Pleasant Hill in Contra Costa County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Hookston Station Historic Exibit
San Ramon Branch Line of the Southern Pacific
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, May 2, 2020
1. Hookston Station Historic Exibit Marker
Inscription.
Hookston Station Historic Exibit. San Ramon Branch Line of the Southern Pacific. , Beginnings
Initially built from Avon to San Ramon to serve the agricultural interests of San Ramon and Diablo Valley the line was later extended south to the community of Radum, now known as Pleasanton. The line was approximately 30 miles long and had main depots at Concord, Walnut Creek, Danville, and San Ramon. Hookston Station did not have a depot but instead a small open-air building called a "Shelter Shed” with an attached platform.
Hook Family
Land for the Hookston Station right-of-way was donated by the Hook family who also built one of the two sidings, a winery, and warehouse. Other buildings on the site included a saloon, fruit shed, platform, scales, and six unidentified structures. The Line provided farmers and ranchers the abitlity to export various field and orchard crops quickly and efficiently. Residents and commercial operations also gained the ability to import items not produced in the valley such as building material and other goods.
Recent Use and Dedication
Light industrial use of the Hookston Station area expanded when the trains stopped running in 1978 until 2000. Over the next 15 years commercial operations were relocated and the native landscape you see before you was planted in conformance with the Iron Horse Corridor Management Plan with funding from County Redevelopment, Park Dedication fees, and East Bay Regional Park District Measure WW Funds. Congressman Mark DeSaulnier, Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, and the Iron Horse Corridor Advisory Committee provided key support to the project with implementation by the Contra Costa County Public Works Department. The project was initiated and sponsored by Colony Park Neighbors Association.
"From 1891 until 1934 Southern Pacific served the needs of the people by providing both passenger and freight service. From 1934 until final abandonment of the line in 1978, only the latter." San Ramon branch line of the Southern Pacific - Irma Dodson
Beginnings
Initially built from Avon to San Ramon to serve the agricultural
interests of San Ramon and Diablo Valley the line was later
extended south to the community of Radum, now known as
Pleasanton. The line was approximately 30 miles long and had
main depots at Concord, Walnut Creek, Danville, and San Ramon.
Hookston Station did not have a depot but instead a small open-air
building called a "Shelter Shed” with an attached platform.
Hook Family
Land for the Hookston Station right-of-way was donated by the
Hook family who also built one of the two sidings, a winery, and
warehouse. Other buildings on the site included a saloon, fruit
shed, platform, scales, and six unidentified structures. The Line
provided farmers and ranchers the abitlity to export various field
and orchard crops quickly and efficiently. Residents and
commercial operations also gained the ability to import items not
produced in the valley such as building material and other goods.
Recent Use and Dedication
Light industrial use of the Hookston Station area expanded when the trains stopped running in 1978 until 2000. Over the next 15 years commercial operations were relocated and the native landscape you see before you was planted in conformance with the Iron Horse Corridor Management Plan
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with funding from County Redevelopment, Park Dedication fees, and East Bay Regional Park District Measure WW Funds. Congressman Mark DeSaulnier, Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, and the Iron Horse Corridor Advisory Committee provided key support to the project with implementation by the Contra Costa County Public Works Department. The project was initiated and sponsored by Colony Park Neighbors Association.
"From 1891 until 1934 Southern Pacific served the needs of the people by providing both passenger and freight service. From 1934 until final abandonment of the line in 1978, only the latter." San Ramon branch line of the Southern Pacific - Irma Dodson
Erected by Contra Costa County Public Works Department.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical year for this entry is 1891.
Location. 37° 56.375′ N, 122° 3.118′ W. Marker is in Pleasant Hill, California, in Contra Costa County. Marker can be reached from Bancroft Road south of Hookston Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Pleasant Hill CA 94523, United States of America. Touch for directions.
More about this marker. The marker is located on the Iron Horse Regional Trail, just south of where the trail crosses Hookston Road.
1922
3. Marker detail: Pear Harvest, Walnut Creek, 1922
1915
4. Marker detail: Ted Hook at Hookston Station, 1915
1947
5. Marker detail: Train near Las Juntas station, one stop south of Hookston Station, 1947
Credits. This page was last revised on July 28, 2020. It was originally submitted on July 27, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 504 times since then and 73 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on July 28, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
