Southern portions of the county's territory, including the all of the bayside portions opposite San Francisco, and Northern portions of Santa Clara County, California were given up to form Alameda County, California in 1853. ===Orchards, farms, and ranches=== The great rancheros of the Spanish period were divided and sold for agricultural uses, with intensively irrigated farming made possible in some areas by the development of canals that brought water from the eastern riverside portions of the county to the central portion. Other areas could used the more limited water available from local creeks and from wells. Orchards dominated where such water was available, while other, seasonally dry areas were used for cattle ranching. In central parts of the county walnuts were an especially attractive orchard crop, using the thin-shelled English Walnut branches grafted to the hardy and disease-resistant American Walnut root stock. In the Moraga, California region, pears dominated, and many old (but untended) roadside trees are still picked seasonally by passers by. In eastern county, stone fruit, especially cherries, is still grown commercially, with many seasonal opportunities for people to pick their own fruit for a modest fee. ===Railroads=== The western termini of both Union Pacific transcontinental railroad routes are in Oakland, California, located in Alameda County. From Oakland, there are two primary routes east: *The former Southern Pacific line north through Richmond, California, closely hugging the San Pablo Bay coastline to Martinez, California, where it crosses Suisun Bay on a drawbridge before proceeding to Sacramento, California and the crossing of the Sierra Nevada via Donner Pass. *The former Western Pacific line which runs south through Niles Canyon, Livermore, California and over Altamont Pass en route to Sacramento, California and the Feather River canyon/Beckwourth Pass crossing of the Sierra Nevada. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe has the terminus of its transcontinental route in Richmond, California. Originally built by the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad in 1896, the line was purchased by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway shortly thereafter. The line leaves Richmond through industrial and residential parts of West County before striking due east through Franklin Canyon and Martinez, California on its way to Stockton, California, Bakersfield, California and Barstow, California. These railroads spurred the development of industry in the county throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly driving development of the Standard Oil (now Chevron) refinery and port complex in Richmond. There were a large number of short lines in the county between the late 19th century and the early 20th century. The rights of way of a number of these railroads also served as utility rights of way, particularly for water service, and so were preserved, and in the late 20th century enhanced as walking, jogging, and bicycle riding trails in the central portion of the county. Much of the western area of the county was well served by the trans-bay electrified commuter rail lines of the Key Rail System, until its ultimate decline in the late 1940's. ===Irrigation canals=== A concrete-lined and fenced irrigation canal still makes a loop through central county and provided industrial and agricultural grade water to farms and industry. While no longer used for extensive irrigation, it is still possible for adjoining landowners (now large suburban lot owners) to obtain pumping permits. Most of this water is destined for the heavy industry near Martinez. As with the railroad rights of way there is now an extensive public trail system along these canals. ===Commuter railroads=== The development of commuter railroads proceeded together with the subdivision of farms into parcels. In some cases, such as the development of Saranap, the same developer controlled both the railroad and the development. These early suburbanization developments were an extension of the earlier development of trolley car suburbs in what are now considered the highly urban environments of the near East Bay. ===Heavy industry=== Owing to its extensive waterfront on San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, and Suisun Bay bays the northwestern and northern segments have long been sites for heavy industry, including the a number of still active oil refineries (particularly Standard Oil in Richmond and Shell/Valero in Martinez) chemical plants (Dow Chemical) and a once substantial integrated steel plant (POSCO, formerly United States Steel that is now reduced to secondary production of strip sheet and wire. The San Joaquin River forms a continuation of the northern boundary turns southward to form the eastern boundary of the county. Some substantial Sacramento Delta "islands" (actually leveed former marshes) are included in this corner of the county. ===1941-45=== During World War II, Richmond, California hosted one of the two Bay Area sites of Kaiser Shipyards and wartime pilots were trained at what is now a civil airfield in Concord, California. Additionally, a large Naval Weapons Depot and munitions ship loading facilities at Port Chicago, California remain active to this day. The loading docks were the site of Port Chicago disaster. Port Chicago was bought out and demolished by the Federal Government to form a safety zone near the Naval Weapons Station loading docks. At one time the Atlas Powder Company (subsequently closed) at the town of Hercules, California produced gunpowder and dynamite. The site of the former Atlas Powder Company is located at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/ptpinole.htm], part of the East Bay Regional Parks District[http://www.ebparks.org]. ===Early postwar period=== With the postwar baby boom and the desire for suburban living, large tract housing developers would purchase large central county farmsteads and develop them with roads, utilities and housing. Once mostly rural walnut orchards and cattle ranches, the area was first developed as low cost, large lot suburbs, with a typical low cost home being placed on a "quarter acre" lot — actually a little less at 10,000 square feet (930 m²). Some of the expansion of these suburban areas was attributable to white flight, although in this politically liberal region, the phenomenon was mostly due to economics, a desire for a more rural environment, and higher school quality. ===Technical innovators=== In the 1970's and 80's many small and innovative technical firms were started in this county, most of which are no longer present, having either failed, been absorbed into larger corporations, or having outgrown their original location are now elsewhere in the Bay Area. ===Corporate headquarters=== During the 1980's and early 1990's, many corporations that were formerly housed in the more central metropolitan area followed their employees by moving to large suburban and edge city office areas and office parks. A number of large corporations now have headquarters in large developments along what is called the ''680 corridor'', that segment of Interstate Highway 680 that extends from Concord in the north to San Ramon, California in the south, continuing into inland Alameda County, California from Dublin, California to Pleasanton, California. ===West County=== The housing stock in the region was extensively developed after the great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. Much of the housing stock in these areas is becoming quite expensive. As an alternative to moving to either the very expensive central county, or the too-distant East County, this area is becoming gentrification, with a mix of races and income levels — a character actively sought by some housing purchasers. The downside of this is a corresponding lack of affordable housing for those in lower paying service jobs — a problem endemic throughout the region. As the public schools are not of the quality seen in the central county, many of the middle class residents of the area send their children to expensive private schools, further limiting the availability of resources to the public schools. ===Central County===
The valley traversed by Interstate 680, by State Highway 24, and by portions of Interstate highway 580 (the Livermore Valley) are collectively called the ''Tri-Valley'' Area. West of this area are the cities near or on San Francisco and San Pablo bays, while east of this area is the Sacramento-San Juaquin river delta and California's Great Central Valley. The three major (and prosperous) towns east of the hills on or near Highway 24 and their surrounding areas (Lafayette, California, Moraga, California and Orinda, California) are collectively known as ''Lamorinda''. Owing to the high quality of its public schools (due largely to both demographics and added support from prosperous parents), this area has become a magnet for well–off families with children. This has driven (through normal supply-demand economics) the price of housing to astounding levels. An original, unmodified one bath, three bedroom large-lot house built in the late 1940 is now priced out of the range of those with the typical median income for the region. As the taxes on long occupied houses are quite low, owing to the tax-limiting California Proposition 13 (1978), there is little incentive for "empty nesters" to move away, further limiting the supply for new entrants to the market. Proposition 13 has also discouraged the "upgrade move", instead encouraging extensive remodeling of existing owner–occupied buildings. This has lead to beneficial stability in some neighborhoods, further increasing the desirability of many locations. While there are small patches where houses are completely torn down and replaced with larger, more modern houses, this is less economically attractive (owing to the high cost of purchase) than is the practice of extensive remodeling, refurbishment, and expansion via the addition of a large master suite and removal of interior partitions to create larger rooms. There are a number of speculative remodelers who will refurbish an unoccupied structure over a period of a year, using high quality materials and finishes, yet making enough profit to provide a comfortable living. Although the pace housing sales has slowed recently (2004), prices continue to increase and the market remains attractive to the remodeling industry. In this way the central county region has become a mix of older suburbs, newer developments, small lot "infill" developments, and extensive shopping areas. ===East County=== Lower cost modern tract developments continue along Suisun Bay and into rural "East County" - new "bedroom" communities" to serve the now "edge cities". This results in some incredibly long and slow commutes for some county residents, as roadbuilding is (as usual) unable to keep pace with the development patterns. Some political control has been established to restrict the development somewhat, with "urban limit lines" now established, but yet to prove their long term effectiveness. ===Urban decay at the fringes=== Other cities in the once heavily industrialized northwestern and western waterfront areas such as Richmond, California and Bay Point, California (formerly West Pittsburg) have fallen on harder times, with Richmond having difficulty balancing its school budget. This may be arguably attributed to a side effect of Proposition 13: it applies also to large industrial and merchandising companies, which have seen their share of property taxes (the bulk of which is used to support local schools) decline severely. As housing prices have not kept pace with the more central and outlying regions, the school districts are having difficulty obtaining proper funding. A lack of the availability of the kind of community support available in the more prosperous regions also contributes to the problem, with higher income residents of some of these declining areas sending their children to private schooling, creating a self reinforcing decline in the public schools. ===Redevelopment=== There are currently political fights over the potential redevelopment of the county seat (Martinez, California), with long term residents and many elsewhere in the county concerned that it will lose its remaining small-town charm and utility in an effort to become more like the county's major recreational shopping center of Walnut Creek, California. == Geography == According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,078 square kilometer (802 square mile). 