Lafayette in Contra Costa County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

First Settlement of Lafayette

February 7, 1848

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, October 19, 2021

1. First Settlement of Lafayette Marker

Inscription. In this location on the Rancho Acalanes, Elam and Margaret Allen Brown founded Lafayette by building their first house, a crude affair constructed while Mrs. Brown prepared dinner. In 1849, they erected a horse powered grist mill across the road.

Elam Brown died in Lafayette on August 10, 1889, at the age of 92.

Erected by the Lafayette Historical Society on the occasion of Lafayette's sesquicentennial
February 7, 1998

Erected 1998 by Lafayette Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical date for this entry is February 7, 1848.

Location. 37° 54.39′ N, 122° 9.045′ W. Marker is in Lafayette, California, in Contra Costa County. It is on Happy Valley Road east of Upper Happy Valley Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3981 Happy Valley Road, Lafayette CA 94549, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in California’s San Francisco Bay Area

and on the Coast Ranges.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North

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America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Tres Ranchos Historical Site (approx. 1.1 miles away); Paul Hamilton House (approx. 1.2 miles away); Revolutionary War Patriots (approx. 1½ miles away); Lamorinda Vietnam Memorial (approx. 1½ miles away); Lafayette War Memorial (approx. 1½ miles away); Site of Bickerstaff House (approx. 1.8 miles away); Elam and Margaret Brown Home-Site (approx. 2 miles away); Tres Ranchos Del Sur (approx. 2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lafayette.

Also see . . . Yankee Settlers (Lafayette Historical Society). LHS provides a short biography of Lafayette's founder.

"Few pioneers achieved as much as Lafayette’s founder, “Squire” Elam Brown. In addition to his lumbering, farming and milling activities, he served as alcalde or mayor of his district from 1849 till California became a state,
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, October 19, 2021

2. First Settlement of Lafayette Marker - wide view
The marker is visible here mounted to a low rock, facing the street.
was a member of the State Constitutional Convention in 1849, served as assemblyman in the new state’s first two legislatures, and turned down an offer to run for the Senate in 1852, preferring to return to his farm. He died August 19, 1889 at the age of 92."

(Submitted on October 19, 2021.)

Credits. This page was last revised on October 20, 2021. It was originally submitted on October 19, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 416 times since then and 40 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 19, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.