Alameda County, California was created 25 March 1853.

Neighboring counties currently include Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Stanislaus.

There are several histories and related biographies available for Alameda County, California.

• History of Alameda County, California, by M.W. Wood and J.P. Munro-Fraser, 1883, at Internet Archive

• The Centennial Year Book of Alameda County, California, by William Halley, published 1876, at Internet Archive

• Past and Present of Alameda County, California by Joseph E. Baker, Volume I, 1914 at Internet Archive

• Past and Present of Alameda County, California by Joseph E. Baker, Volume II, 1914 at Internet Archive

• History of Washington Township, Alameda County, California, compiled by the Country Club of Washington Township, 1904, at Internet Archive

• A History of the New California, Its Resources and People, edited by Leigh H. Irvine, volume II, 1905, at Google Books

• Alameda County, the Eden of the Pacific; the Flower Garden of California, by the Oakland Tribune, 1898

• Oakland: “Athens of the Pacific”: also facts and figures of Alameda County, by G.W. Calderwood and G.T. Loofbourow, 1896 at HathiTrust

• The Patterson family and ranch: southern Alameda County in transition, an Oral History, Volume II, 1988 at Biodiversity Heritage Library

County Histories

In the United States, states are generally subdivided into counties and then cities or towns. There are more than 3,000 counties across the United States and some counties were formed from other pre-existing counties. Vital records, land records, tax records, and voting records are some records potentially kept at the county level. Many county histories include the history of the area, the early inhabitants and notable people, early officers and representatives, military service, the geology, roads, and waterways and more. County histories can provide valuable information about our ancestors and the information may include women, for whom records are often more difficult to obtain.