By Lucy Meinhardt, Marketing Chair, Antioch Historical Society

All are invited to the kickoff event of Antioch’s Sesquicentennial, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the City of Antioch’s incorporation. The BBQ picnic extravaganza will be held on the grounds of the Antioch Historical Society Museum from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 2, 2022. Music, food and beverages, and fun are planned.

Local group Vocal-ease and the Boogie Men are the headliners, performing most of the afternoon. Opening is the Antioch High School Jazz Band. Ballet Folklorico from Antioch Middle School will close the day.

Guests are welcome to bring their own picnic. Tables, chairs, and shade canopies will be provided. Tickets to reserve a BBQ meal from Freddy B’s are available for purchase in advance at $25 each by clicking here. You can also purchase the meal at the event. Others may choose to purchase pizza from the Straw Hat Pizza food truck. Sodas, beer, and wine will be for sale.

Fun for children will be plentiful in the Antioch Rec Department Activity Area, with a bouncy house, an inflatable obstacle course, face painting, and Silly Jojo the Clown will entertain with balloon animal creations.

The Museum itself and Sports Legends wing will be open. Winners of an art contest for all middle schoolers in Antioch will be on display in the Museum’s Riverview Room to the accompaniment of live classical piano music played by Alfonso Ochoa. Outdoors guests can view Bay Bombs Classic Car Show, the Museum’s 1926 fire engine, vehicles from the Antioch Police Department, and the Museum’s murals. The McCoy Farm House and the Fire House will both be open.

Sesquicentennial souvenir coins will be available to purchase. Proceeds from the coins and a portion of the price of the BBQ meal will benefit the museum.

The museum is located at 1500 W. 4th Street. To learn more about the Antioch Historical Society and museum visit www.antiochhistoricalmuseum.org or call (925) 757-1326.

To learn more about Antioch’s Sesquicentennial of Cityhood on February 6, 1872 and see all of this year’s events and activities click here and here.

EL CAMPANIL THEATRE PRESENTS:

ANTIOCH SESQUICENTENNIAL CONCERT

SATURDAY, APRIL 16th at 2:00 PM

ADMISSION: FREE (Tickets still required for entry)

The City of Antioch is 150 years young and deserving of a celebration! Join us for this free concert featuring some of the finest talent in East County! Featuring Antioch native Toree McGee, blues legends Frankie G and Tia Carroll, the Antioch High Jazz Band, Black Diamond Ballet, El Campanil Theatre Academy, and more!

Help us celebrate this landmark anniversary with an afternoon of entertainment you won’t soon forget!

El Campanil Theatre is located at 602 W. 2nd Street in historic, downtown Rivertown. For tickets visit www.elcampaniltheatre.com.

To learn more about Antioch’s Sesquicentennial of Cityhood which occurred on Incorporation Day, February 6, 1872 and see all of this year’s events and activities click here and here.

Join us Saturday April 2nd, 11am – 3pm for Antioch Historical Society’s Sesquicentennial Kick-Off BBQ! This will be a fun day of food, music and great family fun! Tour our beautiful museum free of charge, live music from Vocal Ease and our local high school and view Antioch’s Middle Schools Art Contest Winners! This event is free to the public. However, food and beverages are an additional charge. Your ticket purchase is for a delicious barbeque meal.

Don’t miss this historical event and help us celebrate Antioch’s 150th Anniversary of Cityhood! A Sesquicentennial Almanac and Commemorative Coin will be available for sale at this event. All proceeds raised at this event go to support the Antioch Historical Society and Museum!

The BBQ will take place on the front lawn of the Museum located at 1500 W. 4th Street, at the end and curve of Auto Center Drive.

For tickets visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/antioch-historical-societys-sesquicentennial-kick-off-bbq-tickets-234060640677

To learn more about Antioch’s Sesquicentennial of Cityhood on February 6, 1872 and see all of this year’s events and activities click here and here.

Publisher’s Note: This is the ad that was supposed to run in the special City of Antioch Sesquicentennial edition of the Antioch Herald newspaper, this month. Apologies to Brenda Cato of Rivertown Veterans Thrift Store for inadvertently running the rough draft design of just their business card instead.

To learn more about the City of Antioch Sesquicentennial celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Incorporation of the City on Feb. 6, 1872, as the county’s original city, click here.

Thorpe uses opportunity to do a little campaigning at end of speech

By Allen D. Payton

During a ceremony on a clear, sunny afternoon current and former Antioch officials, community leaders and residents celebrated the 150th anniversary, or Sesquicentennial of the City’s incorporation on the actual date it occurred on Feb. 6 in 1872. It marked the official formation of the first city in Contra Costa County, as the Board of Supervisors approved Antioch’s Articles of Incorporation that day. (See related article)

The event was held in front of the Birthplace of Antioch monument at the foot of F Street, overlooking the river and near the BNSF rail line.

