Lafayette (formerly La Fayette) is a city in Contra Costa County, California, USA. As of 2010, its population was 23,893. It was named after the Marquis de Lafayette, a French army hero of the American Revolutionary War.
History
Lafayette’s history began more than 10,000 years ago when the Saclans, a sub-group of Miwok, settled here in several villages. In 1797, the Saclans fought a battle with the Spaniards on what would later become Lafayette soil.
A wagon train of forty-four families went through the Donner Pass only days in 1847 when the related Donner party was led by Elam Brown, the first Yankee settler in Contra Costa county. When Brown arrived, he bought a Mexican land grant of 3,329 acres called Rancho Acalanus, which is nearly all of Lafayette today. In February 1848, he founded the first of three homes and became the first town in the central county of Contra Costa.
Brown became a farmer with his friend Nathaniel Jones. Brown built his gray horse-drawn mill, fatigued from his journey to San Jose in 7-10 days at the nearest peak. Brown chose to build a steam-powered plant on Lafayette Creek on First Street with business going well. When that mill was built, at the present intersection of Diablo Blvd. Mt. and Moraga Road, the commercial center of Lafayette began to develop. Such first companies were blacksmith shops, pubs, stores, and places.
During the 1850s, redwood harvested wood was transported from Martinez to San Francisco, and Moraga was transported to Martinez. On this long journey, Lafayette was the ideal place to rest, cook, drink, and fix your wagons.
Benjamin Shreve came to Pioneer Store 191in 0 Lafayette after failing to make a fortune in the Gold Rush. He built and ran Lafayette’s first school. In 1857 Shreve became postmaster of the town and he decided to give it a name. It was previously called Acalanus, a different spelling of the land grant, but the town wanted an identity of its own. Previously assumed names were DogTown, Brown’s Corner, Brown’s Mill, Acalanus, and Centerville. He requested the name Centerville, but it was rejected because there was another Centerville in the state. He used La Fayette, his second option. The expression “Lafayette” was converted in 1932 into the current terminology. At the beginning of the 1860s, the Pony Express passed through the city to wait for a new horse at the intersection of Mount Diablo Blvd and Moraga Lane, and the biggest historic occurrence was in Lafayette. Until the post-World War 2 construction boom many houses were built there, and it rand remained a quiet farming village.
Climate
Like the rest of San the Francisco Bay Area, Lafayette is characterized by a Mediterranean climate, however, the climatic differences can be striking: in Lafayette and its neighboring cities during the summer temperatures can increase beyond 100 ° F (38 ° C), whereas the hills west and bay areas remain cooler to 20 ° C. Summers are cool, dry and very sunny; winters are cool, and sometimes frozen (although they may be foggy in the morning).
This amazing city is perfect for kids and boasts the following must-see sights in Lafayette, California:
- Chabot Space & Science Center
- Tilden Regional Park
- Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park
- Joaquin Miller Park
- Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve
- Briones Regional Park
- Regional Parks Botanic Garden
- Las Trampas Regional Wilderness Park
- Roberts Regional Recreation Area
All of these wonderful attractions are located just a short drive from our location near Downtown Walnut Creek, California on Locust Street. Stop by for a visit anytime!
