Contra Costa County, California
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 51 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1966; 2 are also National Historic Landmarks. Most listings are in or near Richmond, Martinez, Antioch.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for California is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Contra Costa titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP30 of 51 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
51 listed properties
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBContra Costa was formed in 1850 (1850-02-18) from unknown / original county.
CONTRA COSTA created from non-county area.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusContra Costa County population from 1860 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,328 | 12,525 | 18,046 | 53,889 | 100,450 | 298,984 | 409,030 | 656,380 | 948,816 | 1,165,927 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
National Park Service sites nearby
NPSPark units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).
| Site | Type | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site | Park unit | 12.3 km |
| John Muir National Historic Site | Park unit | 17.5 km |
| Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park | Park unit | 35.5 km |
| San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park | Park unit | 43.3 km |
| Presidio of San Francisco | Park unit | 46.5 km |
| Golden Gate National Recreation Area | Park unit | 54.7 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS17 cemeteries and 5 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 17 of 17 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Alamo - Lafayette Cemetery |
| Alhambra Cemetery |
| Byron Brentwood Knightson Cemetery |
| Holly Cross Cemetery |
| Live Oak Cemetery |
| Memory Gardens Cemetery |
| New Holy Cross Cemetery |
| Oak View Memorial Park |
| Oakmont Memorial Park |
| Queen of Haven Cemetery |
| Queen of Heaven Cemetery |
| Rolling Hills Memorial Park |
| Rose Hill Cemetery |
| Saint Catherine of Siena Catholic Cemetery |
| Saint Joseph Cemetery |
| Saint Stephen Cemetery |
| Sunset View Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 5 of 5
| Name |
|---|
| Ambrose |
| Empire |
| Hooper |
| Ohmer |
| Port Chicago |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Contra Costa County, California
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