Misplaced Pages

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145-616: SR 4, an east–west highway, begins in Hercules at San Pablo Avenue next to the Interstate 80 junction as part of John Muir Parkway. (The actual parkway extends a bit past the western terminus.) The road is an expressway from its starting point until it approaches Martinez , at which point it becomes a full freeway (the California Delta Highway ) passing Concord , Pittsburg , and Antioch . The John Muir National Historic Site

290-470: A citywide noise mitigation plan. Heavy development as a suburb continued through the 1980s through the present day. The town's population grew rapidly in the last decades of the 20th century. Per United States Census Bureau data, what was sleepy town of 252 in 1970 grew nearly 24-fold into a town of 5,963 by 1980 which tripled again into a town of 16,829 by 1990. By 2000, the town began to level out to its current population of approximately 25,000. In 2000,

435-574: A close friendship for 38 years with William Keith , a California landscape painter. They were both born the same year in Scotland and shared a love for the mountains of California. In 1871, after Muir had lived in Yosemite for three years, Emerson, with several friends and family, arrived in Yosemite during a tour of the Western United States . The two men met, and according to Tallmadge, "Emerson

580-764: A congregation of the Campbellite Restoration Movement , called the Disciples of Christ . By the age of 11, the young Muir had learned to recite "by heart and by sore flesh" all of the New Testament and most of the Old Testament . In maturity, while remaining a deeply spiritual man, Muir may have changed his orthodox beliefs. He wrote, "I never tried to abandon creeds or code of civilization; they went away of their own accord ... without leaving any consciousness of loss." Elsewhere in his writings, he described

725-427: A correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary ( for a full list of prefixes, see California postmile § Official postmile definitions ). Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column. State Route 4 Business ( SR 4 Bus. )

870-468: A female householder with no husband present, and 22.2% were non-families. 17.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.46. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.6% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

1015-590: A fire burned it down in February 1866. In March 1866, Muir returned to the United States, settling in Indianapolis to work in a wagon wheel factory. He proved valuable to his employers because of his inventiveness in improving the machines and processes; he was promoted to supervisor, being paid $ 25 per week. In early-March 1867, an accident changed the course of his life: a tool he was using slipped and struck him in

1160-517: A group of Native American Guides first traveled to Alaska in 1879 and were the first Euro-Americans to explore Glacier Bay . Muir Glacier was later named after him. He traveled into British Columbia a third of the way up the Stikine River , likening its Grand Canyon to "a Yosemite that was a hundred miles long". Muir recorded over 300 glaciers along the river's course. He returned for further explorations in southeast Alaska in 1880 and in 1881

1305-515: A lifelong influence on his career as a naturalist and writer. They first met in the fall of 1860, when, at age 22, he entered a number of his homemade inventions in the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society Fair. Carr, a fair assistant, was asked by fair officials to review Muir's exhibits to see if they had merit. She thought they did and "saw in his entries evidence of genius worthy of special recognition", notes Miller. As

1450-502: A malarial sickness. After spending three months in an oft delirious state, Muir's condition improved to such that he was able to move about the Hodgson's house and look outside. Due to their unending kindness in caring for his life, Muir stated that he "doubtless owe my life" to the Hodgsons. One evening in early January 1868, Muir climbed onto the Hodgson house roof to watch the sunset. He saw

1595-490: A multi-lane freeway. In 2011, Caltrans awarded $ 25 million toward upgrading the section from Lone Tree Way to Sand Creek Road to a full freeway and constructing an interchange at Sand Creek Road. Sand Creek interchange opened in 2015 and Balfour Road in 2018. The portion from Balfour Road to Vasco Road is single-lane each way and has a signal-controlled grade crossing at Marsh Creek Road. The freeway segment of SR 4 in Stockton

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1740-524: A national park, modeled after Yellowstone National Park . On September 30, 1890, the US Congress passed a bill that essentially followed recommendations that Muir had suggested in two Century articles, "The Treasures of the Yosemite" and "Features of the Proposed National Park", both published in 1890. But to Muir's dismay, the bill left Yosemite Valley under state control, as it had been since

