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32-705: The East Bay Hills runs northwest to southeast for approximately 36.8 miles (59.2 km) with its midpoint at 37° 48' 06" N, 122° 09' 12" W. The tallest peak in the range is Sunol Peak whose summit elevation is 2,182 feet (665 m). The East Bay Hills consists of multiple named components, from north to south: Franklin Ridge, then the Briones Hills , the Berkeley Hills , the San Leandro Hills centrally, and Walpert Ridge and Pleasanton Ridge to

64-482: A capital “F” in the middle. In 1864 the place name "Lafayette" first appeared on a map of the area, titled "Bancroft's Map of California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona (copyrighted 1863. Scale: 24 miles to 1 inch). Yet research by Ruth Dyer, Lafayette historian, shows that the name of the post office and of the new town itself soon began to be written as two words, “La Fayette.” By 1890 it had changed to one word, "Lafayette," and so appeared in an official communication from

96-673: A hill overlooking the Lafayette BART station and Highway 24 "to represent and memorialize the American soldiers who have died in the ongoing Iraqi war." As of January 2014, there are approximately 6,000 crosses in place, representing the US troops who have died in Iraq , and there is also a large sign displaying the total number of deaths. The memorial has generated public attention, media coverage and counter-protests due to its visibility from

128-873: A major center of earthquakes and landslides due to the nearby major and minor fault zones. Both the East Bay Hills and Mt. Diablo continue to rise 1.5 millimetres (0.059 in) a year; this translates to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) over 1,000 years (assuming minimal erosion). Extensive public lands are conserved in the East Bay Hills by the East Bay Municipal Utilities District (EBMUD) and the East Bay Regional Park District . The East Bay Hills have groves of coast redwoods ( Sequoia sempervirens ), making Alameda and Contra Costa Counties two of only four inland California counties to host these trees. In fact,

160-474: A one-room schoolhouse, taught by a 25-year-old Kentucky migrant, Benjamin Shreve. By 1865 the school had expanded to 43 students in five classes, and so in 1868 a tax levy of $ 1,000 was used to build a new schoolhouse; school expanded from a five-month year to a nine-month year. In 1893, a new schoolhouse was built to accommodate the increasing number of students; this building still stands today. On March 2, 1857,

192-453: A population of 23,893. The population density was 1,552.8 inhabitants per square mile (599.5/km ). The racial makeup of Lafayette was 20,232 (84.7%) White , 166 (0.7%) African American , 66 (0.3%) Native American , 2,162 (9.0%) Asian , (2.1%) Pacific Islander , 240 (1.0%) from other races , and 1,000 (4.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,388 persons (5.8%). The Census reported that 23,794 people (99.6% of

224-600: A station for the Pony Express . In the mid-1900s, Lafayette was transformed from an agricultural village into a commuter town , and was incorporated in 1968. Lafayette is located at 37°53′09″N 122°07′05″W  /  37.88583°N 122.11806°W  / 37.88583; -122.11806 . According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 15.4 square miles (40 km ). 15.2 square miles (39 km ) of it

256-643: Is 19 °F (−7 °C), set in December 1990. The region directly east of the hills is generally known for its more suburban or rural atmosphere, and features rolling, grassy hills which highlight a more peaceful and domestic aura. In the southwestern part of Lafayette, is the Lafayette Reservoir , and Briones Regional Park extends into the northern part of Lafayette. Lafayette's wildlife communities include mixed woods and oak woodlands . The 2010 United States Census reported that Lafayette had

288-648: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Lafayette, California Lafayette (formerly La Fayette ) is a city in Contra Costa County, California , United States. As of 2020, the city's population was 25,391. It was named after the Marquis de Lafayette , a French military officer of the American Revolutionary War . Before the colonization of the region by Spain, Lafayette and its vicinity were inhabited by

320-594: Is implementing vegetation treatments to reduce fire fuel loads on up to 2,280 acres (9.2 km) in Contra Costa and Alameda Counties in the East Bay Hills. Briones Hills The Briones Hills form a low mountain range in western Contra Costa County , in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area , California , United States. The Briones Hills are the northernmost portion of

