Port Costa was founded in 1879 as a landing for the railroad ferry Solano, owned and operated by the Central Pacific Railroad. This put Port Costa on the main route of the transcontinental railroad. The Solano, later joined by the Contra Costa, carried entire trains across the Carquinez Strait from Benicia to Port Costa, from where they continued on to the Oakland Pier.
Passages that mention Port Costa, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Contra Costa County, California1926 · page 1039Read the page →
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In the early days the parish took in all the territory from Oakland to Port Costa but, as the population increased, various parishes were cut off and priests established in them. In 1911, when Father Porta took charge the parish included San Pablo, Pinole and Rodeo. He set about beautifying the building and grounds at Pinole and in 1918 he built the Rodeo church, the land being donated by Patrick Tormey, and the name of St. Patrick given to the church in his honor. This was the first church built in the diocese without incurring indebtedness to be paid off at a
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The history of Contra Costa County, California1917 · page 86Read the page →
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Early in 1880 a number of franchises for the erection of wharves were granted to Port Costa, a hamlet then fast coming into prominence as a shipping point and also because it was there that the steamer "Solano" landed its western-bound trains from the Atlantic. The records of that year show also that the Northern Railroad Company had over twenty-three miles of railroad in the county, while the San Pablo & Tulare Railroad Company had more than thirtyfour. The former was valued at $13,060 a mile, and the latter at $11,200. An official seal
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The history of Contra Costa County, California1917 · page 423Read the page →
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Port Costa first came into prominence along in 1879, when the late G. W. McNear, Sr., purchased a large strip of frontage along the shore and built the immense grain warehouses that have had a prominent place in Port Costa's commercial history. Out of his large holdings he laid out the town of Port Costa and founded the Port Costa Water Company, which suppUes the principal towns along the northeastern shore. Since his death the interests that he founded have been ably conducted by his son, G. W. McNear, Jr.
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History of Contra Costa County, California1926 · page 940Read the page →
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his birth; but at the age of fourteen he left home, and when sixteen landed in America. For a time he followed the life of a sailor in New York, continuing thus until he arrived in California. After his arrival he came to Port Costa and became captain of a barkentine sailing vessel named Edward May, and he also was a stevedore in the employ of the Port Costa Lumber Company; then he came to the sugar refinery and was employed there until he became ill. He packed the lumber for the first building at Crockett on the east end of the water front, which was a
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Port Costa, 1881 to 1898
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
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 Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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