List of Stockton Landmarks - Historic Sites

Historic Sites

• Site of first building in present city of Stockton (1844), Civic Court between Center and El Dorado streets. Thomas Lindsay built a tule hut on this site in 1844, shortly after the first settlers arrived at Rancho Campo de los Franceses. Lindsay was later murdered by Indians and buried here by travelers. The site is currently home to City Hall, and is #178 on the Office of Historic Preservation's California Historical Landmark list.

• Burial place of John Brown (1859), 1100 East Weber Street at North Union Street. John Brown, Stockton resident from 1851 to 1859, is notable for his four-day ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco to warn Commodore Stockton of the attack on Los Angeles. As a result of his actions, troops were sent to secure the city, and Brown - nicknamed Juan Flaco - became known as the 'Paul Revere of California.' He is buried in the former Citizen's Cemetery near this site, which is #513 on the Office of Historic Preservation's California Historical Landmark list.

• Weber Point (1850), 221 North Center Street. The point is the site of a two-story adobe-and-redwood house built in 1850 by Captain Charles Maria Weber, founder and pioneer developer of Stockton. One of the first elaborate residences and landscaped gardens in the San Joaquin Valley, it was Captain Weber's home until his death in 1881. Today the 9.7-acre (39,000 m2) site is home to the Weber Point Event Center, which includes the Great Circle, Plaza, step Amphitheater, children's play area, an interactive water feature, Point Amphitheater, main stage, and waterfront promenade. The site was added to the city register by resolution number 30,304 on March 12, 1973, and is #165 on the Office of Historic Preservation's California Historical Landmark list.

• Temple Israel Cemetery (1851), East Acacia Street between North Pilgrim and North Union streets. The cemetery site was donated to the Jewish community by Captain Charles Maria Weber in 1851. The site is currently the oldest Jewish cemetery in continuous use in California and west of the Rocky Mountains, and is #765 on the Office of Historic Preservation's California Historical Landmark list.

• County Courthouse Site (1853), 222 E Weber Avenue. Charles Weber donated the site to the city, despite his preference for the site of the old Franklin school, located at the confluence of Washington, Center, Lafayette, and Commerce streets. As the Hunter Square site was more centrally located, and was also the largest unbuilt area in the city, Weber agreed to donate the land, on condition that a central plaza be included in the plans. Hunter Square was created by filling in the slough on the west side of the block, and the first courthouse was constructed in 1853 (dedicated 1854). The current county courthouse sits on the site today. It was added to the city register by resolution number 30,102 on November 20, 1972.

• County Jail Site (1893), northeast corner of San Joaquin and Channel streets. Nicknamed "Cunningham's Castle," the fortress-like structure featured round masonry towers, turrets with conical roofs, short robust columns, contrasting stone colors, and rough-faced stonework. The Richardsonian Romanesque design was popular during the 1890s, and got its nickname from its medieval appearance as well as its construction during the term of Sheriff Thomas Cunningham. Construction began in 1891, but financial problems delayed completion until 1893. When it was finished, the three-story brick building was designed to hold 75 prisoners - eight cells in a semicircle on the first two floors and six in the basement. Additional cells housed women and witnesses. With a continually growing population, however, the jail was soon operating beyond capacity; the jail averaged a population of over 400 inmates by the late 1940s. Deteriorating lime mortar and complaints of inhumane conditions led to the jail being abandoned in 1958 and torn down in 1961. In 1972, the City Council added the site to the city register by resolution number 30,101 on November 20, 1972.

• Miner Levee Site (1927), north side of Stockton Channel between Harrison and Lincoln streets. The site was added to the city register by resolution number 33,837 on January 31, 1977.

• Temporary Detention Camps at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds (1942), Airport Way. With the outbreak of World War II and the tendency to detain Japanese-Americans "for their own safety," the Stockton Assembly Center housed 4,217 San Joaquin County residents from May 10 to October 17, 1942, under Executive Order 9066. The site is currently the Administration Building at the fairgrounds, and is #934 on the Office of Historic Preservation's California Historical Landmark list.

• Reuel Colt Gridley Monument, Stockton Rural Cemetery near Memory Chapel, Cemetery Lane and East Pine Street. The memorial was erected by Rawlins Post of the Grand Army of the Republic and the citizens of Stockton in honor of Reuel Colt Gridley, who rendered services to Union soldiers during the War of the Rebellion when he collected $275,000 for the Sanitary Commission by selling and reselling a sack of flour. The memorial is #801 on the Office of Historic Preservation's California Historical Landmark list.