1,865 km² (720 mi²) of it is land and 213 km² (82 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 10.25% water. It is bounded on the south and west by Alameda County, California, on the northwest San Francisco Bay, on the North by San Pablo Bay and Suisun Bays, and on the east by the San_Joaquin_River. == Landmarks == The most notable natural landmark in the county is Mount Diablo, at the northerly end of the Diablo Range. == Demographics == As of the censusGeographic references#2 of 2000, there are 948,816 people, 344,129 households, and 242,266 families residing in the county. The population density is 509/km² (1,318/mi²). There are 354,577 housing units at an average density of 190/km² (492/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 65.50% Race (U.S. census), 9.36% Race (U.S. census) or Race (U.S. census), 0.61% Race (U.S. census), 10.96% Race (U.S. census), 0.37% Race (U.S. census), 8.06% from race (U.S. census), and 5.13% from two or more races. 17.68% of the population are Race (U.S. census) or Race (U.S. census) of any race. There are 344,129 households out of which 35.40% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.50% are Marriage living together, 11.50% have a female householder with no husband present, and 29.60% are non-families. 22.90% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.00% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.72 and the average family size is 3.23. In the county the population is spread out with 26.50% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 30.60% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 11.30% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 92.20 males. The median income for a household in the county is $63,675, and the median income for a family is $73,039. Males have a median income of $52,670 versus $38,630 for females. The per capita income for the county is $30,615. 7.60% of the population and 5.40% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 9.80% of those under the age of 18 and 6.00% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. == Cities and towns == *Alamo, California *Antioch, California *Bay Point, California *Bayview-Montalvin, California *Bethel Island, California *Blackhawk-Camino Tassajara, California *Brentwood, California *Byron, California *Canyon, California *Clayton, California *Clyde, California *Concord, California *Crockett, California *Danville, California *Diablo, California *Discovery Bay, California *East Richmond Heights, California *El Cerrito, Contra Costa County, California *El Sobrante, California *Hercules, California *Kensington, California *Knightsen, California *Lafayette, California *Martinez, California *Moraga, California *Mountain View, Contra Costa County, California *Oakley, California *Orinda, California *Pacheco, California *Pinole, California *Pittsburg, California *Pleasant Hill, California *Port Costa, California *Richmond, California *Rodeo, California *Rollingwood, California *San Pablo, California *San Ramon, California *Tara Hills, California *Vine Hill, California *Waldon, California *Walnut Creek, California == Other named regions and developments == *Saranap *Rossmoor (A senior development incorporated into Walnut Creek, not the Southern California Rossmoor, California) == Museums and Historic sites == *[http://www.blackhawkauto.org/ Blackhawk Automotive Museum] (This site also contains a paleontology museum of the University of California, Berkeley) *[http://www.johnmarshhouse.com/marsh_hs.htm Dr. John Marsh House] *[http://www.nps.gov/euon/ Eugene O'Neil National Historic Site] *[http://www.nps.gov/jomu/ John Muir National Historic Site] *[http://www.wildlife-museum.org/ Lindsay Wildlife Museum] *[http://www.conhistsoc.org/WalkingTour/16.html Don Salvio Pacheco Adobe] *[http://www.museumsrv.org San Ramon Valley Museum] *[http://www.ci.walnut-creek.ca.us/openspace/osborges.htm Borges Ranch] == Parks and related places== *[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/briones.htm Briones Regional Park]* *[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/diablo.htm Diablo Foothills] *[http://www.ci.walnut-creek.ca.us/openspace/oshowe_homestead.htm Howe Homestead Park] *Mount Diablo State Park *[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/lastram.htm Las Trampas Regional Wilderness]* *[http://www.ci.walnut-creek.ca.us/openspace/shell_ridge.htm Shell Ridge Open Space] *[http://www.ci.walnut-creek.ca.us/openspace/oslime_ridge.htm Lime Ridge Open Space] *[http://www.ebmud.com/services/recreation/east_bay/san_pablo/default.htm San Pablo Recreation Area] (San Pablo Dam Reservoir) - Read caution if eating fish caught here. *[http://www.ci.walnut-creek.ca.us/openspace/sugarloafpage.htm Sugarloaf Open Space] *[http://www.ci.walnut-creek.ca.us/openspace/osacalanes.htm Acalanes Open Space] * *Adjoining or nearby these parks are lands of the East Bay Municipal Utility District. These require special annual permits for hiking, bicycle riding and horse riding, available for a small fee. At least one member of a party traversing these areas must have such a permit. ==Trails== *Iron Horse Regional Trail *[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/calrhktr.htm California State Riding and Hiking Trail] *[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/canaltr.htm Contra Costa Canal Regional Trail] *[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/deanza.htm Delta de Anza Regional Trail] *[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/brdiotr.htm Briones-Mount Diablo Regional Trail] *[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/canaltr.htm Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail] *[http://www.ebparks.org/parks/marshtr.htm Marsh Creek Trail] == External links == *[http://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/ Contra Costa County government information] San Francisco Bay Area California counties Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County, California
Wondering how to edit this U.S. County Entry?
