News

Once again, history fans filled the Dona Benicia Room. This time, they came to learn about researching the history of historic homes from Wayne Eisenhart. Wayne has done extensive work in Merced and more recently Benicia. His focus has been on the lives of the families who have built and occupied the historic residences. He works lot by lot, block by block. He enjoyed learning about Merced, his home for some 45 years.

Now in Benicia, Wayne began with the neighborhood between West 3rd and West 7th Streets from the water up to West Military. As he described the web of family histories he has uncovered, he showed starting with Sanborn Maps and then proceeding with many online resources. These include Ancestry.com which has city directories, Newspapers.com which often show real estate sales, Internet Archive which has books with county histories, Findagrave.com, the US Census mortality schedule, and the Bancroft Library at U.C. Berkeley. Local resources include the Museum of History Benicia online archives, speaking with long-time Benicians, and the Benicia Herald.

Wayne also noted that Benicia street addresses were changed in late 1950s. This address change has long confused local researchers and the Society hopes to put together a guide to help navigate future research. Creating that guide and many other subjects, is the focus of the Society's new research committee that is actively recruiting interested volunteers. If you are interested in learning more, or volunteering your time, please reach out to us.

On Sunday, May 17th, another standing room only crowd attended a presentation at the library by Allan Gandy, local Benicia author and Society member, on the Benicia-Martinez Railroad Drawbridge. Mr. Gandy presented a very informative talk with many rarely seen photos. Subjects covered were the Solano Train Ferry, design of the bridge by the New York engineering firm Waddell-Hardesty, funding, construction (1929-1930) and the mechanism for lifting and lowering the drawbridge. Attendees asked interesting questions. Mr. Gandy’s books are available at Benicia Main Street, Bookshop Benicia, and the Museum of History Benicia.

May is National Historic Preservation Month, established in 1973 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. During the month of May events are planned to promote historic places for the purpose of instilling national and community pride, promoting heritage tourism, and showing the social and economic benefits of historic preservation.

For this reason the Society has, often, held its Historic Home Tour in the month of May. On some years, including this year, the Society plans to host a holiday version of its home tour in December. We are looking forward to once again hosting the home tour and highlighting the many architecturally significant homes and buildings in our community.

Please join us for the Society's May event The Story of the Benicia-Martinez Railroad Drawbridge to celebrate National Historic Preservation Month!

The Society, in a successful collaboration with the Benicia Public Library, hosted a captivating presentation on Sunday, April 19th that brought the history of California’s founding families to life. The event saw an impressive turnout of over 80 attendees, with a diverse audience spanning all age ranges—from local students to long-time residents—underscoring the community's deep interest in Benicia’s namesake.

The featured speakers, Professors Emeriti Rose Marie Beebe and Robert M. Senkewicz, shared poignant excerpts from their research into more than 180 personal letters exchanged by the Vallejo family. These primary sources offered attendees a rare, intimate window into the daily lives, personal feelings, and private struggles of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo and Francisca Benicia Carrillo de Vallejo as they navigated the transition of California into the United States.

The atmosphere in the Doña Benicia Room was one of deep engagement; following the presentation, many guests remained to ask detailed questions about the General and Doña Benicia. By the afternoon's end, those in attendance left with a much more profound understanding of the woman for whom our city is named—her resilience, her role in her family, and the complex times in which she lived.

The legacy of Doña Benicia remains highly visible in our downtown through public art, such as the Mantilla sculpture at First and B Streets and the historic tiles along First Street, but this event provided the human story behind those monuments.

The Museum of History Benicia (MoHB) hosted the opening of a wonderful new exhibit on Saturday, February 7th. Celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary, the exhibit features an overview of how Benicia has contributed to our national history. It includes creative displays and information showing the various immigrant cultures, artists, newspapers, and industries including agricultural, shipyards, tanneries, and the refinery. At the request of the MoHB, the Society created a display about Benicia’s railroad legacy, which remains visible in the train depot and pier at the end of First Street. The Society is grateful for the opportunity to participate. A large enthusiastic crowd attended the opening. The MoHB, located at 2024 Camel Rd., is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 1-4pm and has free admission.

The Society hosted its 2025 Holiday Party and Annual Meeting on December 14th. Belinda Smith, the outgoing President, welcomed the members, introduced the current Board, and gave an update on the Society’s 2025 accomplishments. She also presented the Board of Directors’ proposed slate of officers and directors for 2026. The membership unanimously approved the slate, which includes new president Anastasia Heuer and new director Patrick Ward. The evening continued with everyone enjoying wonderful food, wine, and conversation. New this year to our holiday party was a silent auction. Along with our raffle, local gift cards, a backyard pizza dinner, wine, and gift baskets were a few of the many sought after prizes. The Society Board would like to extend a hearty "Thank You" to all of our generous raffle and silent auction donors. Their contributions added so much fun and excitement to the evening. We truly appreciate the support in bringing our community together. Our yearly trivia quiz created by Past President and current Historian Jerry Hayes closed out the event with much laughter and discussion.

