City of Brentwood 75th Anniversary

Hello Residents, Friends and Visitors

Welcome to Brentwood, California and our 75th anniversary celebration.

The City of Brentwood is elated to commemorate our 75th anniversary. With a rich history and a vibrant present, Brentwood has flourished into a thriving community that cherishes its past while embracing the future. This milestone serves as a moment of reflection and celebration for the city’s residents and businesses.

In this publication, you will learn some of that rich history, such as who our first mayor was, when the first street

was built and how we became known for our agricultural products.

Speaking of history, did you know that Brentwood is now the self-proclaimed “U-Pick Capital”? Brentwood is the second-oldest U-pick area in the U.S. and the oldest, this side of the Allegheny Mountains.

Did you know that our beautiful City Hall and Community Center were designed after another former building in town? Former council member Chris Becnel, and his wife Donna were looking at some old pictures of the original Hotel Brentwood – formerly lo -

cated on the corner of Oak and Brentwood (formerly Railroad) Boulevard and realized that is the look we need to re-create and the rest is history. Speaking of history, you may want to take time to walk around the outside of City Hall.

Over the years, Brentwood has grown tremendously and developed, but has maintained its agricultural roots. Our city once relied primarily on agriculture, but has now diversified its economy and flourished in various sectors, including retail, healthcare, education, and technology. Our commitment to innovation and sustainabil-

ity has positioned Brentwood as a hub for growing families, retirees, entrepreneurship and opportunity.

The City of Brentwood invites its residents, past and present, to join in the festivities marking this momentous occasion. A series of exciting events and activities are planned throughout the year. We hope you enjoy your time in Brentwood. We look forward to seeing you at the many upcoming events and ensuring that Brentwood continues to be “rooted in the community” for another 75 years. – TheCityofBrentwood

Portrait of Judge Rixon

Judge W. Blair Rixon (born Nov. 20, 1908 died Nov.28,1998) Rixon briefly served as a deputy district attorney for Contra Costa County in the 1940s during the period in which this story is set. In 1948, he became the Brentwood City Court Judge and later a Municipal Court Judge in Brentwood and Pittsburg. Rixon retired from the bench in 1974.

Mayors

John Lane 1948 – 1949

Oliver Danielson 1949 – 1950

Joseph Silva 1950 – 1952

Everett Lemoine 1952 – 1954

Wesley Curtis 1954 – 1956

William ‘Pete’ Gibson 1956 – 1958

Clifford Avery 1958 – 1960

Art Christiansen 1960 – 1964

George Nunn 1964 – 1968

Alan Jensen 1968 – 1970

George Gamble 1970 – 1976

Joe Cunningham 1976 – 1978

Bruce Ghiselli 1978 – 1980

Council Members

Founding City Council Members

Barbara Guise 1980 – 1982

Roger Moore

1982 – 1984

Nathan Fisher 1984 – 1986

Catherine Palmer 1986 – 1990

Art Gonzales 1990 – 1994

Bill Hill 1994 – 1996

John Morrill 1996 – 1998

Quintin Kidd 1998 – 2000

Michael A. McPoland 2000 – 2002

Brian Swisher 2002 – 2006

Robert Taylor 2006 – 2020

Joel Bryant 2020 – Present

City of Brentwood City Council Members

The first Brentwood City Council poses for a photograph in 1948. Pictured from left to right are Bob Jansee, Oliver Danielson, John J. Lane, Mayor; John Dyer and Adolf Boltzen. The city’s approved first budget was $28,500 ($353,790.00 in 2023 buying power). The property taxed assessed valuation was $700,000 ($8,689,585 in 2023 buying power).

The City of Brentwood Gets its Start

As it is today, the town of Brentwood in the 1940s was the most prosperous community in eastern Contra Costa County. Its residents were looking for better police protection, cleaner streets, better fire protection, better public health, and beautification of the town. The county seat and center of county services, then and now, was Martinez located more than 50 miles from Brentwood. A group of prominent citizens spearheaded the effort to incorporate under the auspices of the Brentwood Improvement Association.

The ad hoc association began its campaign to sign up the necessary number of property owners representing 25 percent of the assessed property valuation within the proposed boundaries.

