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Health & Fitness

Two Courthouses of Alvarado

Does two historic photos show the same courthouse in Alvarado?

In 1853, when Alameda County was founded, Alvarado was elected the County Seat. The second floor of the store owned by August Church and Henry Smith was rented out as the County Courthouse. August Church was elected as County Clerk.

In 1855, the County Seat was moved to San Leandro and the old County Courthouse was relegated back to being only a store. In 1890, the store was destroyed in a fire-- something fairly common in a town built of wood and using fire for heat and light.

Only two known photographs of the original courthouse still exist, but the photos appear to show two different buildings. Even the other buildings next to the courthouse appear dissimilar.

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In the paper “Two Courthouses of Alvarado”, I review the two photographs and work to determine if the two buildings in the photographs are the same. Using clues in the photographs, property records, newspaper reports, and other sources of information, I am able to make a well-informed decision. If you are a fan of the PBS show “History Detectives” then you will probably enjoy the paper. It can be found on the Museum of Local History website at the following link:

http://www.museumoflocalhistory.org/documents/TwoCourthouses.pdf

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