1885-579: A point of meeting with Muir. During his time at the University of Wisconsin, Muir took classes under Charles H. Allen , with whom he became lifelong friends, sharing a love of natural sciences. Allen would move to California in 1872 and become the principal of the California State Normal School (now San Jose State University ), Muir gave several lectures at the normal school, and Allen joined Muir in several mountain hikes. Muir maintained

2030-464: A population of 24,060. The population density was 1,323.5 inhabitants per square mile (511.0/km ). The racial makeup of Hercules was 5,302 (22.0%) White , 4,547 (18.9%) African American , 102 (0.4%) Native American , 10,956 (45.5%) Asian , 101 (0.4%) Pacific Islander , 1,564 (6.5%) from other races , and 1,488 (6.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3,508 persons (14.6%). The Census reported that 24,005 people (99.8% of

2175-465: A rare flower he had encountered. The piece was published anonymously, identified as having been written by an "inspired pilgrim". Throughout his many years as a nature writer, Muir frequently rewrote and expanded on earlier writings from his journals, as well as articles published in magazines. He often compiled and organized such earlier writings as collections of essays or included them as part of narrative books. Muir's friendship with Jeanne Carr had

2320-653: A result, Muir received a diploma and a monetary award for his handmade clocks and thermometer . During the next three years while a student at the University of Wisconsin, he was befriended by Carr and her husband, Ezra , a professor at the same university. According to Muir biographer Bonnie Johanna Gisel, the Carrs recognized his "pure mind, unsophisticated nature, inherent curiosity, scholarly acumen, and independent thought". Jeanne Carr, 35 years of age, especially appreciated his youthful individuality, along with his acceptance of "religious truths" that were much like her own. Muir

2465-581: A separate freeway (known locally as the Crosstown Freeway) routing almost directly through downtown Stockton. The route then runs concurrent with State Route 99 before running eastward into the Sierra through Angels Camp , one of the richest quartz mining sections of the Mother Lode and home of " The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County ", and Calaveras Big Trees State Park . The route runs through

2610-432: A series of 20 freeway shootings in the area that had taken the lives of six people, and injured 11, in the past year. Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964 , based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to

2755-438: A shepherd for a season. He climbed a number of mountains, including Cathedral Peak and Mount Dana , and hiked an old trail down Bloody Canyon to Mono Lake . Muir built a small cabin along Yosemite Creek , designing it so that a section of the stream flowed through a corner of the room so he could enjoy the sound of running water. He lived in the cabin for two years and wrote about this period in his book First Summer in

2900-571: A ship, the Island Belle, and learned it would soon be sailing for Cuba . Muir boarded the ship, and while in Havana , he spent his hours studying shells and flowers and visiting the botanical garden in the city. Afterwards, he sailed to New York City and booked passage to California . In 1878, Muir served as a guide and artist for the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey on the survey of

3045-460: A third lane in each direction, beginning at Morello Avenue in Martinez and ending at the merge of SR 4 and SR 242. It will also include replacing the 50-year-old Grayson Creek Bridge, which has outlived its serviceable life and does not meet current bridge safety codes. The project will impact about 4 miles (6.4 km) of SR 4. Although no schedule or end date has been announced, the officials said that

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3190-425: A tin cup, a handful of tea, a loaf of bread, and a copy of Emerson." He usually spent his evenings sitting by a campfire in his overcoat, reading Emerson under the stars. As the years passed, he became a "fixture in the valley", respected for his knowledge of natural history, his skill as a guide, and his vivid storytelling. Visitors to the valley often included scientists, artists, and celebrities, many of whom made

3335-469: A walk of about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from Kentucky to Florida , which he recounted in his book A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf . He had no specific route chosen, except to go by the "wildest, leafiest, and least trodden way I could find". When Muir arrived at Cedar Key , he began working for Richard Hodgson at Hodgson's sawmill. However, three days after accepting the job at Hodgson's, Muir almost died of

3480-577: Is a locally maintained business loop within the city of Angels Camp, California . It was established in August 2013 to attract customers to businesses along the parent route's former alignment, prior to the completion of the Angels Camp Bypass. It runs along South Main Street (co-signed with State Route 49 ), between State Route 4 and Vallecito Road, then turns east along Vallecito Road . The entire route

