The San Ramon Valley stretches for 20 beautiful miles under the shadow of Mount Diablo and includes the bustling communities of San Ramon, Alamo, and Danville. Some 113,000 people make their homes here in a scenic area of open spaces, gracious homes, and tree-lined streets. Also here are major business hubs and the winding Interstate 680 freeway. Of course, this valley wasn't always so populous. In the 1850s, while nearby San Francisco boomed and Oakland grew up, this valley remained rural. Mount Diablo became an important early survey marker during California's gold rush, but only in recent decades have the early ranches and small villages given way to the modern cities we know today.

Beverly Lane, curator of the Museum of the San Ramon Valley, along with photographer and decent Ralph Cozine, has compiled this amazing collection of images depicting Danville, Alamo, San Ramon, Diablo, Blackhawk, and Tassajara Valley. Among the sights in this volume are early schools, the electric railway between Alamo and Danville, the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, and the incorporation of Danville and San Ramon in the early 1980s.

Together these images tell how this unique urban edge of the East Bay came to be.

The Images of America series 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 2005 by Arcadia Publishing. It measures 9" x 6" and weighs 0.65 pounds.