Pleasanton Celebrates 130th Anniversary With Concert

PLEASANTON, CA — Pleasanton is celebrating its 130th birthday Friday evening with a concert at Lions Wayside Park from East Bay Groove Line, a dance band that plays funk, groove, R&B, disco, and more. The free concert, part of the city’s Concert in the Park summer series, takes place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday.

City officials will be on-site to share information about the city’s rich history. Pleasanton was originally home to the Ohlone Native Americans. In 1826, Jose Amador brought the first European settlement to the valley, and Spanish families were awarded tracts of land.

During the California Gold Rush, the settlement then known as Alisal was called “The Most Desperate Town in the West,” a place where outlaws ambushed prospectors on their way back from gold rush fields. In the 1860s, Alameda County Justice of the Peace John W. Kottinger named the settlement “Pleasanton,” a misspelled version of the surname of Kottinger’s friend, Union army Major General Alfred Pleasonton.

The town began to grow after railroads reached the area, and thanks to its rich soil, Pleasanton became the agricultural center of the Amador Valley, and one of the largest beer producers in the United States or Europe. It was also home to the oldest horse racing track in the nation.

The city was incorporated on June 18, 1894, and over the years it became less settled and more agricultural. The city grew rapidly in the 1960s and 70s, and really skyrocketed after Hacienda Business Park was built in 1982. Since then, the city has become home to a number of corporations like Safeway, Workday, and 10x Genomics. Many more large companies like Oracle, AT&T, and Cisco Systems have large campuses there.

Today, Pleasanton has a population of 76,689, and ranks as one of the wealthiest mid-sized cities in the country. It blends quiet neighborhoods and beautiful hiking with a thriving Main Street and vibrant business community.