Lafayette Historical Society

SO, WHAT’S A RELIEZ ANYWAY? So, what’s a Reliez, anyway? I asked my Mexican-American friend, although I already knew the answer. Armando exploded like a firecracker. That’s an English word! he blurted, as if piqued by the question. Ah, I said backpedalling furiously. I had always believed that Reliez was Spanish for landslide. It was generally accepted that two roads: Reliez Valley (5.2 miles long) and Reliez Station (0.9 miles), were named for the landslide. The slid...Continue reading

A Town Hall for Lafayette Excerpted from a paper written by Ruth Dyer in 1977: In November, 1911, a group of men in Lafayette met at Robert McNeil’s Pioneer Store to discuss how to improve the conditions of Lafayette, then a community of two hundred people. Improved roads, fire protection, better schools, additional transportation (most of it offered by the Oakland, Antioch and Eastern Railway), and an assured water supply were needed. The Lafayette Improvement Club (LIC) wa...Continue reading

THE HORSE SHOWS OF LAFAYETTE Lafayette was the focus of Contra Costa County horsemen and women for two days a year. The Lafayette Horse Show, which began as the Fiesta de la Lafayette in 1935 and ran under various names through the mid-1940s, was a huge event sponsored by the Contra Costa Horseman’s Association....180 horses competing, and 300 horses parading down Moraga Road and Mt. Diablo Boulevard extending over a mile. What a sight! The horse show grounds were on the Haml...Continue reading

Celebrating 75 years in Lafayette. Lots of wonderful old photos! A trip down memory lane. How many of you remember the giant ball game score board visible from Highway 24? https://www.orchardnursery.com/our-history

If These Walls Could Talk The building recently called the Farm Yard Darlings is one of the oldest buildings in Lafayette. It is at 20 Lafayette Circle under a big oak tree, between The Coop restaurant and the Roundup Saloon. According to an oral history by Edith Hunt Sterling, her aunt and uncle, Joe and Alice Hunt, built the building in the early 1920’s. But there is a little story before that. Because of arthritis Joe could no longer work in the fields and the Hunts went ...Continue reading

The Pony Express Stop in Lafayette Excerpts from Mary Solon’s article (available in the History Room) The Pony Express has a short but romantic history and it included the town of Lafayette!...Continue reading

Post Offices of Lafayette Lafayette’s seventh and current post office was built in 1979 in the shopping center near Trader Joe’s. The mail carriers outgrew this building and were relocated to work out of Walnut Creek. After several years the Lafayette mail carriers returned to a new dedicated annex facility located at the east end of Lafayette.

Post Offices of Lafayette The sixth post office was opened in 1958 on the corner of Mt. Diablo Boulevard and First Street. Prior to building this post office, the entire hill had to be removed before construction. There were 9,178 mail deliveries from this post office in 1975. The postmasters during this period were Doc Crandell, Pierce Powers, and Arne Nielsen.

Post Offices of Lafayette The fifth post office. In 1951, a new post office was built at 973 Moraga Road next to Mangia Restaurant in La Fiesta Plaza. Emelia Schutt and Doc Crandell served as postmasters during this period. In February 1951, urban delivery by auto was introduced. In May 1957, door-to-door foot delivery began in the downtown business district.

Post Offices of Lafayette The fourth post office. The town’s name changed from La Fayette to Lafayette on March 1, 1932. Completion of the Broadway Low Level Tunnel in the mid- 1930s triggered a population boom. By 1939, the office served 2,000 persons, and by 1949, 7,500. In that year the post office attained first class status. Emelia Schutt served as postmaster for 25 years during the period from 1927 to 1952. This post office was located next to the brick Garrett Building on Mt. Diablo Boulevard, today’s Postino

Bernie is waiting for the History Room to open again. Meanwhile he’s checking out the LHS website... https://lafayettehistory.org

Post Offices of Lafayette The third post office. In 1925, the post office moved into the second schoolhouse building that had been relocated to Mt. Diablo Boulevard from its prior location on Moraga Road. The building also served as the telephone exchange and library. In 1927 there were 200 mail deliveries in the town. Funds to build this post office were raised by dances sponsored by the Lafayette Improvement Club. This building has been a restaurant, various clothing shops, and today is an interior design firm.

Post Offices of Lafayette The second post office was located on Mt. Diablo Boulevard near Moraga Road and served eleven families who received their mail in post office boxes rented for a nickel each month. Carrie Hough Van Meter was postmaster from 1904-1927. In 1915, a town library of 60 books was installed in the post office with Carrie serving as town librarian.

Post Offices of Lafayette The first Lafayette post office was built in 1854 as part of Milo Hough’s hotel when it was still known as the Acalanus settlement. Benjamin Shreve came from Kentucky in search of gold but settled in the area building a general store and school. He became the first postmaster when he named the town La Fayette after the famous French General. Shreve and his son Milton were postmasters for 41 years. The building still stands near the Plaza Park and is home to Sideboard Restaurant.

Woodland Lodge In the mid 1930s Eugene O’Neill lived there while Tao House was being built in Danville. Published in the December 2020 issue of Lafayette Social by Andrée Duggan.

