A special Bay light falls on beautiful Benicia, on the north shore of the Carquinez Strait. Two U.S. citizens, Robert Semple and Thomas Larkin, bought the land from Mexican Army General Mariano Vallejo for $100 and the promise to name it for Vallejo's wife in 1847. The next year a customer at Von Pfister's Benicia waterfront store let slip the secret of the gold discovery at Sutter's Mill. Benicia's deep water harbor attracted Pacific Mail and Steamship Company, the first major California industry, the famous Matthew Turner shipyards, tanneries, and the Central Pacific Railroad, which made Benicia its transcontinental terminus. State legislators made the town their third state capital in 1853. That oldest surviving capitol building still stands along with many historic buildings, including the stately structures of a U.S. military base that began with the Benicia Barracks in 1849 and continued to serve until 1964.

This delightful visual voyage through time has been assembled largely from the fine photographic collection of the Benicia Historical Museum by its knowledgeable staff. The museum occupies the famous sandstone Camel Barns, tied in fact and legend to a pre-Civil War U.S. Cavalry experiment seeking an alternative to horsepower.

This book is part of The Images of America series that celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the country. Using archival photographs, each title presents the distinctive stories from the past that shape the character of the community today. Arcadia is proud to play a part in the preservation of local heritage, making history available to all.

The book is a new, trade paperback, published in 2004 by Arcadia Publishing. It measures 9" x 6" and weighs 0.65 pounds.