History

Oakland’s first inhabitants, the Ohlone Indians, arrived around 1,200 B.C. They were hunters who lived in harmony with nature and left no permanent mark on the landscape. On March 27, 1772, Spanish explorers entered Oakland and reported the natural geography as possibly the most perfect on earth. The area flourished with greenery and animal life. The marsh that later became known as Lake Merritt was alive with wild fowl.

In 1776, Spain established a presidio and mission on the west side of the Bay. Mission San Jose (now known as Fremont) had jurisdiction over the area that one day would be Oakland. To secure land for Spain, soldiers were rewarded with land grants if they promised to settle in the new colony. In 1820 Luis Maria Peralta was granted 44,800 acres which included most of what is now Alameda County. Oakland, under Mexican rule, was legally owned by Don Luis Peralta’s four sons.

In 1852, Oakland was chartered as a city and almost immediately thereafter, construction of shipping wharves began. Building the large wharves and dredging a shipping channel positioned Oakland as an independent point of destination.

Oakland grew rapidly through the 19th century. In 1869 the Central Pacific Railroad selected Oakland as the terminus of the new transcontinental railroad, providing a vital link to the East. In 1873 following a significant earthquake, the county seat of Alameda County was moved to Oakland where it has remained to this day. The even more devastating earthquake of 1906 resulted in many hundreds of people and businesses relocating from San Francisco to Oakland. Between 1900 and 1910, Oakland’s population more than doubled.

World War II brought tremendous change to Oakland. Huge numbers of workers moved to the area to work in local shipyards and many of the troops stationed at Treasure Island and the Oakland Army Base chose to remain in Oakland. As a result, Oakland’s population grew by almost one third between 1940 and 1950.

During the war, the military made substantial improvements in Oakland’s port facilities. The decision in the late 1950s to further modernize Oakland’s docks and equip them with container-shipping facilities opened another chapter in Oakland’s history. Today, the 550-acre Port of Oakland is the largest container shipping port on the Pacific Coast and is among the top 20 ports in the world.

Today, Oakland boasts a population of nearly 400,000, representing various ethnic groups and cultures. According to a University of Wisconsin study, Oakland is the most ethnically diverse city in the United States. There are at least 81 different languages and dialects spoken here.

Courtesy of The Oakland Tours Program, Sponsored by the Oakland Community and Economic Development Agency.