Oakland, California City History and Historical Figures

Colleges In Oakland

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Fun City Facts
The Rockville Bridge, the longest stone arch bridge in the world, is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The oldest carousel in the United States is located in the resort town of Watch Hill, Rhode Island.

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Oakland, California

City History
Historic People

City History

Oakland was claimed for the Spanish king by explorers from New Spain in 1772. In the early 19th century the area was granted to Luís María Peralta by the Spanish royal government for his Rancho San Antonio. The area of the ranch included a woodland of oak trees, this area was called encinal a Spanish word meaning "oakland", the origin of the city's name. Upon his death in 1842, Peralta divided his land among his four sons.. They would open the land to settlement by American settlers, loggers, European whalers, and fur-traders. Full-scale settlements and development occurred following California being conquered by the United States during the Mexican-American War, and the California Gold Rush in 1848. The California state legislature incorporated the town of Oakland on May 4, 1852.

The town and its surroundings quickly grew with the railroads, becoming a major rail station in the late 1860s and 1870s. Including the construction of the Oakland Long Wharf Terminus and the largest rail yards and servicing facilities in West Oakland which continued to be a major local employer under the Southern Pacific well into the 20th century.

Oakland's rise to industrial prominence and need for a seaport led to the digging of a shipping and tidal channel in 1902, creating the "island" of nearby town Alameda. In 1906, its population doubled with refugees made homeless after the San Francisco earthquake and fire who had fled to Oakland. In 1915, a Chevrolet plant was opened at the southern border of Oakland. By 1920, Oakland was the home of numerous manufacturing industries, including metals, canneries, bakeries, automobiles, and shipbuilding. Economic growth was fueled by the general post-war recovery, as well as oil discoveries in Los Angeles, and the widespread introduction of the automobile. Oakland grew significantly in the 1920s. During World War II, the East Bay Area was home to many war-related industries. The war attracted large numbers of laborers from around the country to Oakland, many of whom were African Americans from the western South, who enjoyed great prosperity during the war years. Soon after the war, the shipbuilding and automobile industries virtually evaporated, as did the jobs that came with it. Many who came to the city did not leave Oakland, many of the city's wealthy residents left the city to move into newly developing suburbs. Nonetheless, by the late 1960s, Oakland, which had been quite prosperous before the war, found itself with a population that was increasingly poor.

During the 1960s the city was home to an innovative funk music scene which produced well-known bands like Sly & the Family Stone and Graham Central Station. It was also during the 1960s when the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club's Oakland Chapter, began to grow into a formidable organization. By the 1980s it was the most feared and respected of all Hells Angels chapters. Its Oakland Clubhouse still sits in East Oakland. In sports, the Oakland Athletics MLB club won three World Series in a row the Golden State Warriors won the 1974-1975 NBA championship; and the Oakland Raiders of the NFL won Super Bowl XI in 1977.

Historic Figures

Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream (1928)

Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream (1928)
Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Holdings, Inc., a division of Nestlé, is a United States-based producer of ice cream and frozen yogurt. The company was founded in 1928 by William Dreyer and Joseph Edy in Oakland, California. Its products are marketed under the Dreyer's name in the western United States and Texas, and under the Edy's name in the rest of the U.S.

April 18, 2024

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