3625-410: Is also Historic US 40 , which was the predecessor to I-80) and Refugio Valley Road which runs in a northwest–southeast direction along Refugio Creek . The city has a predominantly suburban character dominated by two story detached and attached homes and one story commercial buildings divided into various subdivisions along well landscaped roads. The waterfront, which has a planned rail/ferry station,

3770-581: Is also known as part of the John Muir Parkway from I-80 in Hercules to I-680 near Martinez, named for the environmentalist John Muir . The stretch through Franklin Canyon was once known as "Blood Alley". Although segments of Route 4 had been part of the state highway system since 1909, Route 4 was officially designated as such between US Route 40 (now Interstate 80) and State Route 99 in 1934. Prior to that date,

3915-442: Is an 18-hole golf course at the east side of the city. The San Francisco Bay Trail runs right along Hercules' waterfront. The urban centers of Oakland and San Francisco are 18 and 22 miles away respectively. Wine Country ( Napa and Sonoma ) is roughly a half hour drive to the north. Hercules has a diverse population. Per 2015 Census data, the town's population is 45.5% Asian, 22% White, 18.9% Black, and 14.6% Hispanic. 32.0% of

4060-724: Is in Calaveras County . On February 1, 2019, the Brentwood Press newspaper reported that officials representing the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) had held a groundbreaking ceremony to start a project that is intended to reduce congestion at the SR 4/I-680 interchange just outside Martinez. The multiphase project will widen SR 4 by adding

4205-786: Is located directly north of Route 4 on Alhambra Avenue in Martinez . Alhambra Avenue at SR 4 is also the site of the Franklin Canyon Adobe . Two gauges of BART tracks run in the median of the freeway from the Port Chicago Highway interchange in Concord to just east of the Hillcrest Avenue interchange in Antioch, where the light rail line currently ends at the Antioch station . After Antioch,

4350-620: Is not plowed for snow, and thus closes during the winter months, often from November through as late as May, blocking through traffic between the Mount Reba Turnoff and Markleeville. SR 4 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System , and from just west of Stockton to SR 49 is part of the National Highway System , a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by

4495-403: Is part of a proposed route to upgrade SR 99 into I-7 or I-9 . Under one proposal, the new interstate would go along SR 99 from the split with I-5 at Wheeler Ridge north through Fresno to Stockton, where the proposed route would then turn west via the SR 4 freeway to a terminus at I-5. In 2016, Pittsburg moved to install surveillance cameras along their portion of the route, in response to

California State Route 4 - Misplaced Pages Continue

4640-527: Is underway for San Francisco Bay Ferry Service to provide service from the same station to San Francisco, which would take 42 minutes. Hercules's sister city is [REDACTED] Tsushima , Aichi Prefecture Japan. John Muir John Muir ( / m jʊər / MURE ; April 21, 1838 – December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks ",

4785-741: Is zoned for higher density transit oriented development with community retail, and a number of 3 to 5 story mixed-use developments have been constructed there since 2015. The portion inland of Highway 80, which extends 4 miles inland mainly gently rolling hills along Refugio Valley Road, is primarily suburbs built between the 1970s and 1980s. It includes neighborhoods known to the locals as “the Birds”, “the Trees and Flowers”, “the Gemstones”, “the Astronauts”, and “the Islands”, per

4930-586: The 39th parallel across the Great Basin of Nevada and Utah. Finally settling in San Francisco , Muir immediately left for a week-long visit to Yosemite , a place he had only read about. Seeing it for the first time, Muir notes that "He was overwhelmed by the landscape, scrambling down steep cliff faces to get a closer look at the waterfalls, whooping and howling at the vistas, jumping tirelessly from flower to flower." He later returned to Yosemite and worked as

5075-581: The Bay Miwok people and the Huichin Ohlone People; however there were no known significant settlements in the Hercules area. The land that would become Hercules was part of a tract of land known as “Pinol y Cañada del Hambre” which was granted in 1823 to Ygnacio Martinez (for whom the city of Martinez, California was named) for his service as the commandant of the Presidio of San Francisco . This grant

5220-630: The Burlington Northern railroads (formerly the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe Railway) have rail lines that pass through Hercules; however with the demise of industry Hercules no longer has a direct rail connection. However, a new Hercules station is planned that will provide a stop along the Capitol Corridor line, the first phases of which were constructed by 2018. An environmental study