Antioch Parks and Recreation Director Brad Helfenberger welcomed the audience. Mayor Pro Tem Mike Barbanica spoke, thanking those in attendance, and offering his memories of the city during his life, including the celebration of the City’s Centennial in 1972.

The audience also heard brief speeches from those who represent the City, including current county Supervisor Federal Glover, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier and staff representatives of Supervisor Diane Burgis, State Senator Steve Glazer and Congressman Jerry McNerney, honoring the City’s anniversary. DeSaulnier, Glazer’s and McNerney’s staff presented the council members with proclamations honoring the City’s achievement. The Board of Supervisors honored the City’s Sesquicentennial anniversary with a proclamation at their meeting on Feb. 1. (See related article)

During Glover’s speech, a train carrying rolls of steel and chemicals heading east to the U.S. Steel plant in Pittsburg passed by, which he said was a good thing and an example of the economic strength of Antioch and East County, which helped grow the town, first established in 1849 as Smith’s Landing.

He pointed out that February is Black History Month and mentioned the late, former Antioch Councilman Reggie Moore who was the city’s first African-American member, then spoke of former Mayor Wade Harper, who was in attendance, as the city’s first African-American mayor, and District 4 Councilwoman Monica Wilson, who was the city’s first African-American female member of the council.

Joy Motts, president of Celebrate Antioch Foundation, the City’s partner in organizing this year’s celebration, spoke about the other events planned for throughout the year, highlighting the Independence Day celebration, which is the birthday of the renaming of the community to Antioch during the July 4th picnic in 1851.

Proclamation Adopted, Read and Signed

The proclamation celebrating the City’s Sesquicentennial and providing the history of the community, was then read by City Clerk Ellie Householder, as Mayor Lamar Thorpe was not yet in attendance. It was adopted by the Antioch City Council on Friday, Feb. 4 on a 3-0-2 vote, as both Barbanica and District 1 Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker were absent. (See related article)

About 30 minutes into the event, Thorpe arrived and signed the proclamation, then apologized for his tardiness saying he was at the opening of a local church in their new building, and that it was appropriate since Antioch was named for the city in Syria, “where the followers of Jesus Christ were first called Christians. So, I thought that was a special honor and I didn’t want to miss that. I think that’s important, and it was important for them,” he said. “I am excited to be here.”

During his speech the mayor said, “I’m so excited to be the mayor during this important year. We’ve come a long way as a city. 150 years ago, the diversity that we see in this crowd, here today did not exist. As time has passed, we’re at a time where, we for the first time we have the first majority African-American council in the city’s history. A majority woman city council in the city’s history, and that’s been for some time.”

“As we continue for the next 150 years, it’s important to understand, as these changes occur, there’s always going to be some level of conflict, as that’s the process of maturation,” he continued. “It means we’re growing up as a city. We’re not the same city that we were 10 years ago when I moved here. We’re not the same city that we were when folks who grew up are. We’re a different city.”

“But it’s all good. It’s all good. Because as we continue to be a more progressive, open-minded city, more people come here,” the mayor said. “We continue to be the fastest growing city in the Bay Area. We are now one of the most racially diverse cities in the San Francisco Bay Area, certainly ethnically diverse. So, there’s a lot of heritage and experiences that we’re proud of.”

“A lot of us recognize the importance of our history, so I just want to share a few things that we will be doing in the City of Antioch,” Thorpe said. He then shared about the council’s plans to restore the Hard House, on W. 1st Street, the home of the first mayor of Antioch, Roswell Butler Hard, where the meetings for the first city council were held.

“The Hard House has sat empty for a long, long time,” The history of this city should not stay empty in some building,” he said to applause from the crowd. Thorpe reiterated that the council’s “vision, right now is for council offices, maybe on the second floor, and community space on the first floor, to ensure that the community has access. So, we want to restore that.”

Thorpe then spoke of the Antioch (Beede) Lumber Company yard, the empty lot bordered by W. 2nd, W. 3rd and E Streets and the council’s commitment “to ensure that remains a public space recognizing our history,” to an even greater applause.

Thorpe then turned it into a campaign speech, as he faces possible recall.