Incorporation as a City is a legal process outlined under the Municipal Corporation Act of 1883, 6th Class. The procedure outlined in the 1883 statute (Channel 49, section 3, page 95), was still the methodology followed 65 years later by the members of the Brentwood Improvement Association and living within the 1878 Township of Brentwood. A petition signed by a minimum of 100 electors within the proposed boundary area was presented to the Board of Supervisors and approved.

An election was subsequently held within the Township of Brentwood. Citizens rallied to the idea and voted overwhelmingly “For Incorporation” in early January 1948. The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors subsequently met the following Monday, Jan. 26, 1948, to validate the election by Board Resolution. That resolution was recorded by the California Secretary of State resulting in our community’s incorporation as the City of Brentwood effective Jan. 21, 1948.

There was one small problem. The attorney fees, cost of conducting an election, County Recorder’s fees and Secretary of State

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Chase Wheeler

Carol A. Jensen

Julian Nixon

Rene De Amaral

document filing fees totaled $100. Who was to pay? There was no tax or levy mechanism as yet for the town of Brentwood to assess its residents. Where to get the money? Bear in mind that $100 in 1948 is the equivalent to $1,241.37 in buying power today.

County Deputy District Attorney W. Blair Rixon was approached by the Improvement Association for ideas on how to acquire the necessary fees. He had an inspired idea. One afternoon, Attorney Rixon and Constable Charlie Barkley visited a local Brentwood madam at her place of business. The Deputy District Attorney let it be known to the proprietress that the two men had reason to believe there were illegal activities going on at the premises. The madam could either make a donation of $100 toward the incorporation costs and fees, or Barkley would arrest her then and there. Her appearance and conviction before the County Superior Court would probably result in a $100 fine and jail time. The woman surveyed the faces of the two men, opened the bottom drawer of her desk and reached for her purse.

Problem solved, money supplied, documents filed, costs paid and cityhood conferred.

[A true story as told to Kathy Leighton by Blair Rixon after his 1974 retirement as City Court/ Brentwood and Municipal Court Pittsburg/Brentwood Judge.]

Enjoy more history and stories about Brentwood in the 75th Anniversary Edition of Brentwood Through Time by Carol A. Jensen. The expanded edition covers the history of your home town with expanded coverage of the City of Brentwood as we enjoy it today. More than 150 original images that illustrate the 19th to 21st century resident experience. Available at the East Contra Costa Historical Society, Amazon and Barnes & Noble beginning mid-August 2023.

Brentwood Township Map circa 1878

Historical Society: Preserving the Past, Preparing for the Future”

The East Contra Costa Historical Society is a museum dedicated to preserving East County’s artifacts and resources that document the history of Bethel Island, Brentwood, Byron, Discovery Bay, Knightsen, Oakley and surrounding islands. Its motto: “preserving the past, preparing for the future.”

The historical society’s origins can be found in the library of Liberty High School. At their first meeting in March of 1970, they adopted the organization’s names, wrote a statement of purpose, planned for their quarterly bulletin “Los Meganos” and began their work on their constitution.

That first meeting would be organized by Agnes Bonde, Edna Hill, Lou Bronzan, Fabin and Gwen Richart, Charles Weeks Jr., Walter Sharafanowich and Charlie Bohakel. The group would adopt their constitution and elect officers at their next meeting on April 30, 1970.

After two years of focusing on “Los Meganos,” the historical society would shift its goals and begin the preservation of donated artifacts, farm equipment and photographs, look for a structure to house them and the preservation of the John Marsh stone house.

Many of these artifacts can now be found in the property’s farmhouse, including artifacts from the Byron Hot Springs, Hotel Brentwood and a survivor of the Donner Party, who settled in Byron.

The historical society would eventually find a home through the 1986 donation of the Byer/Nail house, originally built in 1878 and sitting on 1.3 acres of land, at 3890 Sellers Ave. The next 16 years would be spent restoring the home and receiving community support to do so. The Historical Society would also receive larger donations in the form of the Eden Plain School House in 2002. After its restoration, it would become a gathering place for the

community to learn about the 14 one-room schools in East Contra Costa County. It would also host more than 300 third graders in 2003 for the launch of the historical society’s Third Grade Living History Program.

The historical society continued to grow with the donation of their flagpole in 2002 and the establishment of the Kathy Leighton Resource Center in 2003. The center houses 450 local family files, local newspapers, maps, books and more than 20,000 photos that document the change in the area and other memorabilia from the 1900s. Their growth continued and be seen in the granting of their nonprofit status in 2004 and their windmill installation in 2006.