5365-558: The Federal Highway Administration . SR 4 is eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System ; however, it is only a scenic highway as designated by Caltrans from a point east of Arnold to SR 89 , meaning that it is a substantial section of highway passing through a "memorable landscape" with no "visual intrusions", where the potential designation has gained popular favor with the community. SR 4

5510-565: The Hercules Powder Company off as an independent company in 1912. The explosives manufactured at Hercules played a significant and decisive role in the United States Army 's efforts to contain the fires started by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake , as recounted by General Funston . Between the 1890s and 1970s, Hercules was a company town of several hundred people. 36 buildings from this era still exist and were nominated to

5655-750: The John Swett Unified School District . The JSUSD serves the Foxboro area (east of Interstate 80 and north of State Route 4 ) and the WCCUSD serves the rest of the city. The Contra Costa County Library System operates the Hercules Public Library. Hercules is at the intersection of I-80 and State Route 4. I-80 is an interstate that is the principal route between San Francisco and Sacramento. Highway 4 lead to I -680 which provide access to Concord, California , Walnut Creek, California and

5800-513: The National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Per this application, “Hercules was the area’s most desirable community to live in” with well-kept homes, a (male only) clubhouse, lighted tennis courts, and hospital. However, all residents were company employees. Although Chinese workers were a large component of the company workforce before the 1910s, they were excluded from residency in the town beyond dormitories provided for them. By 1917,

5945-595: The Roman hero . It began as the California Powder Works with locations in Golden Gate Park and Santa Cruz, California , but the expansion of San Francisco forced the company to find a more remote location for the dangerous process of manufacturing explosives. Hercules's isolated location at the time, plus its proximity to rail and water transportation along San Pablo Bay , made it an ideal choice. In 1879,

California State Route 4 - Misplaced Pages Continue

6090-510: The Tri-Valley Area. Per 2015 Census Data, 90% of Hercules’ workforce commutes via automobile to work, the average commute time is 39 minutes. Public transportation is available through the WestCat bus system. The operator provides local and school buses throughout Hercules and to the neighboring cities of Rodeo , Pinole , and Richmond among other areas. WestCat also offers express buses to

6235-685: The United Canadas ), to avoid the draft during the US Civil War . Muir left school and travelled to the same region in 1864, and spent the spring, summer, and fall exploring the woods and swamps, and collecting plants around the southern reaches of Lake Huron 's Georgian Bay . Muir hiked along the Niagara Escarpment , including much of today's Bruce Trail . With his money running low and winter coming, he reunited with his brother Daniel near Meaford, Ontario , who persuaded him to work with him at

6380-565: The 1860s. In early 1892, Professor Henry Senger, a philologist at the University of California, Berkeley , contacted Muir with the idea of forming a local 'alpine club' for mountain lovers. Senger and San Francisco attorney Warren Olney sent out invitations "for the purpose of forming a 'Sierra Club'. Mr. John Muir will preside". On May 28, 1892, the first meeting of the Sierra Club was held to write articles of incorporation. One week later Muir

6525-537: The 1980s and continues to be the town's largest employer. Starting in the 1970s Hercules created and has continuously updated its master plan to further its development. During the 1970s, Hercules was one of the first cities in the United States to develop a comprehensive Noise Element of the General Plan. This work included the production of noise contour maps for all major highways and arterial roads , as well as

6670-521: The 8,050 ft (2,450 m) Pacific Grade Summit on its way up to the 8,730 ft (2,660 m) Ebbetts Pass and ends at State Route 89 ten miles (16 km) west of Topaz Lake , on the California– Nevada border. However, "To SR 4" signage continues along southbound SR 89 north to near its intersection with SR 88 in Woodfords , including reassurance shields for both SR 89 and SR 4 on top of

6815-532: The American-born Joanna. His earliest recollections were of taking short walks with his grandfather when he was three. In his autobiography, he described his boyhood pursuits, which included fighting, either by re-enacting romantic battles from the Wars of Scottish Independence or just wrestling on the playground, and hunting for birds' nests (ostensibly to one-up his fellows as they compared notes on who knew where