“This council, my colleagues, myself, we are committed to, of course, preserving history. But we’re also committed to ensuring that the change that is occurring now, continues,” he stated. “And our foot is on the pedal, and we’re not stopping. It doesn’t matter what the naysayers have to say. I will be here for another three years.” (See video)

Several photos were taken of Thorpe holding the proclamation, with current council members, all but District 1 Council Tamisha Torres-Walker who was not in attendance and elected officials, Sesquicentennial Committee and Antioch Historical Society leaders, former mayors and council members, and with city staff.

Thorpe later said a framed copy of the proclamation will be given to the Antioch Historical Society for their museum and another will be framed for City Hall.

A reception was then held at the Antioch Senior Center nearby, in which historic photos of the city and copies of the city council’s first minutes and By-Laws, adopted March 14, 1872, were on display. Sesquicentennial calendars were sold for $20 each as a fundraiser to support this year’s activities and hors d’oeuvres were served, catered by Girard’s Catering owned by Antioch resident Linda Jane. Antioch’s First Bylaws.March 14, 1872

Unfortunately, a copy of the City’s Articles of Incorporation could not be located in the City Clerk’s office prior to the event. But the search for a copy will continue and added here, once they are.

Torres-Walker was asked the reason for her absence. She responded simply, “I was with family.”

Please check back later for any updates to this report.

During special meeting, Friday on 3-0-2 vote

By Allen D. Payton

During a special and brief council meeting held Friday afternoon, Feb. 4, 2022, the Antioch City Council, on a 3-0-2 vote approved a proclamation honoring the City’s Sesquicentennial, or 150th anniversary of the day it was incorporated on Feb. 6, 1872. The milestone was celebrated yesterday. (See related article and more about the commemoration, later)

With Mayor Pro Tem and District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica and District 1 Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker both absent, and District 4 Councilwoman Monica Wilson attending via Zoom, the motion to approve the proclamation. When asked why he wasn’t there, Barbanica said he “had a prior engagement that I could not get out of and it was not a scheduled meeting but a special meeting.” When asked the same, Torres-Walker replied, “I had to work Friday.”

Another proclamation honoring Genesis Church-Antioch recognizing the opening of their new location on the corner of E. 18th Street and Woodland Drive, was also approved by the council. Genesis purchased the building from Golden Hills Community Church which housed their Antioch satellite campus. Both are part of the same Converge denomination, formerly known as the Baptist General Conference, which was founded by Swedish immigrants to America in the 1800’s in Illinois and Minnesota. Genesis Church-Antioch Proclamation 020422

Following is the Sesquicentennial proclamation: Antioch City Council Sesquicentennial Proclamation 020422

IN HONOR OF

THE SESQUICENTENNIAL OF THE CITY OF ANTIOCH’S INCORPORATION

FEBRUARY 6, 2022

WHEREAS, for thousands of years, native indigenous Bay Miwok Tribes such as the Julpun inhabited and thrived on the land now known as the City of Antioch. Each Bay Miwok Tribe knew its land and boundaries intimately and shared the land and its resources;

WHEREAS, Twin brothers William Wiggin Smith and Joseph Horton Smith were hired to build homes and businesses in the region and were offered land in exchange for the development of land owned by Dr. John Marsh.* Later Captain George Washington Kimball and his passengers landed at the foot of ‘F’ Street, on September 16, 1850, where a new community would begin at what is now an area just east of Downtown Antioch;

WHEREAS, the community was initially called Smith’s Landing, but on July 4th, 1851 was renamed after the Biblical town Antioch, modern day Turkey, in honor of Reverend Joseph Horton Smith, who died a year earlier and in recognition that many in the new community were disciples of Christ;

WHEREAS, the town of Antioch was formally incorporated on February 6th, 1872, with the original town limits being ‘A’ Street to the east, ‘L’ Street to the west, and 10th Street to the south;

WHEREAS, at the time of incorporation the early people of Antioch were of European nationalities, including Greek, Portuguese, English, Welsh, German, Italian, and French as well as people of Chinese, Japanese, South East Asian and African descent. Living up to its claim of being a Metropolis where “the Whole World is Invited”;

WHEREAS, Antioch being at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers was a deep-water shipping port that attracted paper mills, brick and glass factories, ceramics and distilleries. As well as an agriculture center for farmers and cattle ranchers;

WHEREAS, in 1878 the Empire Coal Mine Company, owned by CW Belshaw and Egbert Judson, built the Empire Railroad Company, transporting coal from Judsonville, West Harley, and Stewartsville, in what is present day Black Diamond Regional Park. This coal was shipped across the region, making it one of the primary energy sources at the time, thus fueling the industrial development of California including the Bay Area;

WHEREAS, in the 1940’s Midwestern, Mexican, and Filipino families came to California looking for work in agriculture, many of whom eventually joined the workforce in Antioch’s paper mill and glass factory;

