Oakley would benefit from historical societyOakley would benefit from historical societySeptember 10, 2004
Some residents in Oakley think it's time for longtime residents to begin to write their own version of Oakley's history. In the past, when local historians spoke of Oakley, it generally involved something in the line of opium dens and prostitutes. Sounds exciting for headlines, but many oldtimers feel it doesn't reflect the true spirit of the city.
That is why there are those who believe it is time to start Oakley's own historical society. For those who aren't familiar with what a historical society is, it usually consists of an organization that seeks to preserve and promote interest in the history of a region, a period or a subject.
Historical societies are typically focused on a state or in our case a community. They often have collections of artifacts, books and records, and may include a museum. Locally there is the East Contra Costa Historical Society, which is located in Brentwood. For some time it has covered all of the area including Oakley.
The East Contra Costa Historical Society does have some information on Oakley, but most of it consists of old family pictures. These tell a story in themselves, but nothing like actually bringing to life a story passed down through history from grandparent to grandchild of what it was like to live in Oakley during the pioneer days.
One of the true advantages to having a historical society would be to have a cohesive view of the past and not a one-sided tale that looks good to get attention, like the opium dens, but doesn't tell the rest of the story. We all know that opium dens and other seedy events happened in history in every town, but without the events written down somewhere, people tend to hear just the exciting or outrageous details and forget that there were other things that happened over 100 or so years.
Another important part about devising a historical committee of our own would be to find out when settlers actually came to Oakley. Many believe it was in 1898 when John Marsh purchased and zoned the area. According to other local historians the date goes even further back, into the 1860s, and contest the date that Oakley residents came up with and celebrated at the Oakley Almond Festival as the town's centennial celebration.
Bringing people together in a group like a historical society could help to come up with the true dates. One local historical found a map of the area in which the name Oakley is written, the map comes from the 1880s. Of course, just because the name is written on the map, it doesn't mean that anyone actually settled here. Maybe the name was given to the area and Marsh and the other settlers decided to use the name that was already on the maps.
Having a cohesive group looking for the evidence could help to answer some of the questions. More than that, it would deepen the understanding of past choices, present circumstances and future possibilities. In some areas historical societies have even been reported to strengthen the bonds of a community and facilitate solutions to common problems. It may also be a way for school children to study the true history for their community and develop a love for their surroundings.
Now so far in this small contingent of people there isn't one person ready to come forward and say that they are willing to be in charge of an historical society. Most of the people are worried about how to even get started. Those interested are welcome to e-mail me and I will be happy to help bring people together. There are a lot of people out there with, if nothing else, a great deal of knowledge, photos and family stories about the past. Bringing everyone together could be a fun and worthwhile project.
Roni Gehlke's column on life in Oakley appears each week in the Brentwood News.
Distributed by the Contra Costa Times