6960-511: The Bay/New Pacific. Hercules has a mild Mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification Csb or "Warm-summer Mediterranean"), consistent with much of the northern San Francisco Bay Area . As Hercules is more inland, it is generally warmer than communities closer to the Golden Gate . Average rainfall is 23.35” concentrated from November to March. The average July high is 71 degrees and

7105-664: The California Powder Works operations. In 1966 the Pacific Refinery company started operation on the shores of Hercules and served as large employer until its closure in 1995. Its demise marked the end of 114 years of heavy industry in Hercules. The land the refinery was located on was redeveloped as the Victoria by the Bay subdivision in early 2000s. Biorad , a Fortune 500 biotech company established its headquarters in Hercules in

7250-479: The City of Hercules chartered an urban-design-based land use planning effort. This plan attempted to balance the preservation of the city's undeveloped land against continued suburban sprawl and to redevelop the city's formerly industrial waterfront. The resulting plan directs that Hercules be turned into a transit-oriented , pedestrian-friendly , mixed-use town. Several new developments were started in that era based on

7395-460: The Dix ranch. This likely had an effect on his writings. His daughter Helen married Frank Buel and lived in Daggett. Muir's friend, zoologist Henry Fairfield Osborn , writes that Muir's style of writing did not come to him easily, but only with intense effort. "Daily he rose at 4:30 o'clock, and after a simple cup of coffee labored incessantly. ... he groans over his labors, he writes and rewrites and interpolates". Osborn notes that he preferred using

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7540-418: The East Lothian landscape, and spent a lot of time wandering the local coastline and countryside. It was during this time that he became interested in natural history and the works of Scottish naturalist Alexander Wilson . Although he spent the majority of his life in America, Muir never forgot his roots in Scotland . He held a strong connection with his birthplace and Scottish identity throughout his life and

7685-506: The Hercules plant had become the largest producer of TNT in the country. During both World Wars Hercules Powder Company, along with Giant Powder Works in neighboring Pinole , supplied the U.S. Navy with explosives through the Port Chicago Magazine (location of the infamous Port Chicago disaster in 1944) which became the now closed Concord Naval Weapons Station . By the 1940s, Hercules organized its own law enforcement department and longtime Hercules Powder Company employee William Darke

7830-509: The Sierra (1911). Muir's biographer, Frederick Turner, notes Muir's journal entry upon first visiting the valley and writes that his description "blazes from the page with the authentic force of a conversion experience". During these years in Yosemite , Muir was unmarried, often unemployed, with no prospects for a career, and had "periods of anguish", writes naturalist author John Tallmadge . In 1880 he married Louisa Strentzel . He went into business for 10 years with his father-in-law managing

7975-437: The State Route 4 Bypass, opened in three phases, bypassing Route 4 in Oakley and Brentwood to the south and west. Many of the signs and local maps designated this extension as simply "Bypass Road". A section of Marsh Creek Road was widened to serve as the connection between the bypass built by the authority and the original Route 4 towards Stockton. In 2012, Caltrans handed over authority for State Route 4 in Oakley and Brentwood to

8120-522: The Yosemite" and "Features of the Proposed Yosemite National Park"; this helped support the push for US Congress to pass a bill in 1890 establishing Yosemite National Park . The spiritual quality and enthusiasm toward nature expressed in his writings has inspired readers, including presidents and congressmen, to take action to help preserve large nature areas. John Muir has been considered "an inspiration to both Scots and Americans". Muir's biographer, Steven J. Holmes, believes that Muir has become "one of

8265-484: The average January low is 43 degrees. Hercules has over 98 acres of parkland in six parks created as part of its master planning effort, the most central being Refugio Valley Park, and has over 950 additional acres of open space. Hercules is also close to several regional nature preserves including Point Pinole Regional Shoreline , Crockett Hills Regional Park , Carquinez Strait , Wildcat Canyon and Sobrante Ridge Botanic Regional Preserve . Franklin Canyon Golf Course

8410-601: The brain through the senses, and, writes Muir, "If the creator were to bestow a new set of senses upon us ... we would never doubt that we were in another world ..." While doing his studies of nature, he would try to remember everything he observed as if his senses were recording the impressions, until he could write them in his journal. As a result of his intense desire to remember facts, he filled his field journals with notes on precipitation, temperature, and even cloud formations. However, Muir took his journal entries further than recording factual observations. Williams notes that

