History

OUR PAST….OUR FUTURE

1839 – Mexican government grants 10,000 acres to Jose Antone Mesa and Miguel Jose Garcia
1840 – Names New York of the Pacific, possibly because the man who laid out the town, Colonel J.D. Stevenson, was a native of New York.
1870’s – First Italian fisherman, Pietro Aiello and brother Rosario, began fishing the river. Word of mouth quickly spread and by 1910 it was recorded that nearly 1,000 Italian fishermen and their families worked the rivers and canneries.

1903 – Town renamed Black Diamond following discovery of coal in the hills 3 miles south of town.
1910 – Columbia-Geneva Steel Company starts operating on a small scale.
1916 – Pacific Gas & Electric was built. The Great Western Electro Chemical Company was established
1920’s – Pittsburg High School opens.
1927 – USS Steel purchased Columbia Steel.

1939 – Great Western Electro Chemical Company merges with Dow Chemical Company.
1942 – Camp Stoneman was built and local industries boomed. For thousand of GI’s who went to fight in the Asiatic-Pacific operations during WWII, Camp Stoneman was their last contact in the United States.
1954 – After the Korean War, Camp Stoneman closed and the property was added to the City of Pittsburg for commercial and residential development. However, as Camp Stoneman closed its doors, so ended those eras prosperous timings in Pittsburg.
1960’s – Buchanan Park swim center opens and Pittsburg High School’s Creative Arts Center opens. Both were considered to be among the best in the area with state-of-the-art facilities at that time.

1970’s – Pittsburg Marina was built, then widely considered the best in the area. It is now undergoing renovations.
1974 – Los Medanos College opens, providing 2 year degrees and transfer programs to East County students, in addition to lifelong learning programs.
1980’s – Pittsburg’s vacant land was seen as a gold mine to developers. From 1981 to 2000, Pittsburg experienced a 59% increase in population.
1990’s – BART extended its lines to its Eastern-most point: the Pittsburg/Bay Point station at Bailey Road. Delta View Golf Course becomes a public course; now ranked in the state’s top 25 golf courses. Highway 4 widening project began.

2000’s – New HOV lanes added to Hwy. 4, relieving congestion as Eastern Contra Costa becomes among the most populous area of the county. Hwy. 4 widening project continued through 2006.
2003 – Pittsburg’s Centennial Celebration year.
2004 – Pittsburg’s Auto Plaza opens on Century Blvd. along Hwy. 4.
2000-2010 – Pittsburg’s population estimated to grow by 37%. New e-BART proposed, expanding BART service east another 23 miles, further easing traffic congestion.

2011 – Widen SR 4 from the existing four lanes to eight lanes. The widened freeway will provide one HOV lane and three mixed-flow lanes in each direction.
2013 – SR 4 construction projected to be completed.
2015 – E-Bart system becomes fully operational at Railroad Ave. & Hillcrest Ave. E-Bart stations.