WHEREAS, although global commerce was welcomed in Antioch, it is also true that historical discrimination in the form of “Sundown Ordinances,” racial housing covenants, redlining, and other forms of systematic oppression was also present in Antioch. Many of the effects of which are still felt by communities today;

WHEREAS, when our Nation went to defend freedom, Antioch residents fought in World War l, World War ll, Korean, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq wars. In support of the US Navy World War ll effort, Fulton Shipyard was the first San Francisco Bay Area company to garner an “E” for efficiency and production excellence while constructing auxiliary vessels;

WHEREAS, the Bald Eagle Bronze Monument, now at the Contra Costa Fair Grounds, is one of six World War l monuments along Victory Highway, America’s first transcontinental road when it was dedicated in 1926. The Antioch Bridge was named the “Golden Link” of Victory Highway, named for its significance in connecting the northern and southern parts of California and was the Country’s first toll bridge;

WHEREAS, the City of Antioch has grown and evolved from a town of agriculture to a town of industry, and is now the fastest growing city in the San Franciso Bay Metropolitan Area and continues to draw people from different parts of the world and today is one of the most racially and economically diverse cities in the Bay Area;

WHEREAS, the City of Antioch is now a community where “Opportunity Lives Here,” a statement that is shown in the City’s investments in its infrastructure like the first Brackish Water Desalination Plant in California, industries like medical services, retail and cannabis, racial reconciliation, and other community initiatives; and

WHEREAS, the City of Antioch now desires to commemorate the milestone of its Sesquicentennial through a series of events that will begin with the anniversary of its incorporation on February 6, 2022, and culminate in a community-wide celebration on July 4, 2022.

NOW, THEREFORE I, LAMAR A. THORPE, Mayor of the City of Antioch, do hereby proclaim February 6, 2022, as the “Sesquicentennial of the Incorporation of the City of Antioch”.

We celebrate our rich history as one of California’s oldest cities with a storied past and bright future.

FEBRUARY 4, 2022

_________________________________

 LAMAR A. THORPE, Mayor

The proclamation was signed by Mayor Thorpe during Sunday’s event celebrating the milestone.

Challenge to Second Paragraph of Proclamation

*This sentence is in question and being challenged. Former Antioch Councilwoman Elizabeth Rimbault, who helped write the book entitled Images of America – Antioch by the Antioch Historical Society said she is unaware of that as part of the Smith brothers’ history in Antioch. In addition, this reporter who researched multiple books in writing The History of Smith’s Landing which is on display inside Smith’s Landing Seafood Grille is also not aware of that claim. City Clerk Ellie Householder was asked to cite the source for it and if she perhaps misinterpreted what was written about the Smith brothers early time, here as they founded the community.

150 years since Antioch became Contra Costa’s first city in 1872

First of yearlong calendar of events

Read about the City of Antioch incorporation history 

By Allen D. Payton

On February 6, 1872, the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors were petitioned by the town of Antioch for incorporation. Antioch was granted incorporation “for police purposes, and other purposes” and became the first city in the county. Next Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, will be the 150th anniversary or sesquicentennial of that event. To celebrate, City leaders and the Celebrate Antioch Foundation will hold a ceremony to acknowledge Antioch’s incorporation date, Contra Costa County’s original city and one of the oldest cities in California, at the Birthplace of Antioch monument at the foot of F Street. A proclamation will be read, and a rededication held, followed by light snacks and drinks at the Antioch Senior Center.

Antioch’s Incorporation Day event will be held from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. and is the first of many events, this year to celebrate the City of Antioch Sesquicentennial.

City of Antioch Incorporation History

According to the book entitled, Antioch To The Twenties by Elise S. Benyo and published by the Antioch Unified School District, “the petition for the incorporation of the town of Antioch” submitted to the Board of Supervisors included the names of 101 electors. The document and the names read as follows:

“We, the undersigned (being a majority of the Town of Antioch, and qualified electors and residents thereof for more than thirty days last past, the said town containing more than two hundred inhabitants,) do now most respectfully petition Your Honorable Body to incorporate the said town, under the name of Antioch, the same being about one mile in width by about three miles in length (but not exceeding the same), and situated on the San Joaquin River, adjoining the New York grant in this county, as per plate or map hereto attached; said town to be incorporated for police purposes, and other purposes. Pursuant to the statutes of this State. And your petitioners will ever pray, etc.