8555-565: The camping trip. "Camping with the President was a remarkable experience", he wrote. "I fairly fell in love with him". Muir then increased efforts by the Sierra Club to consolidate park management. In 1906 Congress transferred the Mariposa Grove and Yosemite Valley to the park. In his life, Muir published six volumes of writings, all describing explorations of natural settings. Four additional books were published posthumously. Several books were subsequently published that collected essays and articles from various sources. Miller writes that what

8700-432: The city had only five murders. Another source, using the same data, classified Hercules as the 35th safest city in California in 2016, and 60th in 2017. In 2017, Hercules had 14,293 registered voters with 8,406 (58.8%) registered as Democrats, 1,743 (12.2%) registered as Republicans, and 3,703 (25.9%) decline to state voters. Hercules is served by two school districts: the West Contra Costa Unified School District and

8845-405: The city was 27.98% White , 18.78% African American , 0.25% Native American , 42.73% Asian , 0.46% Pacific Islander , 4.47% from other races , and 5.33% from two or more races. 10.81% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 6,423 households, out of which 41.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.8% were married couples living together, 13.2% had

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8990-502: The city's redevelopment projects (the investigation focused on city manager Nelson Oliva who steered millions of city funds to himself and to a firm run by his relatives). Combined with the Great recession , this nearly bankrupted the city in the late 2000s. Later, new developments came in the market and the city repaired its financial condition. Hercules is located at 38°01′02″N 122°17′19″W  /  38.01722°N 122.28861°W  / 38.01722; -122.28861 , at

9135-454: The city's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top 10 employers in the city are: Hercules has a council-manager form of government where five elected city council members appoint a city manager who runs the City administration. In the early years of Hercules, the council members were nearly always officers of the Hercules Powder Company. The five council seats are at large and served in four-year staggered terms. Elections are held

9280-457: The company, backed by DuPont and the Laflin & Rand Powder Company created the Hercules Powder Company which purchased land for a new plant that opened in 1881. On December 15, 1900, town management incorporated the City of Hercules as it felt that the County Board of Supervisors had become less supportive of the plant. A post office was established in 1914. On USGS maps the place designation Herpoco (for Hercules Powder Company) along

9425-424: The conservation movement into two camps: the "preservationists", led by Muir; and Pinchot's camp, who used the term "conservation". The two men debated their positions in popular magazines, such as Outlook , Harper's Weekly , Atlantic Monthly , World's Work , and Century . Their contrasting views were highlighted again when the United States was deciding whether to dam Hetch Hetchy Valley . Pinchot favored damming

9570-410: The conventional image of a Creator "as purely a manufactured article as any puppet of a half-penny theater". When he was 22 years old, Muir enrolled at the University of Wisconsin–Madison , paying his own way for several years. There, under a towering black locust tree beside North Hall , Muir took his first botany lesson. A fellow student plucked a flower from the tree and used it to explain how

9715-664: The county seat at Martinez , the El Cerrito del Norte BART station and the San Francisco Transbay Terminal . Its major hub is Hercules Transit Center . This had been the proposed location of a future Bay Area Rapid Transit station in BART's 20-year plan, but Hercules Mayor John Delgado and city council declined BART's request to fund a study, precluding the possibility of a BART stop. The closest international airports are Oakland International (29 miles) and San Francisco International Airport (35 miles). The closest general aviation facilities are Buchanan Field in Concord and Napa County Airport in Napa. The Southern Pacific and

9860-546: The culture during the period of the New Testament. But as Muir became attached to the American natural landscapes he explored, Williams notes that he began to see another "primary source for understanding God: the Book of Nature". According to Williams, in nature, especially in the wilderness, Muir was able to study the plants and animals in an environment that he believed "came straight from the hand of God, uncorrupted by civilization and domestication". As Tallmadge notes, Muir's belief in this "Book of Nature" compelled him to tell

10005-399: The day, saw merit in Muir's ideas and lauded him as "the first man I have ever found who has any adequate conception of glacial action". In 1871, Muir discovered an active alpine glacier below Merced Peak , which helped his theories gain acceptance. A large earthquake centered near Lone Pine in Owens Valley strongly shook occupants of Yosemite Valley in March 1872. The quake woke Muir in

