About Concord, CA

Concord, California had a population of 122,067 people in 2010. The community is the eighth largest in the San Francisco Bay Area and the largest community in the County of Contra Costa. In 1859, a man named Salvio Pacheco established the settlement that was named Todos Santos. However, within months the settlement was renamed to Concord. The community of Concord is located some 29 miles just east of San Francisco and is a primary regional suburban East Bay hub in the San Francisco Bay region.

The Miwok Indian tribes inhabited the valleys north of Mount Diablo. They fished in many different streams that flowed Between the San Francisco Bay and the mountain and also hunted elk. Although, they didn’t settle their Spanish Explorers started crossing the region in 1772. The Mexican land grant for the Rancho Monte del Diablo that was located at the base of Mount Diablo was granted to a man named Salvio Pacheco in 1834.

The original name of the settlement of Concord was Todos Santo. During the 1800’s, the community achieved some prominence due to the fact that the majority of the residents of Pacheco moved to Concord in order to avoid the destruction that was caused by flooding and fire that devastated Pacheco’s previously booming economy. The year 1905 brought the incorporation of Concord.

In the surrounding Clayton and Ygnacio Valleys, the region area around Concord was primarily an agricultural region. The crops that were grown included tomatoes, hay, wheat, walnuts, and grapes. The region that is located to the east is the current location of what is known as the Concord Naval Weapons Station, which was the location of some very large wheat ranches of more than 5,000 acres and produced nearly a sea of wheat all the way to the marshes that border Suisun Bay. Several vineyards were removed and replaced with walnut orchards during Prohibition. The community of Cowell produced cement, and is currently incorporated into Concord.

In 1872, the first post office in Concord opened. During WW II, while the munitions were being loaded on board a Navy cargo ship exploded, which resulted in the largest number of fatalities among African Americans in any one incident during that war. A very large explosion immediately killed some 320 sailors in 1944, including civilians who were working on the pier as well as some merchant seamen. The blast was felt some 30 miles away. Subsequently some 258 African American sailors refused to load any more ammunition, which was the start of the largest mutiny trial ever held in the Navy, which resulted in some 50 men being found guilty.

Concord has been mainly a bedroom community for Oakland and San Francisco and Oakland during the past 40 years. However, employment within the community has increased during the past few decades. Headquartered in Concord Round is the Table Pizza, and corporations that have strong regional ties with the Bay Area, that include Bank of America and Chevron, have organized extensive back-office operations there, which helps to diversify the local economy. Also, Concord has a strong retail sector that included the Sunvalley Mall, which used to be one of the 50 largest shopping center in the nation, and includes Fry’s Electronics, Costco, as well as automobile dealerships. Atrivo was headquartered in Concord, before it closed

The primary thoroughfares in Concord include Treat Boulevard, Oak Grove Road, Ygnacio Valley Road, Monument Boulevard, Clayton Road, Concord Boulevard, and Willow Pass Road. Concord is also served by state highways 242 and 4, as well as I-680.

In the community of Concord, a public county owned airfield, known as Buchanan Field Airport is located. Although it was once served by U.S. Airways, Pacific Southwest Airlines, and WestAir, the airfield doesn’t currently have any scheduled passenger service.