The 2010s would bring big changes to the historical society, with the additions of an 1882 Byron Hot Springs Studebaker wagonette rescued from a barn on Hoffman Lane in 2012, now housed in their Pole Barn. In 2014 the establishment of Knightsen Farm, a garden of native plants created by Liberty High School students.

The historical society serves thousands of visitors with group tours when they are open from April to October. Other events include Local History Days and their Third Grade Living History Program, which hosts more than 1,500 third graders per year. Attendees can also learn about East County’s agricultural history by visiting Homer’s Shed, which houses farm equipment and hand tools and agricultural farming photos from Balfour Guthrie & Company.

Additional events include the yearly Opening Day on the first Saturday in April to commemorate the beginning of their season, the Community Bar-B-Que and Christmas on the Farm. For those who can’t visit in person, they also have online resources that include the video anthology series “Memories of a One-Room Schoolhouse” and a virtual tour of the museum.

For more information about the historical society, visit https://eastcontracostahistory.org/.

Helping The Community Through Giving: Brentwood Regional Community Chest

The Brentwood Regional Community Chest was founded by Rose Pierce more than 50 years ago, and since then has seen different iterations until becoming what it is today. Now, it is run by a board of five members, including Lillian Pierce, Rose’s daughter.

When her daughters were young, Rose was a volunteer translator for the schools, the police department, and the then-Contra Costa County Health Department, helping many of the farmworkers understand what they were being told by their bosses. Through this, she learned about many of the needs of these families and sought assistance from clubs like the Lions Club and Rotary Club.

“She had a very kind heart,” said Lillian. “If she could do something, she did it.”

Working with the volunteer fire departments of Brentwood, Oakley, Byron, Knightsen, and Bethel Island, she helped organize the collection and distribution of food during Christmas. This was the Delta East Coalition, and was a precursor to the Brentwood Regional Community Chest.

In the 1990s with the help of thenmayor Art Gonzales, the Brentwood Regional Community Chest became a food pantry. “It wasn’t just Brentwood, but it was all five communities,” Lillian said.

When her mom decided to step down, Lillian ensured that the program continued with the help of Bill Hill, the mayor at the time, as well as other people. They no longer did the daily food

pantry, but continued the Christmas baskets and for times when residents had emergencies.

The Christmas baskets continue to be the main way of supporting the community. It is important that everyone has access to food and the organization facilitates this, Lillian said. Every basket contains a variety of nonperishable foods as well as a turkey. “Everyone gets a turkey dinner,” Lillian said. The pantry serves up to 500 families a year, ensuring they have food over the holidays. Any extra food is given to other local food pantries so nothing goes to waste.

Lillian decided to also incorporate a toy drive, which has gradually grown to include not just young children, but teenagers as well.

Since its creation, everything the Community Chest does has been possible thanks to both monetary and food donations. She also wants to thank the hundreds of volunteers who do the work for the organization for the two months leading up to the December distribution that benefits the community, Lillian said.

Her mother used to always say, “People want to help, they just don’t know how.” The organization offers many ways to help, whether it be through volunteer work or simply donating to barrels that can be found around the community. They start gathering food and toys in October.

If you would like to volunteer, donate, or for additional information, visit www.brcchest.org.

Original Service Clubs

Charter Year : 1929

Charter Members : 37

Current Members: 43

Motto: We Serve

Meeting Time: First Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at Straw Hat Pizza on Lone Tree Way www.LCoBW.com

Charter Year: 1949

Charter Members: 15

Current Members: 94

Motto: Service Above Self

Meeting Time: Mondays at noon at Wedgewood Event Center www.brentwoodrotaryclub.com

Charter Year: 1977

Charter Members: 12

Current Members: 33

Motto: Empowering women and girls to live their dreams!

Meeting Time: First Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. at Brentood Community Center www.siofthedelta.com

Rose Pierce

Civic Center, Parks Give Expanding City Lots Of Choices For Recreation

The continued expansion of Brentwood has led to more offerings from the city, whether it’s a civic center or park to keep the community engaged.

The Brentwood Civic Center has been a dominating feature downtown since its completion in May of 2012. Along with it came many other improvements to downtown that have made it increasingly popular to both locals and others alike.