Lafayette Schools The second schoolhouse was located west of today’s Lafayette United Methodist Church on Moraga Road. It was built in 1871 at a cost of $825 on a lot that cost $41. There was one unique feature about this school....the numbering system. It was reversed from the numbering system in present day schools. Students started school in the eighth grade and graduated from the first. This numbering system changed when schools became twelve year schools. Grade advancement was not automatic. Students had to achieve a grade of 70% or better on tests given in October and May to advance. This building was moved to Mt. Diablo Blvd. in 1925 and became the post office, library, and telephone exchange. It now houses Douglah Designs, a home remodeling company.

Lafayette Schools The first schoolhouse was located on what is presently called Golden Gate Way between First and Second Streets. There is no information concerning costs of the building and lot. It was started in the winter of 1853 with Benjamin Shreve as the first teacher. In August of 1854, he married Adaline Gorham who had come West with her family from La Fayette County, Illinois. He started a general merchandise store near the first schoolhouse. Later he moved the store to Plaza Way (where Sideboard Restaurant is located today). In 1857 he applied to have a post office in his store and needed a name for the community. When his suggestion of Centerville was denied because another community had chosen that name, he chose La Fayette.

Check out this great article on Lafayette’s pioneer schoolteacher Jennie Bickerstaff in the November 2020 issue of Lafayette Social Magazine by Andrée Duggan. https://online.flippingbook.com/view/624004/10-11/

Another resource for our seniors during this trying time. Thanks to Teresa Blackstone Gerringer for sharing!

The Moraga Historical Society Presents: Canyon, a Unique community Thursday, February 27th at 7:30 p.m. in the Moraga Library Meeting Room 1500 St. Mary’s Road, Moraga, CA 94556... A presentation by Vicki McCosker Saputo. Today Canyon is a tiny community of some 70 residences located in a heavily wooded area, sandwiched between the Oakland Hills and the communities of Moraga and Orinda. But, a little more than 150 years ago, Canyon served as the lumbering center for the Bay Area and its outer regions. Its thousand year old redwoods were shamefully used building towns and cities throughout the region. In 1850 the area was primarily dairy ranches. By 1900, the ranches were disappearing, and the redwoods returned, a number of saloons, hotels, and a general store opened. The area had morphed into a summer resort area and has continued to change but still remain Canyon. Summit Saloon,Circa 1860 Both of Vicki’s Grandparents and Parents on her Father’s (the McCosker) side homesteaded in Canyon in the 1850’s and 60’s. Her father attended the old one-room Canyon School and later commuted to the University of California by foot and/or by the Oakland and Antioch (Sacramento Northern) Railway. She has enjoyed the area her entire life and still owns property in Canyon. Her two sons lived with her during their early childhood. Her eldest son lived there for 20 years and 5 years of that time was with her first granddaughter. She will tell the story of Canyon as she knows and experienced it. This is also our Annual Meeting for the Election of Directors. We will entertain nominations from the floor, so if you are interested in helping out or serving as a Director, please contact Colleen Lund at (925) 376-3520 or Susan Sperry at (925) 376-3053. All members of the Moraga Historical Society, their guests and interested parties are invited to attend. (For individuals wishing more background information on Canyon, Vicki was interviewed in parts 1 & 2 of the KPFA Podcasts. EAST BAY YESTERDAY. You can listen to her and others at Deep in Canyon, Parts 1 & 2.) Join us at 7:30 p.m., February 27th at the Moraga Library Meeting Room.

Please join us on February 20th for this new and exciting collaboration of the Town Hall Theater and the Lafayette Historical Society.

We hope to see you at Stu Swiedler's latest and very interesting presentation on Sunday, January 26 in the Lafayette Library & Learning Center's Don Tatzin Community Hall at 2:00 p.m.

Did you go to kindergarten when it was in the Town Hall in Lafayette? One of the kindergarten teachers - Elaine Cassman McGee visited our History Room and would love to see pictures. We don't have any here. Please let us know!

We are so sorry to have to postpone our event on Sunday - "How Eminent Domain Changed Lamorinda" - it is very likely that Lafayette will be included in PG&E's black-out. The Library & Learning Center will be closed. We hope to reschedule Stuart Swiedler's presentation in the near future and will let everyone know when we do!

Were you in Lafayette in 1971? Is there a chance you know who won 1st Place for the Concours d'Elegance de Lafayette that year? We just added this salver to our collection thanks to John Kennett who donated it to the Historical Society.

Our Historical Society is always getting new and interesting items to display - this fossil collected near Mt. Diablo Blvd & Village Center is particularly interesting! Please come in to the History Room (Monday, Tuesday or Saturday - 10am-2pm) to find out more about it!

Old Betsy was quite the star at the opening of Lafayettte Fire Station 16 on September 16

Please join us on October 27! Imagine being told that the land your home sits on will become part of a reservoir that will not even benefit local residents. Or ...that your back yard was needed for a freeway. Eminent domain refers to the power of the government or its agent to take private property for public use if fair compensation is provided to the owners. Stu’s presentation will utilize aerial photographs, images of properties and documents to examine how eminent domain impacted the course of Lamorinda in the 20th century, culminating in efforts to prevent a freeway’s construction. See more

Are you interested in learning more about the history of Lafayette? Perhaps you'd like to interview one of our long time residents! It's a great way to learn about our City's past!

Our Tuesday Volunteers have been working diligently on our Oral History collection. A recent addition is the actual transcript of the interview. You can read the interview in addition to or instead of listening to it. Here's an example: https://lafayettehistory.org/oral-history-ann-skram-januar/