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California State...
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California Counties
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California Counties
The U.S. state of California is divided into fifty-eight counties.
On January 4, 1850, the California constitutional committee recommended the formation of 18 counties. They were
Benicia, Butte, Fremont, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Monterey, Mount Diablo, Oro, Redding, Sacramento, San Diego, San
Francisco, San Joaquin, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, and Sutter. On April 22, the counties
of Branciforte, Calaveras, Coloma, Colusi, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Trinity, and Yuba were added. Benicia was
renamed Solano, Coloma to El Dorado, Fremont to Yola, Mt. Diablo to Contra Costa, San Jose to Santa Clara, Oro
to Tuolumne, and Redding to Shasta. One of the first state legislative acts regarding counties was to rename
Branciforte County to Santa Cruz, Colusi to Colusa, and Yola to Yolo.
The last California county to have been established is Imperial County in 1907. |
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Alameda County, California
Alameda County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Oakland
Year Organized: 1853
Square Miles: 738 |
Court House: 1221 Oak Street
County Courthouse
Oakland, CA 94612-4224
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
The word Alameda is derived from alamo the Spanish name for
cottonwood or poplar tree, and means a "grove of poplar trees." The name was
applied both to the southern portion of the county (La Alameda) and to the
stream running through it (Rio de la Alameda) as early as 1795.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
History
Alameda County was organized in 1853, under act of March 25, that year, by being set off from Contra Costa, of which
it had previously formed a part. Alvarado became the first seat of government, as it was the most central among the
available settlements, and with a good shipping place, to which Mission San José and other points were tributary. But
political influence gained the privilege soon afterward for San Leandro, a town with similar advantages but more
attractive in site and appearance, which had to surrender it twenty years later to its more powerful neighbor, Oakland.
The change to San Leandro was made by popular vote in the latter part of 1854, and the erection of county buildings
immediately begun. These were completed in 1855 at a cost of about $1,200. Alvarado did not submit quietly to being
deprived of its honors, and litigation was the result, and for a little while the county seat was ambulatory between the
two points, being fixed in San Leandro only in 1856. In this and the following year new county buildings were erected,
at a cost of $30,000. The erection of a county hospital at San Leandro was begun in 1869 and completed in 1870, but,
proving unsatisfactory, another building was erected later which, with additions, will accommodate about 200 patients.
In 1873 the county-seat was removed to Oakland, by popular vote, and the construction of a court house and jail, and
building for hall of records, county clerk and treasurer's offices, on opposite sides of Broadway, was undertaken, at a
cost of about $200,000.
More at
A Memorial
and Biographical History of Northern California - Chicago, Lewis Publ. Co., 1891
More Alameda County History
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 821 square miles (2,127 km²), of
which, 738 square miles (1,910 km²) of it is land and 84 square miles (216 km²) of it (10.18%) is water.
The San Francisco Bay borders the county on the west. The crest of the Berkeley Hills form part of the
northeastern boundary, and reach into the center of the county. A coastal plain several miles wide lines
the bay; it is home to Oakland and the most populous regions. Livermore Valley lies in the eastern part
of the county.
The Hayward Fault, a major branch of the San Andreas Fault to the west, runs through the most populated
parts of Alameda County, while the Calaveras Fault runs through the southeastern part of the county.
Neighboring Counties:
- North: Contra Costa County
- Northeast: San Joaquin County
- East: Stanislaus County
- Southeast: Santa Clara County
- Southwest: San Mateo County
- West: San Francisco Bay
- Northwest: San Francisco city & county
Cities and Towns:
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- Alameda |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Albany |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Berkeley |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Dublin |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Emeryville |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Fremont |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Hayward |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Livermore |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Newark |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Oakland
(County Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Piedmont |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Pleasanton |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- San Leandro |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Union City |
city |
Incorporated Area |
County Resources:
Enter County Resources and Information Here
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County Resource Guide
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The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic
features of our country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.
Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally,
act locally." |
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