The WikiProject U.S. Counties standards might help. 63.197.235.94 - I reverted your re-edits of my corrections. Please note that if a name in a link (especially an unsatisfied link to be later filled in) is overspecified it will not be likely to be found by article title. As city names tend to be not unique, these are always followed by the state name. However, well known major cities usually have a redirect - so that you may enter ''San Francisco'' and will get to the article ''San Francisco, California''. I have also satisfied the links, mostly with external references that I found by simple search engine and page navigation. I do not have time now for your Alameda County, California changes, so these are also reverted. For example - ''Blackhawk Auto Museum''. Only one of these - ''Blackhawk Auto Museum Blackhawk'' both incorrect and rather useless, as it is unlikely to be entered in an article search, and while more technically correct, ''Blackhawk Auto Museum, Blackhawk'' does not improve the situation much and ''Blackhawk Auto Museum, Blackhawk, California'' is even worse. ''San Ramon train Museum'' is improperly capitalized - If the title seen at the site is capitalized, then this would be ''San Ramon Train Museum''. There is no such museum, but there is a "San Ramon Valley Museum" located in a refurbished train station. ''Lindsay Wildlife Museum Walnut Crk'' - no, we do not abbreviate ''Creek'', and if we were to use the name for disambiguation purposes, it would be ''Lindsay Wildlife Museum, Walnut Creek''. The city name is not required at this time. Generically, if there is only one of something, say ''Fubar Towers'' located in Walnut Creek, California, ''Fubar Towers'' works fine. Now suppose there is discovered a Fubar Towers in some remote location. ''Fubar Towers'' then becomes a disambiguation page, pointing to the renamed original, now ''Fubar Towers (California)'', or some such (someone more expert than myself should be consulted concerning this name). Rather than create twenty unsatisfied links as you have recently done, it would be better to write one article. You even broke the one link that I fixed (Mount Diablo) by putting editing it back to ''Mount Diablo State Park Danville Walnut Crk.'' Your coping of display text from Mount Diablo State Park to Mt. Diablo State Park resulted in a junk article - no pictures. Besides, this is not the way it is done. Go to the Mt. Diablo State Park article and click on edit to see how it is done using a REDIRECT command. Just as with programming, it is bad to do the same thing in two locations - fixing anything is double the work, articles may diverge, and what the user gets is dependent upon the wording used. So please think about studying and writing one article - for example, where is the San Ramon Valley Museum, what does it exhibit, include some pictures, link to the external web site so the viewer may get current operating hours, etc. Then link to the article from the appropriate places, replacing any external link references (replace single bracketing with double bracketing). By the way, if you are using a Macintosh you may turn on the built-in on-the-fly spell checker, which works when editing article text. Also, It would be best if you registered as a user - you will find a lot of help in our community. It is also possible to communicate privately by e-mail. Your addition of information will be welcome if it does not degrade the article through too many misspellings, bad link names, bad link syntax, etc. I will try to get back to the Alameda article re-insert the material with proper links. Best wishes, -- User:Leonard G. 05:58, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC) (Trolling for 63.197.235.94) - Please stop entering unsatisfied links. Do some internet research to find the appropriate external link for park, museum, etc info. To see how a these links are written, use the edit button and read, then cancel or simply navigate elsewhere. I restored your previous edits in this article after correcting them. You are going all over the place, Philo, Mendocino, Animal, etc. and are making a lot of work for others. I prefer to believe that your work is well intentioned and not vandalism, though others have doubts. Failure to listen and modify your actions may result in your IP address being blocked. -- User:Leonard G. 03:49, 25 Oct 2004 (UTC) == Native American section == :''Unlike the nomadic native American of the Great Plains it appears that these tribes did not incorporate warfare into their culture but were instead generally cooperative. Within these cultures the concept of individual or collective land ownership was nonexistent.'' These sound like they could be "noble savage" factoids. Can anyone cite a source? -- User:Beland 21:01, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC) :''As the culture and its values was not respected by either the first Spanish colonizers (who considered the natives both heathans to be converted to Christianity and easily enslavable labor) nor the second U.S.A occupiers (who did their best to exterminate them)'' This is more than a little one-sided. -- User:Beland 21:01, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC) :But it is factual - In the early days of California statehood there were actually "Black Sundays", the sport on this day off was to ride out and hunt and kill any free natives. I'll get some sources User:Leonard G. 21:12, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC) :See also California 4th Grade Mission Project. ::Certainly in other areas, there was hostility and violence on both sides, and disease also played a major role in facilitating the military subjugation of native peoples. I'd be interested to hear what various historians have to say about the influence of these factors in this particular area. -- User:Beland 01:50, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC) ==Expansion== Can anyone fill in the modern history of the native tribes, including the various casino controversies? -- User:Beland 01:50, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC) The "Technical innovators" and "Corporate headquarters" sections pique one's interest, but seem incomplete. Can anyone name any of the specific companies involved? -- User:Beland 01:57, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC) == Early post-war period == Can anyone cite sources for the reasons behind suburban expansion in this period? This paragraph sounds like an off-hand analysis. -- User:Beland 01:51, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC) :Much of the suburban expansion can be attributed to several factors: ::White flight from urban areas becoming populated by Negro workers from the southern US employed as shipyard workers during WW ||. Although some of this flight may be attributed to cultural and racial bias, the primary driving factor was parental concern for obtaining a quality education - a bias that still exists and has been deepened by the extensive volunteering of both time and money to suburban school systems, combined with reduced support for public schools in general, much a consequence of Proposition 13. ::The growth of the suburbs was aided by the rise of the personal automobile as a commuting device and the willingness and ability of the Dept. of Transportation to create state highways, these eventually becoming our modern freeway system. This was made possible by an excess of funding from gasoline taxes dedicated to road building and maintenance and a rather arrogant attitude on the part of CDOT (now CalTrans). ::The availability of relatively cheap land, enabling the construction of large-lot subdivisions (1/4 acre). These could be relatively cheap to construct owing to relatively flat land not requiring extensive grading, they did not require sidewalks, and most of these suburban streets were not required to meet modern standards as to width, 33 ft widths being typical, nor modern drainage standards. ::Relatively low costs due lower standard of habitability than now expected - despite a more severe climate than that of the immediate bay area, these houses were neither insulated nor air conditioned. While not economical to operate in the modern sense, natural gas for heating was relatively cheap and a fireplace was a standard amenity. ::General prosperity in the post war period, especially among second and third generation immigrant families of European origins. ::Prior to California's Proposition 13, most families would make several "upgrade" moves over a period of 12 to 16 years, living in from three to five owned houses. With constantly increasing housing values, equity built in one house could be used to found the down payment on the next, more expensive house. This was also an era of steadily rising standards of living, with wages outpacing the cost of living. To an certain extent the upgrade move was wise under these circumstances, as newer suburban housing increased in value faster than that older established neighborhoods, and prices in the later could sometimes stagnate if the social structure of the communities were not improving. Proposition 13 in the long run has significantly changed these dynamics, with fewer moves, more investment in improvements, and extensive gentrification in the more urban housing regions. ::Attractiveness of the inland suburban lifestyle as compared to urban districts formerly established as "streetcar suburbs" of San Francisco. A typical move from Oakland to Walnut Creek would exchange a 50 year old two bedroom one bath 800 sq. ft. house with detached single car garage on a 2,500 sq. ft. lot for a new 1,200 sq. ft three bedroom one bath house with attached two car garage on a 10,000 sq. ft lot. This would prove to be especially attractive to families in the thick of the postwar "baby boom", where a working father, a stay-at-home mother, and three of four children would be considered a normal sized family. While such houses appear quite modest by modern housing standards, with small rooms and very limited closet space, these comprised a significant increase in habitability for the larger families that were becoming prevelant at the time. :Sources: personal experience. I have lived in the region since my birth (late 1930's) and have observed what I have stated. :User:Leonard G. 02:02, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Contra Costa County, California
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