Before the Civic Center was built, the city government worked out of a set of trailers. As the administration grew, more trailers were added. The city staff and council planned for a more permanent government building, and it would not be until the 1990s that the plan would actually begin to take effect. Along with the creation of a new civic center, they also planned to add a few other additions to downtown. Through community workshops and the help of designers, the city compiled a list of features they wished to include in the upcoming expansion.

The total budget for the Civic Center project was $60 million, which included reconstruction of the park as well as other Downtown improvements, including the parking structure.

During the early stages of development, the planned parking structure was going to be shelved for a time until additional funding could be allocated. But

when companies were trying to get the job, the initial price was lower than the city expected. So they were able to build the parking garage because the overall cost of the project was less expensive than what was initially expected.

The building’s design itself was made to look like the historic Hotel Brentwood, which was built in 1913, and was at Railroad and Oak streets. Railroad is

damaged in the process. But the city ensured that they would keep their promise to the Sanford family. Every year, it is the home to several events, such as concerts, and Friday night movies in the park. Events including the Rotary Craft Beer Festival, Oktoberfest put on by the Downtown Brentwood Coalition, as well as cultural festivals that include La Gran Fiesta, Muktangan Festival, and the Chinese New Year.

Surrounding the building is what is known as the “History Walk” – pillars that tell the story of the city. Each pillar is dedicated to a certain period of time, the first starting in 1500 with the settling of the land by Native Americans. The last pillar is 2011, which is marked by the opening of the civic center. The city plans to continue adding to this walk in the future.

now Brentwood Boulevard. Now, it is the home to the Chevron gas station, which was also modeled after the historic hotel.

The land outside of the Civic Center had long before been a park that was deeded over to the city in 1888 by the Sanford family with the guarantee it would remain a park.

The park was originally known as Brentwood Grove, but is now the Brentwood City Park. When the Civic Center was first proposed, many worried that the park would be destroyed or

Another aspect of this project was the widening of the sidewalks downtown to give restaurants more space to allow for outdoor seating. In 2020, matching overhangs were added as well. This further helped with the several parades throughout the year, such as the Liberty High School Homecoming Parade, the Fourth of July Parade, and the Holiday Parade.

The Civic Center project continues to help Brentwood grow, and increase what it can offer to both residents, business and tourists.

100 Parks Offer Something For Everyone

Brentwood has many parks that offer visitors a variety of opportunities and activities. Whether your interests are swimming, sports, or just relaxing, the 100 parks city-wide covering 243 acres have something for you.

One is Veterans Park. The site of the 10.5-acre park is also home to the Brentwood Family Aquatic Complex, the Brentwood Senior Activity Center, and a skate park.

Before the park was built, the city first proposed a golf course but many residents instead wanted something else. In 1999, the city drew up plans for both Veterans Park and the Brentwood Family Aquatic Complex.

Veterans Park opened in 2005, and the entrance of the park is marked by a monument to area veterans. Specific individuals have their own tiles that list their names as well as the branch in which they served. In 2017 the parks and recreation depart-

ment began a veterans banner program so, those who served can have a banner honoring them in the park. A ceremony is held when the banners are installed. Afterward, the banner is given to the family that had them put up.

The Senior Center was opened in 2009. The center offers a variety of social services, such as “Oldies But Goodies”, Zumba classes, and more. The Main Hall can also be rented for other activities, and can accommodate 200 people. Every Tuesday at 9 a.m., the Senior Citizen Club meets either at the center or on Zoom.

The Brentwood Family Aquatic Complex opened in 2000 before Veterans Park. Before Liberty High School’s new pool was installed, the Brentwood Family Aquatic Complex was considered their “home pool” where competitions and team practices were held.

The skate park was an approximately $866,000 project that was added next

to the aquatic complex in 2001. When the park opened, only skateboards were permitted, but eventually bikes and other equipment were allowed.

Veterans Park offers four picnic spaces that can be rented out to host gatherings. Each site has several picnic tables as well as barbecue pits.

If you are looking for someplace to take your dog, Dakota Park and King Park are dog parks. Or if you are looking to take your kids to have fun in water without a full pool, both City Park and Blue Goose have fun water features. Some parks like Veterans Park and Brentwood City Park offer events for all, and are a good way to get out of the house and see what Brentwood has to offer.

