Contra Costa County CA Archives History - Books .....Geographical Situation 1882 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com June 22, 2005, 5:20 pm Book Title: History Of Contra Costa County, California HISTORY OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. Geography—Population—Area—Derivation of Name—Geology—Mineralogy—Contra Costa Hills—Monte Diablo Group—Topography—Mount Diablo—Climatography—General Remarks—Agriculture—Pomology—Earthquakes—Aborigines. CONTRA COSTA COUNTY is bounded on the north by the Bays of San Pablo and Suisun, the Straits of Carquinez and San Joaquin River; on the south by Alameda County; on the east by San Joaquin County, and on the west by Alameda County and the Bay of San Francisco. By a reference to a map of the State of California, the immense advantages of location which the county possesses will be immediately made apparent. Its geographical position is as near as may be about the center of the coast line of the State, while on a portion of its western front is the world-famous Bay of San Francisco, and on its north the commodious San Pablo and Suisun Bays. On the opposite shore of the Straits of Carquinez lies the town of Benicia, at last springing into prominence, for here the great overland line of the Central Pacific Railroad crosses to the shores of our county, whence, being landed at the thriving shipping point of Port Costa, it finds its way to the metropolis of the Pacific. The main overland southern route, too, passes through the county, while new lines are being now graded, still further to tap its internal resources. AREA.—The area of Contra Costa County is embraced in four hundred and ninety square miles of hill and mountain, one hundred and fifty of valley, and one hundred and ten of tule or marsh lands lying along the shores of the Bays and on the margin of the San Joaquin River, in the north-east portion of the county, making a total of seven hundred and fifty square miles, thus placing Contra Costa in the position of being in point of size, the forty-third in the State. It embraces all of the various lands suitable for the production of fruits, cereals, or vegetables, and the raising of stock, while its many beautiful vales are the paradise of the agriculturist, viticulturist, and pomologist. DERIVATION OF NAME.—The origin of the name which the county bears, was described in a report made to the Senate, under date April 16, 1850, by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, then Senator from the District of Sonoma, entitled: "Report of Mr. Vallejo on the Derivation and Definition of the Names of the several Counties of California." In that report, unequaled in its style, and in the amount of information crowded into a small compass, he says of Contra Costa: "The name signifies 'Opposite Coast,' and the country is so called from its situation opposite San Francisco, in an easterly direction. It is undoubtedly one of the most fertile counties in the State, possessing rich agricultural lands, which embrace an interior coast of thirty leagues, extending in the Bays of Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Pablo, the Straits of Carquinez, the Bay of Suisun, and the San Joaquin River; a circumstance which, united to its mild climate, will render it very important." POPULATION. 1860 1870 1880 California 379,994 560,247 865,747 CONTRA COSTA COUNTY 8,461 12,257 Township No 1 3,125 Township No 2 2,527 Township No 3 1,681 Township No 4 1,960 Township No 5 2,964 Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, INCLUDING ITS GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, TOPOGRAPHY, CLIMATOGRAPHY AND DESCRIPTION; TOGETHER WITH A RECORD OF THE MEXICAN GRANTS; THE BEAR FLAG WAR; THE MOUNT DIABLO COAL FIELDS; THE EARLY HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT, COMPILED FROM THE MOST AUTHENTIC SOURCES; THE NAMES OF ORIGINAL SPANISH AND MEXICAN PIONEERS; FULL LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE COUNTY; SEPARATE HISTORY OF EACH TOWNSHIP, SHOWING THE ADVANCE IN POPULATION AND AGRICULTURE; ALSO, Incidents of Pioneer Life; and Biographical Sketches OF EARLY AND PROMINENT SETTLERS AND REPRESENTATIVE MEN; AMD OF ITS TOWNS, VILLAGES, CHURCHES, SECRET SOCIETIES, ETC. ILLUSTRATED. SAN FRANCISCO: W. A. SLOCTUM & CO., PUBLISHERS 1882. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/contracosta/history/1882/historyo/geograph2gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cafiles/ File size: 4.9 Kb