Point of Timber, California
Point of Timber is a former settlement in Contra Costa County, California.[1] It was located on Indian Slough, 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Byron,[1] and about 2.5 miles east of Union Cemetery in Brentwood. It was originally named Point of Timber Landing. The landing was built by Josiah Wills, who organized the deepening of Indian Slough, connecting the landing to the Old River[2]
The northern end of La Vereda del Monte, a trail through the backcountry of the Diablo Range to the Central Valley was located at Point of Timber. Joaquin Murrieta used the trail to drive stolen horses southward from Contra Costa County.[3]
The community included a general store and a blacksmith shop. A post office operated at Point of Timber Landing from 1869 to 1882, with a closure from 1871 to 1872.[1] Tule fires burned the landing about 1882, but it was rebuilt by 1884.[2]
Author Jack London anchored his yacht, "The Sea Wolf" at the landing while he collaborated with Captain C. W. Lent on a book, "The Seafaring Life of a Captain." London died before the work was finished The book was never completed. Lent was a former sea captain who had retired to Byron and operated a passenger ship between the landing and Stockton, California.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 609. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
- 1 2 3 Lemyre, Rick. "The History of Place Names in Contra Costa." Brentwood Press. December 16, 2011.
- ↑ William Mero. "Bandits, Brentwood, and the Wild Frontier". Retrieved 24 Oct 2016.
