Concord

Sister cities

• Kitakami

History

The valleys north of Mount Diablo were inhabited by the Miwok people, who hunted elk and fished in the numerous streams flowing from the mountain into the San Francisco Bay. Miwok and other indigenous people still live within city limits. In 1772, Spanish explorers began to cross the area but did not settle there. In 1834, the Mexican land grant Rancho Monte del Diablo at the base of Mount Diablo was granted to Salvio Pacheco (for whom the nearby town of Pacheco is named). Concord was founded under the name of Todos Santos ("all saints"; a name still borne by the central city plaza and park between Willow Pass Road and Salvio Street), on the initiative of Pacheco in 1869. It achieved prominence in the 19th century, when most residents of Pacheco relocated to Concord to avoid the devastation of fire and flood which crippled Pacheco's formerly booming economy. Concord was incorporated on February 5, 1905. The area around Concord in the surrounding Ygnacio and Clayton valleys was a large agricultural area. The crops grown included grapes, walnuts, almonds, wheat, hay, and even tomatoes. The area to the east (now the site of the Concord Naval Weapons Station) was the site of a few enormous wheat ranches of over , and was almost a sea of wheat all the way to the marshes bordering Suisun Bay. During Prohibition, many vineyards were removed and replaced with walnut orchards. The town of Cowell, now incorporated into Concord, produced cement. The first Concord post office opened in 1872. The munitions on board a Navy cargo ship exploded while being loaded during World War II, resulting in the largest number of casualties among African Americans in any one incident during that war. On the evening of July 17, 1944, a massive explosion instantly killed 320 sailors, merchant…

Geography

Concord is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land. The focal point of downtown Concord is Todos Santos Plaza, which encompasses an entire city block and is known for its farmers market, free summer concerts, and large number of surrounding restaurants. Much of the area immediately around downtown has recently been redeveloped, with new high-density apartment and condominium projects to take advantage of the proximity to public transportation and to the area surrounding the park. Despite this, some crime and homelessness remain issues in the downtown area. Concord is bordered on the west by Pleasant Hill and the unincorporated community of Pacheco, on the south by Walnut Creek, on the southeast by Clayton, on the northeast by Pittsburg and the unincorporated community of Bay Point, and on the north by the unincorporated community of Clyde. Although it shares no border with Concord, Martinez (the county seat) is located almost immediately adjacent to Concord on the northwest. The North Concord BART station is also known as Martinez BART. Concord has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb), with warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Official data from the National Weather Service cooperative station in Concord shows average January temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . Average July temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . There are an average of 45.0 days with highs of or higher and 3.8 days with lows of or lower. The highest recorded temperature was on September 1, 2017. The lowest record temperature was on December 23, 1998. Average annual precipitation is , falling on an average of 71 days annually. The wettest year was 1995, with and the driest year was 2007,…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  24,013
• California/Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  Aphelocoma californica (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  23,188
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  21,755
• Oak Titmouse

  Baeolophus inornatus (Gambel, 1845) · Aves
  20,629
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  19,880
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  18,866
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  17,529
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  16,870