Sac State professor will cover California's geologic history tonight at Camellia Tea Room

(Originally published in the 4/21/16 edition. The print edition accidentally left out the headline.)

   Many talks by the Benicia Historical Society focus on the local history of Benicia and California as it pertains to people and places. Tonight’s lecture will focus on a different kind of history: California’s geologic history.

   Steven Skinner, an assistant professor of geology and geophysics at Sacramento State University will be delivering the talk. Skinner’s work has researched the history of subduction zones and rifted margins using field observations and geophysical methods. Other areas of interest include the tectonic applications of paleomagnetism and plate reconstructions. His line of work has brought him to study rocks in places like Antarctica, Peru and El Centro. 

   Skinner’s talk will go over the geologic history of California as it pertains to the tectonic assembly of the western coasts of America and Canada. His main focus will be the geologic events recorded in rocks around the Carquinez Strait.

   The talk will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight at Camellia Tea Room, located at 828 First St. Admission is free for members and $5 for non-members. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, visit BeniciaHistoricalSociety.org. 

DVC professor to discuss Benicia's railroad history

(Originally published in the 2/23/16 edition)

   As the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot at the end of First Street undergoes the process of being considered for the National Register of Historic Places, residents can learn all about the town’s railroad history in a series of formal presentations. 

   The Benicia Historical Society will be hosting a series of lectures to tie in with its latest project of getting the Depot listed in the Register. To kick off these presentations, Diablo Valley College history professor Greg Tilles will be delivering a lecture at Camellia Tea Room titled “Before the Railroad Came to Benicia: Building the First Transcontinental.” 

   “In my presentation, I will provide an overview of the history of Benicia as a railroad town from 1879 when the link with the Transcontinental Railroad was established to 1930 when the railroad would bypass the town by crossing the new bridge spanning the Carquinez Strait,” Tilles said. 

   In 1863, construction began on the First Transcontinental Railroad with the goal of being able to link the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the United States via railway. Over the next six years, workers underwent the daunting task of building a 1,776-mile railroad that extended from Sacramento to Council Bluffs, Iowa— which itself was connected to several East Coast train stations. The project had the blessing of President Abraham Lincoln; was heavily funded by a group of investors known as The Big Four, including future Stanford University founder Leland Stanford and utilized several Chinese and Irish-American workers for its construction. The project was completed when the last spike was driven into the ground at the Promontory Summit in Utah in 1869. 

   Tilles will discuss the history of the First Transcontinental Railroad and how Benicia became linked to it in 1878. Tilles will also talk about Benicia’s years as a railroad town and briefly talk about Benicia’s train and ferry system to Port Costa in the early 20th century, although he says many of those details will be covered in a March presentation by David Hyde, a member of the Society’s board of directors and Ph.D candidate in anthropology at UC Berkeley.

   “The bulk of my lecture will focus on the earlier monumental task of connecting California with the rest of the nation through the building of the first transcontinental railroad between 1863 and 1869,” Tilles said.

   Tilles says his goal is to let Benicians know where their town fits within the larger picture of California’s history.

   “I have given several talks for the Society in past years,” he said. “In each of them, one of my central goals has been to provide the audience with an appreciation of the link between Benicia history--the town's people, experiences and institutions--and the larger context of California and United States history.  My plan is to continue this focus at this year's presentation so that those who attend will take away a sense of how the railroad placed Benicia significantly in the larger arenas of state and national history.”

   Jerry Hayes, former Society president, says he hopes people come away with a better understanding of their town’s long, colorful history.

   “It is our hope that attendees will take away a better appreciation of Benicia's rich history and our responsibility to respect and enhance that gift to us all,” he said.

   The presentation will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 25 at Camellia Tea Room, located at 828 First St. Society members will get in for free, and non-members will pay a $5 admission. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, visit BeniciaHistoricalSociety.org. 

Depot may become national historic site

(Originally published in the 10/25/15 edition)

   The Southern Pacific Train Depot, located at the end of First Street, has been many things over the years: a train station, a haunted house and the home of Benicia Main Street. In a few months, it could be something else: a national historic landmark.

   The Benicia Historical Society is submitting an application for the building at 930 First Street to be recognized by the National Register of Historic Places, an official list of historic places across America that are deemed worthy of preservation. On Thursday night, the Historic Preservation Review Commission voted to approve the application, which means it will go through another few rounds before it can officially be added to the list.

   If selected, the Depot would share a list with over 90,000 buildings across the country. Benicia currently has nine sites on the Register: the Benicia Arsenal, the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park, Crooks Mansion, the Joseph Fischer House, the Old Masonic Hall, the Stamboul whaling bark site, the Von Pfizer General Store, the USCGC Storis and the Carr House on East D Street which was demolished in 2000.

   The Depot itself has a long history. According to Bonnie Silveria, the president of the Benicia Historical Society, the structure was built in Banta in the 1800s. In 1903, it was shipped over to Benicia where it served as a railroad depot for the Southern Pacific Railroad until 1930.

   “At that time, it came to the end of First Street out there by the pier, and then the railroad trains would be put on a ferry across to Port Costa,” Silveria said. 

   The building remained operational until 1958 as the home for the family of a station agent. 

   “They did bring trains down back when there was still industry on First Street,” Silveria said. “When I was a young girl, it was where you went to send a telegram.”

   The building was purchased by the city in 1975. By the late ‘90s, the building was in disarray and was frequently surrounded by floods. The city made an effort to restore the building, which was completed in 2001. It now houses the Benicia Main Street program with a gift shop and See’s Candies. 

   Once a building is placed on the Register, restrictions are put in place over what can be done to it.

   “If someone came in and bought it, they couldn’t tear it down or do improvements that aren’t within the improvements that can be done to a historic building,” Silveria said.

   The Depot will then need to be approved by Benicia’s Parks and Community Services department and then City Council. Afterwards, the application will be submitted to Sacramento and then Washington, D.C. for national approval. 

   “I would be very surprised if we didn’t make it,” Silveria said. “But then again, I’ve been surprised before.”