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| Old Saint Raymond Church |
Other park exhibits include the Old St. Raymonds Church, the Murray Schoolhouse, the Sunday School Barn and the Pioneer Cemetery established in 1859 .The Pioneer Cemetery is found behind the church among oak trees and is one of the best maintained cemeteries in northern California.
The Dublin California Tri-Valley Area
The Dublin Heritage Park and Museum is located in what is referred to as the Tri-Valley area east of the Bay Area. This is an area about 25 miles southeast of Oakland. The town of Dublin, like many other pioneer settlements, had a few names before the last and final one. Today's Dublin, named after the city in Ireland, was once called Amador and Dougherty's Station.
The fast growing Tri-Valley area encompasses the towns of Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, Danville and San Ramon. Interstate 580 and 680 cross in the Valley and have been a big catalyst to the areas modern growth. The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) also connects to the Tri-Valley making it home to many people working in cities all along the San Francisco Bay area.
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| Murray Schoolhouse and Museum |
The first settlement of Amador appeared in 1835 when a Mexican soldier named Jose Maria Amador was awarded a large land grant in the area. After the U.S. took possession of California in the late 1840's there was some confusion over granted land and what would prevail going forward. In the years following the U.S. take over the land grants were basically honored and a good deal of land was also sold to new settlers by the grant's owners. This was exactly how a settlement such as Dublin established itself and grew from what had been Amador's Ranch.
In 1852 a James Witt Dougherty purchased land just outside of present day Dublin and the name Daugherty and after the post office arrived in 1860 Daugherty's Station took root. At about the same time land was purchased from Jose Maria Amador by Michael Murray and Jeremiah Fallon.
Dublin itself came into being when a southern section of property purchased by Murray and Fallon split away and renamed itself in 1867 after Alameda County came into being.
As a historical side note, Jose Maria Amador who was born at the Presideo in San Francisco is the only Californian who has a city, a county, a valley and a school named after him.
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| Kolb House |
This historic church now located at the Dublin Heritage Park and Museum was constructed in 1859 and dedicated in 1860. The church was constructed by both the Fallon and Murray families. This church was at one time a mission church and a priest would ride to it from Oakland to conduct mass.
Today Old Saint Raymond Church has been renovated and is used for lectures,weddings, memorials, funerals and baptisms. Although renovations took place when you visit this church it remains unchanged in appearance since it's original construction in 1859. The church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Murray Schoolhouse
Today the old Murray Schoolhouse resides in the Dublin Heritage Park and Museum. Originally this schoolhouse was built on land at the present site of Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton. Because the original site was in a flood area the schoolhouse was moved to Dublin Canyon Road. The Murray Schoolhouse spent 100 years at this site as a one room schoolhouse before being moved to it's last and permanent site at the park.
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| Kolb Farm Sunday School Barn |
Plans to move the historic Kolb House to the Dublin Heritage Park began in 2008. The Kolb House was part of the Kolb Farm located on Dublin Canyon Road.
This was on 350 acres purchased in 1911 from the Daugherty property. Also part of the Kolb Farm and also at the Dublin Heritage Park is the Sunday School Barn. Touring the Kolb House and the Sunday School Barn with it's many authentic artifacts of the early 1900's is quite interesting. The Kolb House contains a collection furnishings and fine china that the family used from 1864 to 1957.
The Craftsman home that you'll tour was one of those popular mail order structures of the early 1900's. Materials for these homes were shipped by rail from Sears Roebuck in Chicago and with an instruction manual were assembled. The buyer would provide the lot and the foundation. Many of these structures are still in use today.The Kolb House was a Craftsman Bungalow model. Volunteer docents are made available to give tours through the rooms of the Kolb House.
George Kolb moved to Dublin California from Bavaria in the mid 1800's. Among other duties during the early years, George Kolb operated a general store and was a Dublin CA postmaster. When George Kolb passed away in 1933 the farm was taken over and operated by his son Harold. The Kolb Farm was in existence for about 100 years and was a significant part of Dublin's early growth.
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| Antique farm equipment from the Kolb Farm |
A Visit to the San Ramon Valley Museum in Danville.
A trip to the Livermore Valley Wineries.
A tour of Pleasanton California.
Visiting the Dublin Heritage Park and Museum
There are plenty of interesting and fun venues in the San Francisco Bay area and the Dublin Heritage Park and Museum is one of them. The entire park is a beautiful setting to walk and explore the colorful history of Dublin California.
The park is located at 6600 Donlan Way. This is at the corner of Dublin Boulevard and Donlan Way. This is an area north of Interstate 580 and west of Interstate 680. The map below will show you where the Heritage Park is located within Dublin.
(Article and photos copyright 2013 Western Trips)
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