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Our town has a rather
tragic, but comical story about how it got its name. The
original Native
Americans inhabited this area first. Then, over a hundred
years ago the Hercules Power Company
was created to fulfill the need for dynamite used in mining
the silver and gold in the nearby Sierra -
Nevada Mountains. The company was originally located on the
San Francisco Peninsula.
The company
had a poor safety record and was frequently in trouble with
local authorities
for violations. In 1890 the Hercules Power Company bought a
huge amount of land in the northeast
corner of the Bay Area. The dynamite plant was built on
the edge of San Pablo Bay and the company
purchased land up to five miles inward. The company thought
it would solve its problem with local
officials by creating its own town. The town was named
"Hercules" and essentially the only people
who lived in it were those employees of the company.
The safety
record of the company, unfortunately did not improve. Many
people were killed in the
process of making dynamite. As the need for dynamite faded,
the company finally folded.
The city retained the name of Hercules. It is now
primarily a residential community with businesses
offered at such sites as the North Shore Business Park and
the Hercules Venture Commercial Center. Bio-Rad is also a notable business within the city.
Hercules unique geographical location on San Pablo
Bay makes it an incomparable treasure in the San Francisco
Bay Area of California.
For a more detailed
description of our history, please see
The Hercules Historical Society's Webpage
Also see Juan Bautista de Anza
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