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Pinole, California
Summary
Pinole (Spanish for "cornmeal") is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 19,022 at the 2020 census.
The name derives from "pinole", a Nāhuatl word for a kind of flour made from the ground seeds of maize, chia, and various other grasses, and annual herbs. An expedition under Pedro Fages was said to have run out of provisions while exploring the area, and to have been fed pinole by a local village. The Spaniards named their camp El Pinole.
In 1823, Ygnacio Martínez, commandant of the Presidio of San Francisco, received a land grant of Rancho El Pinole from the Mexican government. Martinez built a hacienda in Pinole Valley; this is land encompassed by Pinole Valley Park. During the 1850s, Bernardo Fernandez, a Portuguese immigrant, started a trading facility on the shores of San Pablo Bay. He built Fernandez Mansion, a historic building that still stands today at the end of Tennent Avenue. From these early beginnings, a small but thriving community developed into the city of Pinole.
The settlement's growth was stimulated by construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1878 and the establishment of the California Powder Works in nearby Hercules. During this period, this city had an active waterfront and was a regional commercial and banking center. The first post office opened in 1878 when the railroad reached the community. The City of Pinole was incorporated in 1903.
During the post-World War II boom, Pinole and the surrounding area grew rapidly. Construction of Interstate 80 in 1958 stimulated developers to build new housing to satisfy demand, and the town evolved as a suburban bedroom community within the San Francisco/Oakland commuter belt. Much of its original industry was displaced during this time, and the town became predominantly residential.
Today, the town is locally known for its "big box" shopping store district along Fitzgerald Drive, and Pinole Vista Shopping Center, which is contiguous with Richmond's Hilltop Area. The downtown area still retains much turn-of-the-century building stock.
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