I’m addition to the over 100 parks, residents have literally miles and miles of dedicated walking and bike trail crossing the entire city. These include East Bay recreation district’s Marsh Creek trail and the Mokoloiuem trail.

Various sceens of Veterans Park

Liberty Union High School District

Local High Schools are A Caring Community

for One Another

High school is an important time for many youths, and the Liberty Union High School District has helped teenagers and young adults since 1902.

The district itself was a government entity before any of the nearby towns, including Brentwood and Oakley, according to the current Superintendent Eric Volta.

Since then, they have continued to not only help students succeed but also help build a stronger community, local officials say.

The district makes up a third of Contra Costa County and has five schools under its umbrella: Liberty, Freedom, Heritage, Independence, and La Paloma.

Improvements continue to be made to the current campus sites to accommodate the area’s increasing population.

These improvements include updating much of what is offered at each school. For example, the ongoing construction in the front of Liberty will be the new administration building. Volta said that the campus has not had one since 1963. In 2021, Freedom opened its new theater building, which has a room for choir, and a separate building for a class that introduces students to the construction trade. Heritage is adding 12 classrooms, according to Volta.

Each school in the district has a few buildings that have been named after important people from the history of the town. One of the most recent of these dedications took place this year at Liberty and changed what many referred to as simply “New Gym” to the Roy J. Ghiggeri Gymnasium.

He worked within the department for many years as a teacher, administrator, and board member. “If you take his years of service to the district as an employee or board member,” said Volta, “it was 48 straight years -- for half a century.”

The oldest of the high schools is Liberty, founded in 1902. Its first recorded number of students was 33 in 1904, which can be seen in a centennial booklet released in 2002. Its first recorded graduating class was 1906 with nine graduates, which can be found in the same booklet. On Aug. 25, 1902, the Liberty Union HIgh School opened with two teachers – Isaac Wright and Beatrice Hagmayer. Wright also was principal for the first year. The next official principal - Prof. George C. Russell, was hired in 1903.

Freedom was founded in 1996 with 585 students, and opened on the Liberty

campus for the first three quarters of the year until their campus was finished at the end of that year. When it opened, Judy Regan was the principal.

The first graduating class was in 1999 with 150 seniors.

Heritage was opened in 2005 with 716 students, and the first graduating class was in 2008 with 293 seniors. In the first year of both Freedom and Heritage, both schools were open only to the freshman and sophomore classes of those respective years unless incoming juniors chose to attend them. The school’s first principal was Andy Parsons.

While all three of these high schools have continued to grow with further development, Volta explained how enrollment numbers have continued to be skewed in favor of Liberty and Heritage. These two schools have always had more students than Freedom, and this trend is likely to continue, Volta said.

Independence is considered an alternative school, according to the California Department of Education and officially opened in 1999. Before, it was a program offered to students through both Liberty and Freedom

La Paloma is the district’s continuation school, which opened in 1968. Being an alternative high school, it has always had a smaller number of students and facilities.

With these schools and the district rooted within the community, Volta outlined what he hopes to impart to all those that go through the district. “If there is one thing that I can preach,” said Volta “is a caring community for one another.”

Brentwood Union School District

The elementary and middle schools of Brentwood belong to the Brentwood Union School District (BUSD), which has a long history that begins before Brentwood was even a town.

The Brentwood Union School District was founded as the Brentwood Elementary School District in 1878, according to the current superintendent, Dana Eaton, Ph.D.

At the time, the district consisted of a one-room schoolhouse that was expanded nine years later in 1887. This school became known as the Brentwood Grammar School, but in 1924 students moved to the Brentwood-Deer Valley School, according to the East Contra Costa Historical Society.

Brentwood-Deer Valley School was the original Brentwood Elementary that we know today and was built across the street from the current Liberty High School campus at 929 Second St. This campus was used until 1997 when the current Brentwood Elementary was built.

It would not be until 1944 when merging with a different Liberty School that the Brentwood Union School District was formed.

The district now includes eight elementary schools and three middle schools. Many of them are either named after prominent local people or have specific buildings named after them on campus.

