The second Yankee settler in Contra Costa County was Elam Brown. Elam served as wagon train master for fourteen families who left St. Joseph, Missouri on May 1, 1846. Elam's party crossed the Sierra Nevada Mountains mere days before the ill-fated Donner party became mired in Donner Pass. Elam's party entered Sutter's Fort on August 10, 1846.

In 1847, Brown purchased a 3,329 acre Mexican Land Grant named Rancho Acalanes and 300 cattle for $900. At that time the going price for cattle was $2.50 per head on the hoof. In February 1848 he built his first home on the Rancho along with two other families, thereby creating the first community in central Contra Costa County. He helped write the State of California's Constitution, served two terms in the assembly and installed a horse drawn grist mill in Happy Valley. Demand soon outgrew the mill's capacity so in 1853 he built a steam mill on Lafayette Creek behind the present day Park Theater.

During the 1850s, redwood lumber harvested in the Canyon/Moraga area was hauled to Martinez for shipment to San Francisco. The present Lafayette area became the ideal spot for the men to rest, eat, drink and get necessary repairs to their wagons and stock.

In 1854 and 1855, Mile Hough was postmaster for the Acalanus Post Office located in his hotel. Why Acalanus wasn't accepted for the town name is unknown. In 1857, Benjamin Shreve, who was applying for the position of postmaster, tried to change the name Acalanus to Centerville. The request was rejected because California already had a Centerville post office. Shreve then reapplied using the name LaFayette, which the community accepted for the town name.

Lafayette remained a quiet farming viIIage until the post-World War 11 building boom turned cornfields into housing developments.


              © Gary Crabbe / Enlightened Images

The City marked the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the Yankee settlers in 1998. Throughout the yearlong Sesquicentennial celebration, several new monuments to our history were dedicated. These sites included the spot on Happy Valley Road where founder Elam Brown and his family built their first home; the site of the Pony Express Station, which served from 1860-1861, located near the present intersection of Mt. Diablo and Moraga Road; and the homestead of jenny Bickerstaff, the community's first teacher, in the Diablo Foods parking lot today.

Lafayette's Historic Town Hall

In the mid-nineteenth century, the citizens of the new farming community of Lafayette took issue with decisions of the County Supervisors. The early residents were dissatisfied with matters such as the granting of permits for developments in the area and the county's performance of road and drain maintenance. Some alleged that the streets were only resurfaced when a supervisory election was due.

In 1911, a group of leading citizens and merchants, formed the Lafayette Improvement Club (LIC). From the time the organization was formed until the city was incorporated in 1968, LIC remained the "political thorn" in the County Supervisors' side.

One of the first pieces of business was to construct a building which could be used for community meetings and social events. The search for property ended in 1913 when Frank and Rosa Ghiglione deeded a property to the LIC and donated $200 towards building costs. With other financial contributions and labor donated by the citizens of Lafayette, a building was completed in May, 1914.

The first event in the new Town Hall was a Grand Ball, the first of many Saturday night dances in Lafayette. This new social activity became so popular that the LTC requested that the Sacramento Northern Railroad provide a special train from Oakland to the West Lafayette Station so people could walk to Town Hall. Evenings would begin at 9:00 p.m., with a multi-course supper served at midnight, followed by more dancing. It was reported that one train left the Lafayette station at 5:30 a.m.!

In 1941, LIC was reorganized under a new constitution and became today's Lafayette Improvement Association (LIA). Town Hall continued to be used by many organizations in many ways. Lafayette Grammar School used the facility as its auditorium until the school auditorium was built in 1944. Activities included community meetings, church services, movies, and basketball. In 1941 theatrical performances were launched by the Lafayette Playshop. Their opening night was December 3, 1941, the eve of the US entry in World War II. During the next four years, the building's use was devoted to the war effort.

Live theater returned to Lafayette in 1947 when the Straw Hat Review rented Town Hall. In 1955, the Dramateurs began performing. From 1956 until 1986, a local group entertained local residents with a show called "The Laf-Frantics."

The Dramateurs reorganized as Town Hall Theatre in 1991 and continues to flourish today. Three times, from 1992 through 1995, The Town Hall Theatre Company won Shellie Awards for the Best Production in Contra Costa County.