Eden Township is a former township of Alameda County, California in the San Francisco Bay Area region, which includes the present-day cities of Hayward and San Leandro, as well as the unincorporated census-designated areas of Ashland, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview, and San Lorenzo. [1] It was created from a group of Mexican land grants that were added to Alameda County when the county was established in 1853. Today there are several public and private agencies serving the region.
The area of Eden Township comprises five land grants given by the Mexican government: Sobrante Rancho, Rancho San Leandro (given to José Joaquín Estudillo), Rancho San Lorenzo, (given to Guillermo Castro), Rancho San Lorenzito (given to Francisco and Barbara Soto), and Rancho Arroyo de la Alameda (given to José de Jesús Vallejo). [2]
In 1850, when California became a state, Eden was within Contra Costa County. In 1853, Alameda County was established from five townships of Contra Costa County, as well as Washington Township from Santa Clara county. In 1856, Eden Township was given one seat on the Alameda County board of supervisors. [3]
Eden Township was known as a major poultry producing area from the late 19th to the early 20th century. [4]
The region stretches from the marshes of San Francisco Bay on the west to the borders of Contra Costa County and Murray Township to the east. The eastern side is hilly, surrounding Castro Valley and the flatlands of Hayward. San Leandro and San Lorenzo creeks traverse Eden Township from east to west. [5] San Leandro Creek flows through Lake Chabot, an artificial reservoir that was formerly used for drinking water. [6]
Although the township is no longer run by a single governmental body, several services still operate using this area as an administrative district.
The Eden Health District was founded in 1948 to operate Eden Hospital in Castro Valley. It is run by a board of directors elected by residents of the district. [7] After 1998, the district no longer operates Eden Hospital, but operates to provide grants to medical organizations. It is funded entirely by leasing the office buildings it owns. [1]
Eden Township Substation is a division of Alameda County Sheriff's office that includes the unincorporated areas of Eden Township, as well as other unincorporated areas, such as Sunol and Livermore Valley. Its office is located on Foothill Blvd in San Leandro. [8]
Castro Valley/Eden Area Chamber of Commerce is a private association of businesses located in Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, Ashland, and Cherryland. Besides promoting local businesses, it also hosts and participates in local community events. [9]
Eden Area Regional Occupational Program provides career technical training for both high school students and adults in the area. [10] It is offered through a partnership with Chabot College, Castro Valley Unified School District, and San Lorenzo Unified School District. [11]
Alameda County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Alameda County is in the San Francisco Bay Area, occupying much of the East Bay region.
Ashland is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 23,823 at the 2020 census. Ashland is located between the city of San Leandro to the north, the unincorporated community of Cherryland to the south, the unincorporated community of Castro Valley to the east, and the unincorporated community of San Lorenzo to the southwest.
Castro Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Alameda County, California, United States. At the 2010 census, it was the fifth most populous unincorporated area in California and the twenty-third most populous in the United States. The population was 66,441 at the 2020 census.
Cherryland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Alameda County, California, United States. Cherryland is located between Ashland to the north and the city of Hayward to the south. The population was 15,808 at the 2020 census.
Hayward is a city located in Alameda County, California, United States, in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda County. Hayward was ranked as the 34th most populous municipality in California. It is included in the San Francisco–Oakland–San Jose Metropolitan Statistical Area by the US Census. It is located primarily between Castro Valley, San Leandro and Union City, and lies at the eastern terminus of the San Mateo–Hayward Bridge. The city was devastated early in its history by the 1868 Hayward earthquake. From the early 20th century until the beginning of the 1980s, Hayward's economy was dominated by its now defunct food canning and salt production industries.
San Lorenzo is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 29,581 at the 2020 census. It is an unincorporated community, located at the banks of San Lorenzo Creek. It was originally named Squattersville in 1851, but later renamed to San Lorenzo.
Murray Township was a township located in what is now the Livermore Valley portion of Alameda County, California, including the present day cities of Livermore, Dublin, and Pleasanton, and the census-designated place of Sunol.
Washington Township is a former township of Alameda County, California in the San Francisco Bay Area region, which includes the present day cities of Union City, Fremont, and Newark. The first permanent settlement in the area was Mission San José, established in 1797. The township was formed in 1853, and named for president George Washington.
Anthony Chabot Regional Park is a regional park in Oakland, Alameda County, California in the United States. It is part of the East Bay Regional Park District system, and covers 5,067 acres (2,051 ha) in the San Leandro Hills adjacent to Oakland, San Leandro and Castro Valley. Popular activities include hiking, cycling and horseback riding. A gun range operated by the Chabot Gun Club was shut down in 2016, following complaints about pollution.
Area codes 510 and 341 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) serving much of the East Bay in the U.S. state of California. They cover parts of Contra Costa County and western Alameda County, including the city of Oakland, but excluding Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, and Sunol.
Don Guillermo Castro, born in 1809 in Spanish Alta California, was a Californio ranchero, military officer, local justice of the peace and surveyor who once owned vast land holdings in Alameda County. He is the namesake of the unincorporated community of Castro Valley, California and his land included most of the modern City of Hayward, California.
California's 14th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat, has represented the district since January 2023.
Anthony Chabot was a nineteenth-century businessman and entrepreneur, notable for his contribution to developing hydraulic mining and for building water systems, especially in the Bay Area, so much that he became known as the "Water King".
Lake Chabot is a man-made lake covering 317 acres (1.3 km2) in Alameda County, California, United States. Part of the lake lies within Oakland city limits, but most of it lies in unincorporated Castro Valley, just east of San Leandro. It was formed by the damming of San Leandro Creek. The lake was completed in 1875 to serve as a primary source of water for the East Bay.
San Leandro Creek is a 21.7-mile-long (34.9 km) year-round natural stream in the hills above Oakland in Alameda County and Contra Costa County of the East Bay in northern California.
The Alameda County Library, in Alameda County, California, is a public library system that provides services from eleven branch libraries in the cities of Albany, Dublin, Fremont, Newark and Union City and the unincorporated communities of Castro Valley, Cherryland and San Lorenzo. According to 2005/2006 statistics, the total service area represents a population of about 522,000, and annual circulation is reported to be around 5.5 million. Its headquarters are located in Fremont.
Rancho San Leandro was a 6,830-acre (27.6 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Alameda County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José Joaquín Estudillo. The grant extended along the east San Francisco Bay from San Leandro Creek south to San Lorenzo Creek, and encompassed present-day San Leandro.
The Hayward Area Recreation and Park District (H.A.R.D.) is the park management agency for most of the parks in the city of Hayward, California. It was created in 1944 and is an independent special district under California law. H.A.R.D. is the largest recreation district in California. It also manages parks in the bordering unincorporated communities of Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, Fairview, Ashland and Cherryland. It manages the park grounds for numerous schools in the region. Events and classes are scheduled and listed in a quarterly brochure. The parks' 2021 budget is $24,306,495.
Hayward Area Historical Society(HAHS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to documenting the history of the city of Hayward, California and adjacent communities. These areas include San Lorenzo, Ashland, Cherryland, Castro Valley, Fairview, the former communities of Russell City, Mount Eden, Schafer Park, and other parts of unincorporated Alameda County. The society was founded in 1956. Their museum in Downtown Hayward closed in 2012. Their new facility opened nearby in 2014.
Elizabeth Ortega-Toro is an American politician and labor executive who is a member of the California State Assembly from the 20th district since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, her district includes the southern East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area.
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