Donlon, S. Franklin Pitts, Henry N. Baker, Joseph Galloway, J. T. Cossan, Charles Peers, M. A. Morrisey, Van W. Phillips, Ferdinand Stain, Cyrus Cheney, Joseph Ott, W. A. Brunkhorst, William Jones, Robert West, George P. Rockford, Oliver Wolcott, F. Wilkening, George Thyarks, H. Gardner, James Martin, James Conroy, M. S. Levy, G. B. Robbins, George Gruenwald, W. Rountree, William C Johnson, Albert Brinck, J. C. McMaster, James Ewing, G. W. Kimball, Charles Kohn, Frederick Vollmer, T. N. Willis, J. J. McNulty, I. Lobree, D. Mayon, H. W. Fassett, Charles Wein, H. H. Dearien, George Miller, D. McCartney, D. N. Cleaves, G. S. Carman, Joseph Scheirwelup, J. E. Bollinger, R. B. Hard, J. R. Howard, R. J. Wally, Stephen Jessup, H. Rietoro , R. G. Houston, Francis Williams, Oscar M. Jessup, James T. Cushing, Abraham Low, H. L. Farland, John W. Strickler, Stephen Abbott, P. Griffin, George Perry, Job E. Warren, J. H. Lewis, S. S. Pitts, T. O. Carter, A. Brown, J. Nicholson, Jay Tuttle, S. T. Page, M. H. Jacobs, George McCoy, H. W. Brewer, T. Aug. Heinoch, J. A. Chittenden, Joseph L. Smith, John B. Turner, George W. Brown, R. R. Fuller, Thomas Martin, A. M. Marble,  Peter Donlon, R. Taylor, H. B. Reed, Christian Humble, S. B. Joslin, J. P. Abbott, Frank McFarlane, Warren Abbott, Joseph Baules, H. A. Foster, M. Homburg, James Gard, P. McDermott, J. Strickfield, John Tappeinen, H. Williamson, G. E. Wright H. Seers, Joseph P. Barron.”

Official Notice of Incorporation, Town Limits

The official notice of incorporation was published in The Antioch Ledger on Saturday, February 10, 1872, and described the city limits.

“It is therefore ordered that said town be, and the same is hereby declared Incorporated, and to be known by the name of Antioch, the corporate limits of said town to be as follows: Commencing at a point on the bank of the San Joaquin river, at the intersection of the line dividing Sections 14 and 15, Township 2 north, Range 1 east, Mount Diablo Base and Meridian, running thence from said point south on the said dividing line between Section 14 and 15, 22 and 23, one and one half miles to the South west corner of the North west quarter of Section 23, thence running East thee miles, to the South east corner of the North east quarter of Section 19, Township 2 north, Range 2 east, thence north, to the San Joaquin river, thence along the line of the ordinary high tides on the South bank of the San Joaquin river in a westerly direction to the point of beginning, and containing three square miles.” (Antioch is now almost 30 square miles).

First Board of Trustees (City Council) and Meeting Place

An election was held on February 24, 1872, held at the National Hall, on Main Street (now, I Street), according to a notice published in The Antioch Ledger, to elect the five members of the first Board of Trustees, Treasurer, Assessor and Marshal. Roswell Butler Hard, T. N. Willis, James Ewing, J. C. McMaster and George Gruenwald were elected as trustees. M.S. Levy was elected the city’s first clerk.

Hard’s home on Front (now First) Street, which is still standing, today, served as the meeting place of the first board of trustees of the newly incorporated City of Antioch on March 2, 1872. At the meeting, Hard was elected president (mayor).

According to the book entitled, Images of America – Antioch by the Antioch Historical Society, the mayor was “an influential businessman in Antioch. Hard owned six lots and built his large, two-story brick house on Front (First) Street” on one of the lots. “It was considered one of the handsomest and most costly houses in the county.” In addition, “the Hard House was the first building in the city to be recorded on the National Registry of Historic Places.”

Hard had held public office, previously as the elected County Supervisor in 1866 and 1868 and County Sheriff in 1867 and 1869. He held both jobs concurrently.

First Ordinance Prevented Livestock to “Run at Large”

On March 14, of the same year the By-laws were passed. Ordinance No. 1 prohibited owners of (live)stock to suffer (allow) the same to run at large within the limit of the town. An ordinance was passed regulating the use of firearms. A motion was passed to have Mr. Hard to furnish and repair the town prison.

Disincorporated and Incorporated Again

One interesting historical fact is, according to the book entitled, History of Contra Costa County California, Antioch “was first incorporated in 1872. Later it was disincorporated, but was again incorporated in 1890.

Special thanks to Jacquelyn Higgins, Adult/Teen Services Librarian of the Antioch Community Library for her research assistance for this article.