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History · Alhambra Valley

Half of Alhambra Valley’s homes were built after 1968

Most of Alhambra Valley was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. Below: maps from 1897 on and old-book passages.

0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Alhambra Valley’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Alhambra Valley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18976 editions of the USGS map, 1897 to 1993. Watch Alhambra Valley change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alhambra Valley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Alhambra Valley’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Alhambra Valley on the map, 1897 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Alhambra Valley. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Alhambra Valley on the 1897 USGS mapAlhambra Valley on the 1915 USGS mapAlhambra Valley on the 1947 USGS mapAlhambra Valley on the 1959 USGS mapAlhambra Valley on the 1968 USGS mapAlhambra Valley on the 1993 USGS map1897Concord sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Alhambra Valley.

The story so far

Alhambra Valley, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Alhambra Valley yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Alhambra Valley ( , Spanish: [aˈlambɾa]) is a census-designated place in the Briones Hills of central Contra Costa County, California, United States. Alhambra Valley sits at an elevation of 525 feet (160 m). The 2020 United States census reported that Alhambra Valley's population was 805. The Spanish name of the valley was Cañada del Hambre "Valley of Hunger"; it was adapted into English with obvious influence from "Alhambra".

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 924 to 805 (-13%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Alhambra Valley in 1926

Passages that mention Alhambra Valley, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Died, on September 24, 1897, in Alhambra Valley, where she had been a resident since 1853, Mrs. L. E. Strentzel, aged seventy-six years. Died, at his home in Alhambra Valley, October 31, 1890, Dr. John T. Strentzel, aged seventy-seven years, a native of Lieben, Poland.
History of Contra Costa County, California1926 · page 238Read the page →
Read the text

Died, on September 24, 1897, in Alhambra Valley, where she had been a resident since 1853, Mrs. L. E. Strentzel, aged seventy-six years. Died, at his home in Alhambra Valley, October 31, 1890, Dr. John T. Strentzel, aged seventy-seven years, a native of Lieben, Poland.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Famous people

Famous people close to Alhambra Valley

Nobody well known was born in Alhambra Valley itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

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Tom HanksAmerican actor and film producer · b. 1956
Dave BrubeckAmerican jazz pianist and composer · b. 1920
Joe DiMaggioAmerican baseball player · b. 1914
K
Kyle GassAmerican singer and musician · b. 1960
C
Christy TurlingtonAmerican model · b. 1969
M
Matt BiondiAmerican swimmer · b. 1965
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Martinez9 historic placesA−

Questions about Alhambra Valley’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.