New Book Celebrates the History of El Sobrante

Dec. 21, 2011 - PRLog -- New from Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is El Sobrante by local author Donald Bastin. This pictorial history boasts more than 200 vintage images and provides readers with a unique opportunity to reconnect with the history that shaped their community.

El Sobrante is a semirural community in Contra Costa County and is situated between the towns of Richmond, Pinole, and Orinda. In Spanish, el sobrante means “the surplus,” but is more commonly translated as “the leftovers.” The name is derived from the Rancho El Sobrante, which was carved from land surrounded by Mexican land grants.

Unlike many of its neighbors, El Sobrante never attracted any large company or business interest that would have determined its pattern of growth. As a result, the town was free to develop in a way that reflects the wishes and hopes of its residents. Its people take pride that their community is a quiet place with small businesses, unpretentious homes, and open space where people can walk, ride horses, or simply enjoy nature.

Highlights of El Sobrante include:
•   The S.P. Skow & Sons Dairy, which constituted the largest commercial operation in El Sobrante for the first half of the twentieth century.
•   Photographs of the construction of the original San Pablo Dam, beginning in 1916.
•   The openings of the San Pablo Reservoir and Kennedy Grove Park
•   An extensive photo-history of the evolution of the El Sobrante Library
•   Most of the images featured in El Sobrante have been donated by local residents and therefore have never been seen outside of the donor families.
•   This is the first comprehensive history of El Sobrante ever published.
•   A portion of the profits from the sale of the book will help support the newly-created El Sobrante Historical Society.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or www.arcadiapublishing.com.

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With more than 7,500 local history titles published to date, Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States. Widely recognized sepia books feature hundreds of vintage historical images.