Alamo, California

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Alamo is a non-incorporated Census and Community Designated Place (CDP) in Contra Costa County, California , USA. It is a suburb located in the East Bay area of San Francisco Bay, approximately 28 miles (45 km) east of San Francisco. Alamo is equidistant from the town of Walnut Creek to the incorporated town of Danville. The population was 14,750 as of the 2010 census. The Alamo community is well known for its bucolic country feel, its remarkable residents, and its affluent lifestyle with a median home price of $1.89 million.

 

History

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People have been living in this area for more than 5,000 years. In the eighteenth century, the Tatcan Indians, a Bay Miwok tribe closely linked to the Saclans of Walnut Creek, lived in Alamo.

 

After the founding of Mission San José in 1797, its pastures spread throughout the Valley of San Ramon. The Mexican land grant Rancho San Ramon was granted to Mariano Castro and his uncle Bartolo Pacheco in 1833. It covered Danville and Alamo today. Castro was the owner of the northern half, which included Alamo.

 

In 1843, a large part of the areas of Alamo, Las Trampas and Tice Valley was granted to the brothers Inocencio and Jose Romero. It was called San Ramon's Rancho El Sobrante. Due to missing title papers, the brothers lost their ranch in the American courts in 1857.

 

In 1847, Pioneers Mary Ann and John Jones traveled through Alamo. She provided the first description of the area in her diary in English. Her husband stopped the car and said, "Mary, look! Have you ever seen anything so beautiful? "Later, she wrote: “On every side, the valley and surrounding hills were covered with thick, velvety clover, and with wild oats standing waist high waving and rippling in the summer breeze, like the bosom of a lake.”

The Jones family returned to Alamo in 1851, when California became a state. John became the first postmaster in 1852 and used his considerable energy to teach children and begin the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Other early founders of Alamo included David Glass, George Engelmeyer, Silas and Susanna Stone, Captain Wall, Joshua Bollinger, and James Foster.

 

The area was called Alamo, which means "poplar" or "cottonwood" in Spanish. Alamo grew rapidly due to its location and fine weather. An early road from the redwoods near Moraga ran through Tice Valley to Alamo, as Americans preferred redwood for building materials instead of Mexican adobe bricks.

 

The Hemme, Bollinger, Jones and Stone ranches began by grazing cattle and growing wheat and other grains. In 1891, the Hemme train station was located near today's Hemme Avenue; it was later renamed the Alamo station.

 

Eventually, orchards and vineyards spread throughout the area. Almonds, walnuts, pears, grapes and other fruits thrived in a mild climate. In 1873, Alamo, the pioneer of Myron Hall, grafted Persian cuttings into native walnut trees and helped to set up a prosperous walnut industry in Contra Costa County. This "mother tree" has been used for more than 100 years.

 

The Alamo Post Office is the oldest in the valley to operate continuously. It's always been an important community gathering place. According to long-time postmaster Bertha Linhares, when the mail was expected to go to the post office-store in the winter ... the women went to our sitting room and visited with my mother ... we've always heard all the news and troubles of the Alamo residents.

 

Nowadays, Alamo is a green enclave with many houses on a lot of 0.5 acres (2,000 m2) between Walnut Creek and Danville. Its population was 15,626 in 2000. It is governed by the County Board of Supervisors, the AIA and a number of active county service areas providing advice on police, landscaping and park issues.