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/.