352-465: Is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km ) of it (1.08%) is water. The city is part of the greater San Francisco Bay Area and has its own station on the BART public transit system. Lafayette is situated between Walnut Creek , Moraga , and Orinda , and, together with the latter two towns, is considered locally as part of " Lamorinda ". Lafayette is separated from greater Berkeley and Oakland by

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384-733: Is the Park Theater, which first opened in 1941, and then ceased operations in 2005. The Park Theater was originally a movie theater located on an intersection where the La Fayette statue was built. It then showed its last movie before ceasing operations in 2005. Recently, however, efforts have been made to reopen the Park theater for viewing. As of February 10, 2021, Lafayette has 19,151 registered voters with 10,177 (53%) registered as Democrats, 3,813 (20%) registered as Republicans, and 4,298 (22%) decline to state voters. Most of Lafayette

416-693: The Berkeley Hills (and the Caldecott Tunnel running beneath), a geographical boundary within the East Bay which also represents interesting meteorological, cultural, and political distinctions. Like the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area, Lafayette has a Mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification Csa ); however, the climate differences can be striking: during the summer, temperatures can soar beyond 100 °F (38 °C) in Lafayette and its neighboring cities while

448-630: The California Coast Ranges System. Cities and towns adjacent to or in the foothills of the range include: Briones , Lafayette , Martinez , Orinda , Pleasant Hill , Alhambra Valley , and Walnut Creek . Briones Regional Park , in the East Bay Regional Park District System, provides hiking trails for access. It also protects some of the range's California oak woodland , chaparral , and riparian habitats. Briones Reservoir , of

480-860: The East Bay Hills , which refers geologically to all of the ranges east of the Bay from the Hayward Fault in the west to the Calaveras Fault in the east. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) Geographic Names Information System, however, includes the Briones Hills as part of the Diablo Range in its list of GPS coordinates for the latter. The hills are in the Southern Inner Coast Ranges group of

512-618: The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), is located in the western area. It is impounded by Briones Dam on Bear Creek. The headwaters of Pinole Creek are in the Briones Hills, on the western slope of Costa Peak. The headwaters of Alhambra Creek are in the hills within Briones Regional Park. The privately-owned enclave along Pinole Creek is also known simply as Briones. This Contra Costa County, California –related article

544-460: The Saclan tribe of the indigenous Bay Miwok . Ohlone also populated some of the areas along Lafayette Creek. The indigenous inhabitants' first contact with Europeans was in the late 18th century with the founding of Catholic missions in the region. These initial contacts developed into conflict, with years of armed struggle, including a battle on what is currently Lafayette soil in 1797 between

576-555: The French general who became a hero of the American Revolution (probably not because his wife was a native of Lafayette, Indiana). The first LaFayette post office was established at 3535 Plaza Way. Shreve became the town's first permanent postmaster, holding the job for 30 years. Spelling: On the original document from the U.S. Postal Service, dated March 2, 1857, the name “LaFayette” is unmistakably written as one word with

608-617: The LaFayette post office was established by the U.S. Postal Service. (The official document giving this exact date was supplied to the Lafayette Historical Society in 1993 by the Historical Division of the U.S. Postal Service.) Prior to 1857 the community that is now known as "Lafayette" actually had no official name but was sometimes called Dog Town, Brown's Corner, Brown's Mill, and (when Milo Hough

640-692: The Saclan and the Spanish, and eventually resulting in the subjugation of the native population. Most of what is currently Lafayette was given as a Mexican land grant, Rancho Acalanes to Candelario Valencia in 1834. The name Acalanes seems to have come from the name of a native village in the area, Ahala-n. American settlement started with the arrival of Elam Brown from St. Joseph, Missouri , in 1846. He purchased Rancho Acalanes in 1848. The settlement continued to steadily grow due to its proximity to San Francisco; starting with Brown's group of 18 settlers, by