The first elementary school that remains in use today is Brentwood Elementary. The second elementary school to be built was Garin Elementary named after Henry P. Garin, who was a farmer and head of a large agricultural company. It opened in 1969. The third school was Ron Nunn School named after Ron Nunn Sr., a farmer, developer, and community leader. The fourth was Loma Vista Elementary, which opened in 2000. Fifth was Krey Elementary, opened in 2002, and named after R. Paul

Krey, a local dentist. The sixth was Pioneer Elementary School. It opened in 2004. The seventh to open was Marsh Creek Elementary in 2005. The eighth and newest of the elementary schools opened in 2010; Mary Casey Black Elementary is named after Mary Black, a long-time teacher and administrator.

Compared to the elementary schools, each of the three middle schools is named after individuals who worked in the district. The first to open was Edna Hill Middle School in 1953. Hill was an educator throughout her career. Bristow Middle School opened in 1995, and is named after William B. Bristow, a long-time educator. He also served as superintendent for 25 years. The last middle school, Adams Middle School, opened in 2006 and is named after J. Douglas Adams, a teacher as well as superintendent.

Eaton said the district has been working to commemorate those whom the schools and buildings are named after by creating a “District Honorees” page on their website. “We’re going through and doing that for all the people,” said Eaton. They have only a few, with the most recent covering Mary Casey Black, but they are working to add more.

To help with Brentwood’s population growth in recent years, Eaton said that a priority is to “keep our facilities up to date. We believe that having good facilities -- high-quality facilities -- also make for a good learning environment.”

As superintendent, Eaton said he works to ensure that all his schools are places where students and staff know they belong; “where everybody is connected, where everybody feels like there is something there that connects them to school.”

“I am proud to work in a place where the board really prioritizes music, art, and sports programs,” Eaton said. “Those types of things keep people connected to the school.”

Brentwood Grammar School 1887-1924

Brentwood’s Very Own Painted Ladies

Nestled in the heart of Brentwood lies three Victorian-style homes with histories as rich and vibrant as their exteriors.

The first home is at 8330 Brentwood Blvd. and housed the Wallace family. The now-deep turquoise estate with rhubarb red trim was built in 1887 and was owned by one of the most successful businessmen of his time, Robert Wallace Jr.

Wallace was both a justice of the peace and the vice president of Brentwood Bank. After the Wallace family, the home was occupied by the Fox family, which restored the property. The building possesses a colorful past, being used for everything from yoga to dentistry, and it survived the 1906 earthquake.

The second of the three houses is at 8336 Brentwood Blvd., and was built in 1893. The “middle child,” so to speak, belonged to a successful doctor of the early 1890s and now sports a charcoal gray and white exterior. The building has two apartments attached at the rear, one of which was once a barber shop. While the house is unoccupied, it is on the market going for $1.5 million with Intero commercial real estate.

Last in the row is the rustic beige Victorian on the corner at 8340 Brentwood Blvd. Built in 1898, this home belonged to a wealthy landowner at the time. It is now operated by Marple and Associates Realty group, and various parts of the building are rented out.

According to the East Contra Costa Historical Society, the three buildings were actually constructed in Black Diamond area and occupied by local residents. The houses were purchased after the mines were “played out” and moved to Brentwood by a house mover where they were occupied by the Brentwood postmaster, a banker and a local doctor. The concept of building homes, and then later possibly relocating them, was a common practice at the time.

Recognizing these three estates’ symbols of status and their abundant narratives allows locals to reflect on just how much the community has grown over the last 75 years.

Stories like these provide a blueprint as the city continues to prosper into the 21st century.

The Future Employment Hub in Brentwood

City officials hope that the long-awaited Innovation Center at Brentwood project will soon become a reality. Recently, the City Council updated the Innovation Center at Brentwood Specific Plan to jumpstart development of this important development project. As part of the effort the City Council set aside over $25 million for infrastructure improvements, including constructing the Sand Creek Road extension. This key roadway will connect Sand Creek to Heidorn Ranch Road, and Lone Tree Way at Kaiser hospital.

The Innovation Center at Brentwood is a 400-acre mixed-use project located along Highway 4, south of Lone Tree Way and north of Sand Creek Road, intended to attract development for a “next-generation” business park.

According to plan analysis details, the project is expected to attract over 8,000 jobs to East Contra Costa County and will also include the integration of 2,000 new housing units, local street and transportation improvements

and a planned BART station in the area.

“The Innovation Center is going to be the core mechanism to attract high-paying, corporate, life science, med-tech, fin-tech and other quality jobs and industries to Brentwood,” said Brentwood Mayor Joel Bryant. “It is designed to cut the commute of our residents and allow them to improve their quality of life by working closer to home.”

