OVERVIEW
The following timeline is a summary of issues discussed in each of the tabs to the left. It can be used for ease of navigation. See each discussion for more information.
1200 BCE: The Ohlone Native American Tribe inhabits the coastal region of present day California.
1769: Spanish Empire colonization. Establishment of the "Mission Era"
1820: Spanish Empire grants Luis Maria Peralta 44,800 acres of land (which encompasses present-day Alameda County)
1842: Death of Peralta forced the land to be divided among his four sons. Peralta's Sons opened the land to American settlers
1848: (1) Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago; Mexican Republic gives up region to the U.S. in exchange for money. incorporated new American settlements and peoples. (2) Gold Rush- brought in an influx of people spanning across the country.
1850: Settlers begin to draft legislature that planned the incorporation of Oakland as a city
1852: CA state legislature incorporates Oakland as a city on May 4th.
1854: Horace Carpentier Elected first mayor of Oakland. Oakland becomes part of Alameda County
1855: College of California established
1860: Census reports population 1543
1868: Central pacific railroad company buys Oaklands waterfront property and creates the Long Wharf
1869: University of California Created
1890: Oakland's first electric Street Car
1893: Francis Marion Smith Starts purchasing independent street car lines to eventually form the Key System
1906: Great San Francisco Earthquake. 150,000 people came to Oakland, annexation of more land.
1907-1908: First National Bank of Oakland.
1910: (1) Oakland’s population doubled from 1900. (2) Gained control of the waterfront, allowing for future port development.
1915: California passed a city planning enabling act, usage of zoning.
1930’s: Great Depression
1936: San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
1937: Golden Gate Bridge
1940’s: (1) Wartime Boom (recovery from Great Depression), (2) 1940-1945 ~100,000 person population growth, reaching an all-time high in 1945 at 405,301.
1940’s-50’s: Racial shift (12% African-American population growth) leads to racial homogeneity in West Oakland
1950’s: Economic and industrial decline after war’s end
1951: BART: San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit Commission formed. (Construction began 1964)
1956: Redevelopment by Oakland Redevelopment Agency
1957: First General Plan of Oakland
1960’s: Black Power Movement
1970’s and 1980’s: (1) large-scale demographic change (white/black residents decreased, Asian and Latin American residents increased) (2) Divestment from urban core and decrease in available jobs
1989: Loma Prieta earthquake and infrastructure damage
1998: Most current General Plan of Oakland adopted, extends to 2015
2007: City adopted a Bicycle Master Plan to encourage biking as a transit option
2010+: Initiatives in sustainability and housing development to support diverse population, environmental preservation/citizen health, and economic growth
1769: Spanish Empire colonization. Establishment of the "Mission Era"
1820: Spanish Empire grants Luis Maria Peralta 44,800 acres of land (which encompasses present-day Alameda County)
1842: Death of Peralta forced the land to be divided among his four sons. Peralta's Sons opened the land to American settlers
1848: (1) Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago; Mexican Republic gives up region to the U.S. in exchange for money. incorporated new American settlements and peoples. (2) Gold Rush- brought in an influx of people spanning across the country.
1850: Settlers begin to draft legislature that planned the incorporation of Oakland as a city
1852: CA state legislature incorporates Oakland as a city on May 4th.
1854: Horace Carpentier Elected first mayor of Oakland. Oakland becomes part of Alameda County
1855: College of California established
1860: Census reports population 1543
1868: Central pacific railroad company buys Oaklands waterfront property and creates the Long Wharf
1869: University of California Created
1890: Oakland's first electric Street Car
1893: Francis Marion Smith Starts purchasing independent street car lines to eventually form the Key System
1906: Great San Francisco Earthquake. 150,000 people came to Oakland, annexation of more land.
1907-1908: First National Bank of Oakland.
1910: (1) Oakland’s population doubled from 1900. (2) Gained control of the waterfront, allowing for future port development.
1915: California passed a city planning enabling act, usage of zoning.
1930’s: Great Depression
1936: San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
1937: Golden Gate Bridge
1940’s: (1) Wartime Boom (recovery from Great Depression), (2) 1940-1945 ~100,000 person population growth, reaching an all-time high in 1945 at 405,301.
1940’s-50’s: Racial shift (12% African-American population growth) leads to racial homogeneity in West Oakland
1950’s: Economic and industrial decline after war’s end
1951: BART: San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit Commission formed. (Construction began 1964)
1956: Redevelopment by Oakland Redevelopment Agency
1957: First General Plan of Oakland
1960’s: Black Power Movement
1970’s and 1980’s: (1) large-scale demographic change (white/black residents decreased, Asian and Latin American residents increased) (2) Divestment from urban core and decrease in available jobs
1989: Loma Prieta earthquake and infrastructure damage
1998: Most current General Plan of Oakland adopted, extends to 2015
2007: City adopted a Bicycle Master Plan to encourage biking as a transit option
2010+: Initiatives in sustainability and housing development to support diverse population, environmental preservation/citizen health, and economic growth