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Alameda County was formed on March 25, 1853 from portions of Contra
Costa and Santa Clara counties. The word 'Alameda' means "a place
where poplar trees grow", a name in which originally was given to
Alameda Creek, (El Arroya de la Alameda).
The county seat at the time of formation was located at Alvarado; it was moved to San
Leandro in 1856 where the county courthouse was destroyed by the devastating 1868 earthquake on the Hayward Fault.
The county seat was then re-established in the town of Brooklyn from 1872-1875. Brooklyn is now part of Oakland,
which has been the county seat since 1873.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries what
is now considered intensively urban region, with major cities, was
developed as a trolley car suburb of San Francisco. From Historical
native American tribal lands to Spanish Land Grants, then to farms,
ranches, orchards, suburbs and eventually cities, is shared with
Contra Costa County.
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Website
updated with new data March 18, 2008