The project has been on the drawing board for over two decades, when the Innovation Center at Brentwood was known as “Special Planning Area P” in the City of Brentwood’s 2001 General Plan.

The location was already designated as a major employment area, providing land for regional commercial and professional office use, manufacturing and complementary integrated housing.

Today, Brentwood’s labor force has grown to three times the countywide growth rate, and the labor pool within a 20-minute drive of the area includes over 167,000 people, statistics show.

“The City of Brentwood has always had an eye on generating jobs close to home,” said Economic Development Manager Ricardo Noguera. “The Innovation Center, and its encompassing land area of 400 acres, will be built over time and as market conditions are ripe for various types of development. The City of Brentwood’s interest in developing a next-generation office and technology park by collaborating with the property owners, developers and businesses is a bold vision for the future of the community.”

Image courtesy of city of Brentwood

Harvest Time is a local non-profit organization founded in 1976 with the goal of helping to educate people about farming and its products, according to their website.

Organization President Jessica Enos, who was elected in 2022, described how the organization began with only 10 members, five of whom served on the first board. The board consisted of: Jack Bloomfield, Tino Bacchini, Lee Laird, Gene Stonebarger Sr., and John Slatten. Since then, the group has continued to grow and now has 60 members.

Past

Since the early 1970s, U-Pick has been a major aspect of many of the farms that are members of Harvest Time, and U-Pick has only continued to grow. The oldest existing U-Pick in the Brentwood area, however, dates to the 1940s with a peach orchard that brought many into the area with the hope of being able to use their rationed sugar to can peaches. Local historian Carol Jensen has conducted research and found that this peach orchard is the oldest example of a U-Pick west of the Allegheny Mountains.

In the 1970s, due to an increased cherry crop, more farmers opened up their farms as U-Picks, according to Enos. Instead of charging by the pound like they do now, they charged by the bucket.

But these farmers had to decide how

to get the word out about their U-Pick opportunities, leading to the creation of Harvest Time and a map that helped show all the local U-Pick farms. Since its founding, the growth of Harvest Time has been driven increasingly by “people wanting to know where their food comes from,” Enos said. More details about Harvest Time can be found on their website, https://harvestforyou.com/.

Present

Harvest Time hopes to celebrate the Brentwood area’s long agricultural heritage through a recent initiative declaring the area as the U-Pick capital. Brent wood and its surrounding ar eas have one of the largest concentrations of U-Pick farms in such a small area, according to Enos.

“I think that for our area, it gives us a tangible name for something that we all already knew,” Enos said of the title. “We could not be more proud.”

The title comes after four years of research. The organization looked into the history of the Brentwood area and other areas across the country to determine whether or not Brentwood was the oldest U-pick area in America. The only

Harvest Time/U-Pick Capital: Its History Local Corn Growers

older example they could find was an apple orchard in New York.

The number of farms associated with Harvest Time, as well as offering U-Pick is continually increasing. Their website states that more than 50 farms – all within a four-mile radius – let people pick their fruits, vegetables or even flowers. The growing number of farms has lured more tourists to the area to experience what Brentwood has to offer. The farms can be found on the Harvest Time website, and offer more than just their produce – some offer corn mazes, pumpkin launching, and other seasonal activities.

While visitors come to the farms from all over the globe, “We want more locals,” said Enos. “We’re so lucky to have it so

Even during seasons not usually associated with fruits or vegetables, three farms now allow guests to come to pick flowers, Enos said. Local farms now offer a variety of produce through each of the seasons with the hope that people will continue to visit.

The title of U-Pick Capital solidifies the area. It will continue to help Brentwood grow as well as keep the community grounded in agriculture, which is important to what made Brentwood a town in the first place.

For details about the U-Pick Capital program, visit www.upickcapital.com/

The five Brentwood-area corn growers are

growing sweet corn on 2,950 acres, producing about 1,357,000 cases netting approximately 65,136,000 ears of corn in three different varieties: white, yellow and bi-color. Brentwood corn is shipped all over the United States, west of the Rockies to as far north is Alaska and as far south as Mexico, and even to Hawaii. Many of the local farm growers are now on their fifth generation, not only growing corn but cherries and row crops too.