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SAN LEANDRO SHORELINE DEVELOPMENT DRAFT EIR
<br />CITY OF SAN LEANDRO
<br />CULTURAL RESOURCES
<br />The Ohlone were hunter gatherers who settled in large, permanent villages, often situated near fresh
<br />water sources. Due to the site's proximity to a year-round water source in San Lorenzo Creek, and the
<br />presence of well -drained soils, it would have been a likely area for prehistoric people to live or gather
<br />resources.3
<br />According to the San Leandro General Plan,' archaeologists and historians have identified at least ten
<br />archaeological sites in the city between San Leandro Creek, north of the Project site, and San Lorenzo
<br />Creek, south of the Project site. They are not visibly evident, and mostly consist of remnant shell mounds
<br />that have been destroyed or covered by development. The Project site is not within nor does it contain
<br />any of these sites. Furthermore, Tom Origer and Associates conducted a cultural resources survey of the
<br />Project site for the presence of archaeological artifacts, utilizing archival research and on-site fieldwork.
<br />No prehistoric or historic -period archaeological resources were discovered within the Project site.'
<br />Historical Resources
<br />Local Historical Context
<br />Before the first European settlers arrived, the area now known as San Leandro was home to Native
<br />Americans for more than 3,000 years.' As previously mentioned, at least ten archaeological sites have
<br />been identified in the city between San Leandro Creek, north of the Project site, and San Lorenzo Creek,
<br />south of the Project site, consisting primarily of remnant shell mounds . However, as stated above, a
<br />cultural resources survey conducted by Tom Origer & Associates concluded that there were no artifacts
<br />found on the Project site itself. Between 1820 and 1842, the area now known as San Leandro was divided
<br />through Spanish land grants; most of modern-day San Leandro was contained within the cattle ranches of
<br />Ignacio Peralta and Don Jose Joaquin Estudillo.' As settlers, squatters, and "49ers" arrived in the early
<br />1850s, the town was laid out in a grid of streets and became the seat of Alameda County in 1856. A
<br />catastrophic earthquake destroyed the County Courthouse in 1868, causing the county seat to be
<br />relocated to Oakland. The agricultural town continued to prosper and was incorporated as a City in 1872,
<br />reaching 2,300 residents by the turn of the twentieth century. At this time, farms and orchards in the city
<br />produced a variety of fruits and vegetables, including cherries, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, asparagus,
<br />sugar beets, rhubarb, and apricots.'
<br />San Leandro continued to grow at a moderate pace during the first part of the twentieth century and had
<br />14,000 residents by 1940.9 Neighborhoods took shape, and railroad corridors running through the city
<br />were developed with industry. Downtown was the center of commerce and civic life. It was in the 1940s
<br />and 1950s that much of San Leandro's current form and character took shape. Nearly half of the city's
<br />current housing stock was added during this era, initially created by the need for wartime housing and
<br />3 Beard, Vicki, 2014, A Cultural Resources Survey for the San Leandro Shoreline Development Project, page 3.
<br />' City of San Leandro, General Plan, page 7-2.
<br />5 Beard, Vicki, 2014, A Cultural Resources Survey for the San Leandro Shoreline Development Project, page 7.
<br />6 City of San Leandro, General Plan, page 2-2.
<br />' City of San Leandro, General Plan, page 2-2.
<br />s City of San Leandro, General Plan, page 2-2.
<br />9 City of San Leandro, General Plan, page 2-2.
<br />4.4-6 DECEMBER 2014
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