Skip to Main Content

Preserving, understanding and interpreting the past.

The Contra Costa County Historical Society, founded in 1951 by Louis L. Stein and Justice A.F. Bray, is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve, protect and provide public access to the records and heritage of Contra Costa County.

The Society operates the History Center in downtown Martinez, California, where the County archives are stored and our staff does its work. These archives are available to the public for research on anything from family history and genealogy to legal research, property title searches, or local history research. Our archives include newspapers and newspaper clippings, photographs, maps, books, government records and reports, court case files, and family papers from prominent local families, among many other items.

We receive funding through memberships, fees for services, grants from private foundations and government agencies, donations from individuals, and an annual stipend from the Contra Costa County government.

A staff of dedicated volunteers performs our historical work, such as processing donated material, storing it archivally, cataloging and entering data into our ever-expanding online database, and assisting with research requests. Our archives were donated to us by family estates, government agencies, local businesses, other historical societies or organizations, and individuals, with the first major acquisition coming from photographer and pharmacist Louis L. Stein.  This collection was extensive and provided the foundation for the archives.

An Introduction to the Contra Costa County Historical Society

Past Society Presidents

A. Frank Bray, Sr.

1951-1980

Martinez

Carol Leland

1981-1982

Orinda

Roy S. Bloss

1983-1984

Alamo

Andrew Young

1985-1986

Alamo

Betty Maffei

1987-1988

Walnut Creek

John Buffo

1989-1990

Antioch

Ruth Dyer

1991-1992

Lafayette

Beverly Clemson

1993-1994

Walnut Creek

A. Frank Bray, Jr.

1995-1996

Martinez

Mary-Ellen Jones

1997-1998

Orinda

Kathleen J. Mero

1999-2000

Concord

Lucille Irish

2001-2002

Walnut Creek

Denise Hueners

2002-2003

Concord

Traci Parent

2004-2005

Danville

Webb Johnson

2006-2007

Walnut Creek

Steve Lawton

2008-2009

Hercules

Beverly Lane

2010

Danville

Andrea Blachman

2011

Martinez

Beverly Lane

2012

Danville

John Burgh

2013-2014

Concord

Scott Saftler

2015-2016

Walnut Creek

John Mercurio

2017-2018

Concord

John Greitzer

2019-2020

Martinez

John Mercurio

2021

Concord

John Burgh

2022

Concord