The Society spent the month of August celebrating the unique connection between Benicia’s rich history and its vibrant public art scene, with a special focus on the Granizo tile art on First Street. The society’s activities highlighted the importance of preserving the city's heritage through education and community engagement.

The month-long initiative kicked off with "A-Tile-A-Day," a social media campaign on the Society’s Facebook page. Each day, a new post provided detailed information about one of the 28 Granizo tiles, engaging the community with daily insights into the art and history of the project.

On August 2, the Benicia Historical Society and the Museum of History Benicia co-hosted a special event at the Museum's Stone Hall. The event brought together knowledgeable figures involved in the Granizo Art Tile project, including artist Ron Wagner’s son, former Mayor Jerry Hayes, and Dr. Kerry K. Carney, who shared their research and provided context on the meaning of the tiles.

Two weeks later, on August 16, the Society sponsored a highly anticipated semi-guided tour of the tiles. Docents stationed at each of the 28 tiles offered further insight and historical context, providing participants with beautiful cards featuring an image of the tile on one side and a detailed description on the reverse. The images of all 28 tiles and their accompanying text are available here.

"The overwhelming response to these events shows the community's deep interest in our shared history," said Benicia Historical Society president, Belinda Smith. "Through projects like these, the Benicia Historical Society continues to fulfill its mission to bring together people interested in the history of Benicia and California and to preserve our heritage for future generations."

The Society extends special thanks to Dr. Carney and Anastasia Heuer for their vision and execution of the "Month of Tiles," and to all the enthusiastic volunteers who made the events possible.

A crowd of 65 people gathered at the Museum of History Benicia's Stone Hall last Saturday to celebrate a unique piece of the city's artistic heritage: the Granizo First Street Tile Project. The free event, titled "Granizo Tiles: The Art Beneath Our Feet," was co-sponsored by the Benicia Historical Society and the Museum of History Benicia.

The event delved into the origins of the beautiful tiles that grace Benicia's downtown sidewalks. Attendees were treated to a special video and Q&A session with Ron Wagner, the son of the project's artist, who shared insights into his father's life and work. Former Mayor Jerry Hayes was also on hand to recount the fascinating story of how the Granizo tile project came to be. Dr. Kerry Carney shared her research journey into the project and announced an exciting upcoming event for the public.

The Benicia Historical Society will host a follow-up semi-guided tour of the tiles on First Street on Saturday, August 16, from 1-3 p.m. This unique tour will feature docents stationed at tile locations, ready to share more information and answer questions about the art and the city's history. The public is invited to join the tour at any tile location between F and Military and the tour is free of charge.

The Benicia Historical Society is also seeking volunteers to act as docents for the tour. No previous knowledge is necessary—just an enthusiasm for Benicia's history. Those interested in volunteering can sign up here: https://forms.gle/KTeWThDbsGRw4MoL6

On Saturday, July 12th , about a dozen BHS members trekked to downtown Danville to visit the Museum of San Ramon Valley. The trip was both a fact-finding mission and fun outing, as the Danville Depot could be a model for the Benicia Depot freight room and our Caboose Project. Our gracious host Ross, a long-time museum volunteer and project manager for the Depot’s restoration, told us about the history of their project, which began back in 1939. The dilapidated Depot was finally moved 800 ft north to the current site in 1996, when a complete restoration began. The project received a grant from the National Transportation Agency. The caboose came from Sacramento in 1998 and also needed a complete makeover to install public restrooms. The latter were partly funded by the East Bay Regional Parks District at the request of the Museum group because the Depot is located on what is now the Iron Horse Trail. Ross mentioned several fundraising efforts including engraved bricks and holding parties, and stressed the importance of recognizing donations.

The Danville Depot is the heart of the downtown and usually has 100-150 visitors each weekday and 250 on weekend days. They have modest admission fees. Our visit was during the very popular farmers market taking place in the adjacent parking lot, and many families were visiting the Depot/Museum as well. The Depot’s freight room had been converted into exhibit and event space, with the current offering being their annual model train exhibit. A large Lionel train model filled the room with color, sound, action, and very happy children and parents. A permanent, chronological local history exhibit was located on the perimeter. Most of the historic features of the room have been preserved, including the exposed trusses, windows, barn-style doors, freight scale, and flooring. Outward opening glass doors had been added for public safety reasons.

The restored Southern Pacific caboose was located on a section of track next to a wooden platform adjacent to one of the freight room doorways. A handicap ramp leads from the parking lot up to the platform. The interior of the caboose included the restrooms and a glassed-in room with a train engineer dummy/mannequin. There was a line for the restrooms, which are closed each evening at 7:00.

Terence Bennett, Society board member, recently delivered an insightful lecture on the history of shipbuilding along the North Bay Shipbuilding Corridor. He provided a comprehensive overview, examining the key factors that have made this region a hub for thriving shipbuilding over the past 150 years. Watch the presentation here.