672-519: The U.S. "Post Office Department" in Feb. 1899. Then by 1905 it was back to two words. Finally on March 31, 1932, the name of the post office was officially changed to Lafayette, which has remained unchanged to this day. Lafayette was the tenth post office established in Contra Costa County. (See Salley, History of California Post Offices). In the early 1860s, Lafayette was briefly the site of

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704-483: The areas west of the hills and nearer to the bay remain up to 20 °F (11 °C) cooler. Summers are warm, dry and very sunny (although mornings can be foggy); winters are cool and damp, with occasional freezes. Most of the annual rainfall comes in the winter, although there are still plenty of clear days during that time. The record high temperature is 115 °F (46 °C), set in July 1972. The record low temperature

736-527: The census in 1852, 76 people were listed as living in the area. Brown founded a mill in 1853. One of the original settlers in Brown's party was Milo J. Hough. He built a hotel in 1853 near Plaza Park and in 1854 was named postmaster of the Acelanus post office, an alternate spelling of the original land grant, Acalanes. The post office was short-lived, closing the following year. A school began in 1852 in

768-500: The commuter thoroughfare below. Also, since the creation of the memorial, there have been several incidents of vandalism . While some show support for the protest, other residents complain that it is disrespectful to the US military in Iraq and that it is an eyesore to the community. The memorial is on private property and modifications and trespassing without consent of the owners has been common. Another historical site found in Lafayette

800-400: The high risk Southern California Counties combined as of 2000. The Oakland firestorm of 1991 ranked first as the state's largest home loss from wildfire. Major increases in fire fuel loads from flammable vegetation over the last century continue to increase the wildfire risk as grazed grasslands has converted to brush and unmaintained pine or eucalyptus . The East Bay Regional Park District

832-621: The largest coast redwood tree described currently or historically, was reported in 1893 by William P. Gibbons (1812-1897), the American naturalist , physician and founder member of the California Academy of Sciences , who measured the hollow shell of a coast redwood in the Oakland Hills with diameter of 9.9 metres (32 ft) at breast height. The East Bay Hills has lost more homes to major wildfires than almost all of

864-640: The population) lived in households, 38 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 61 (0.3%) were institutionalized. There were 9,223 households, out of which 3,262 (35.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 5,871 (63.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 651 (7.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 273 (3.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 306 (3.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships , and 75 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships . 1,916 households (20.8%) were made up of individuals, and 802 (8.7%) had someone living alone who

896-547: The population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 4,769 people (20.0%) lived in rental housing units. In 2016, the median household income in Lafayette was over $ 140,000. The Lafayette Library and Learning Center of the Contra Costa County Library is located in Lafayette. Oakmont Memorial Park is a cemetery in Lafayette. Oakwood serves as a country club/fitness center for Lamorindans. In November 2006, area residents began placing crosses on

928-564: The southwest and southeast, respectively, culminating near Alameda Creek / Highway 84 . Geologically, the East Bay Hills are bounded by the Calaveras Fault to the east and the Hayward Fault to the west. The Hayward Fault merges into the Calaveras Fault in east San Jose in Santa Clara County , about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Fremont and the southern boundary of the East Bay Hills. The East Bay Hills are

960-431: Was 45.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males. There were 9,651 housing units at an average density of 627.2 per square mile (242.2/km ), of which 9,223 were occupied, of which 6,937 (75.2%) were owner-occupied, and 2,286 (24.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.7%. 19,025 people (79.6% of

992-419: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58. There were 6,795 families (73.7% of all households); the average family size was 3.01. The population was spread out, with 5,956 people (24.9%) under the age of 18, 1,220 people (5.1%) aged 18 to 24, 4,676 people (19.6%) aged 25 to 44, 8,069 people (33.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,972 people (16.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

East Bay Hills - Misplaced Pages Continue

1024-490: Was postmaster in 1854–1855) Alcalanus. The name "LaFayette" came together with the community's first post office. In 1857 Benjamin Shreve, owner and manager of a roadside hotel-general store (which faced today's Lafayette Plaza), applied for a post office for the community, first requesting the name Centerville. When informed that a post office with that name already existed in California, Shreve suggested La Fayette, after

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