California, Alameda County, San Leandro
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Many of the trees surrounding you have foreign roots, each with its own tale. In 1868 the Hayward Journal described Chabot’s plans to encircle the reservoir with “walnut, hickory nuts, butternuts, and other eastern and foreign nut trees.” These transplants may have included the exotic palms before you.
The tree enclosed by the fences is a cork oak (Quercus suber), native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa. In 1892 Portuguese “vaquero: Frank Silva worked for the Contra Costa Water Company and could have planned this tree for his wine bottling.
In the 1910s Frank C. Havens, of People’s Water Company, imported millions of eucalyptus seedlings that sprouted into the towering trees around you. This get-rich-quick craze that spread throughout the San Francisco area touted the tree for timber, medicine, erosion, and fire control. The pros and cons of this Australian native continue to be debated, raising the larger question of how introduced species affect local flora and fauna.
Oakland author Jack London also invested in the Eucalyptus trend, eventually planting 65,000 trees. The Eucalyptus Timber Company secured his endorsement for a brochure “Jack London and Eucalyptus” to entice more investors.
(Asian Americans • Horticulture & Forestry) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Many of the trees surrounding you have foreign roots, each with its own tale. In 1868 the Hayward Journal described Chabot’s plans to encircle the reservoir with “walnut, hickory nuts, butternuts, and other eastern and foreign nut trees.” These transplants may have included the exotic palms before you. The tree enclosed by the fences is a cork oak (Quercus suber), native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa. In 1892 Portuguese “vaquero: Frank Silva worked for the Contra Costa Water Company and could have planned this tree for his wine bottling.
In the 1910s Frank C. Havens, of People’s Water Company, imported millions of eucalyptus seedlings that sprouted into the towering trees around you. This get-rich-quick craze that spread throughout the San Francisco area touted the tree for timber, medicine, erosion, and fire control. The pros and cons of this Australian native continue to be debated, raising the larger question of how introduced species affect local flora and fauna.
Oakland author Jack London also invested in the Eucalyptus trend, eventually planting 65,000 trees. The Eucalyptus Timber Company secured his endorsement for a brochure “Jack London and Eucalyptus” to entice more investors.
(Asian Americans • Horticulture & Forestry) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
The Alameda County Historical Society dedicates this panel to:
Public outcry led Oakland councilman George Pardee, who later became Governor of California, to campaign Contra Costa Water Company for a clean reliable water system. The Hyatt filters were installed, along with pump houses and filtration basins, to form “one of the West’s first” filtration systems, now part of a Historic Engineering Landmark. 
Named for U.S.S. Portsmouth commanded by Capt. John B. Montgomery, after whom Montgomery Street was named. It was here on the plaza that Capt. Montgomery first raised the American flag near the Mexican adobe custom house on July 9, 1846. This plaza was the center of many early day activities among which were the following:- 
Travel the route of these explorers and read Lt. Pike’s own words from his journal.
On January 28, 1807, Lt. Zebulon Pike and his small band of tattered, hungry, foot-sore soldiers camped near here, having just crossed this snowy Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Under orders from General James Wilkinson to explore the southwestern boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase and locate the Arkansas and Red Rivers, Lt. Pike became the first person known to describe the Great Sand Dunes in writing.
The landscape of Haleakala National Park rises from a lush valley beneath a waterfall at sea level to a red desert of cinder cones here at the volcanic summit of Haleakala. An astounding array of climates and life zones lies in between. Yet the park’s many contrasting worlds are vitally linked. Rain that falls on the volcano’s slopes and carves its valleys nourishes a multitude of life forms. 
The Nene is a native Hawaiian Goose that lives in the wild on the islands of Hawaii and Maui. This rare State bird is believed to have descended from the Canada Goose, and isolated on these islands for thousands of years, it has evolved into a distinct species. The reduced webbing of the foot and the ruffle-feathered neck are characteristic of this bird. Living in patches of meadow bounded by lava, the Nene thrives on a diet of berries and grasses.
The Hawaiian Islands are very isolated. Colonizing species arrived, against overwhelming odds, by wind, waves, or wings as a small group or flock, or even just a single individual. A species survival depended upon ability to find suitable food and habitat to sustain life and allow reproduction. Once here the colonizers were isolated from all other individuals of their species. In this isolation, the new arrivals adapted to diverse habitats and ultimately evolved into new species. 
This ranch wall stacked stone by stone in the late 1800s, represents an investment in the land. Stretching for two miles, it guided cattle through the harsh landscape of Haleakala to pasture lands on the east and west sides of Maui. The ranching era shaped the economy and communities of Maui, which value rugged independence, self reliance, and sustainability. The paniolo (cowboy) culture still lives today on the slopes of Haleakala in neighboring ranches and communities.
The trail climbs to the top of a volcanic cinder cone for views of the Haleakala Wilderness Area and the highest peaks of the Big Island. At first glance the trail environment seems nothing but barren rock. Yet these rocks are living habitat for nesting “ua’u, ahinahina (silversword), and a dramatic mini-world of wolf spiders, flightless moths, and yellow-faced bees. Although the summit can appear hostile to people, temporary shelters, visible on the rock slopes below the trail, testify to a long human history.
Holy Ghost Catholic Church has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior
This was the site of Jackson's Mill. Foote's Mill operated on Academy Street. Both mills were critical to agri-business and the community and destroyed by fire.
A heiau is a Hawaiian religious structure which centralized the ceremonies and rituals of old Hawaii. The construction of a heiau was directed by the highest chiefs or alii and required a great expenditure of organized labor. The ceremonies and offerings at heiau were overseen by priests or kahunas.
Halekii translates to “house of images.” It is believed that Halekii heiau was a chiefly complex with images of ki’i placed on the terraces. Kahekili, chief of Maui, lived and worshiped at Haieki’i during religious observances in the 1760s.
Pihanakalani translates to “gathering place of high supernatural beings.” Pihanakaiani is recorded as a luakini neiau. Luakini heiaus were dedicated to Ku, the god of war, and were built for success in war.
It is not known when Halekii and Pihanakalani heiaus were built. According to tradition, the menehunes built the heiaus one night in the distant past with stones from nearby ‘lao Stream.
In 1819, the traditional Hawaiian religion was abolished. At this time the images were taken away, the structures on the heiaus were dismantled and the heiaus were abandoned.