10150-422: The early morning, and he ran out of his cabin "both glad and frightened", exclaiming, "A noble earthquake!" Other valley settlers, who believed Whitney's ideas, feared that the quake was a prelude to a cataclysmic deepening of the valley. Muir had no such fear and promptly made a moonlit survey of new talus piles created by earthquake-triggered rockslides. This event led more people to believe in Muir's ideas about

10295-449: The estimated cost is about $ 136 million (in 2018 dollars). Hercules, California Hercules is a city in western Contra Costa County, California . Situated along the coast of San Pablo Bay , it is located in the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area , about 10 miles (16 km) north of Berkeley . As of the 2020 census , its population was 26,016, according to the United States Census Bureau . The site of Hercules

10440-587: The eye. The file slipped and cut the cornea in his right eye and then his left eye sympathetically failed. He was confined to a darkened room for six weeks to regain his sight, worried about whether he would end up blind. When he regained his sight, "he saw the world—and his purpose—in a new light". Muir later wrote, "This affliction has driven me to the sweet fields. God has to nearly kill us sometimes, to teach us lessons". From that point on, he determined to "be true to [himself]" and follow his dream of exploration and study of plants. In September 1867, Muir undertook

10585-521: The facility subsequently became known as "Hercules", and was incorporated at the end of 1900. Starting in the 1970s, Hercules was heavily redeveloped as suburban bedroom community that lies along the I-80 corridor in Western Contra Costa County . It has a very ethnically diverse population. Contra Costa County ’s first inhabitants arrived in the area six to ten thousand years ago, including

10730-517: The fall of 1895 that included Muir, Joseph LeConte , and William R. Dudley, the Sierra Club discussed the idea of establishing 'national forest reservations', which were later called National Forests . The Sierra Club was active in the successful campaign to transfer Yosemite National Park from state to federal control in 1906. The fight to preserve Hetch Hetchy Valley was also taken up by the Sierra Club, with some prominent San Francisco members opposing

10875-550: The features of the Yosemite Valley and surrounding area. This notion was in strong contradiction to the accepted contemporary theory, promulgated by Josiah Whitney (head of the California Geological Survey ), which attributed the formation of the valley to a catastrophic earthquake . As Muir's ideas spread, Whitney tried to discredit Muir by branding him as an amateur. But Louis Agassiz , the premier geologist of

11020-549: The fight. Eventually a vote was held that overwhelmingly put the Sierra Club behind the opposition to Hetch Hetchy Dam. In July 1896, Muir became associated with Gifford Pinchot , a national leader in the conservation movement. Pinchot was the first head of the United States Forest Service and a leading spokesman for the sustainable use of natural resources for the benefit of the people. His views eventually clashed with Muir's and highlighted two diverging views of

11165-620: The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, which generally coincides with state and federal election days. In December, after any election the council selects from its own a Mayor and Vice Mayor which serve one-year terms. The City Council also appoint the city attorney , planning commissioners, community and library associations and others. Hercules has a generally low crime rate. Based on 2014 FBI Data, Hercules had 1.12 violent crimes per 1,000 and 13.27 property crimes per thousand, lower than national and state averages. Between 2000 and 2010,

11310-692: The formation of the valley. In addition to his geologic studies, Muir also investigated the plant life of the Yosemite area. In 1873 and 1874, he made field studies along the western flank of the Sierra on the distribution and ecology of isolated groves of Giant Sequoia . In 1876, the American Association for the Advancement of Science published Muir's paper on the subject. Between 1879 and 1899, Muir made seven trips to Alaska , as far as Unalaska and Barrow . Muir, Mr. Young (Fort Wrangell missionary) and

11455-668: The freeway finished. SR 4, which originally was routed on Charter Way (now Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) and portions of Mariposa and Farmington Roads, transferred its designation onto the Crosstown between I-5 and SR 99. In December 2016, the Crosstown Freeway west of I-5 (though technically not part of SR 4) was extended to Navy Drive via a viaduct bypassing the Boggs Tract neighborhood in Stockton. The connection to Fresno Avenue

11600-554: The freeway turns southward at its intersection with State Route 160 , turning into a suburban and rural road bypassing the Bay Area 's rapidly growing and outermost eastern suburbs ( Oakley , Brentwood and Discovery Bay, California ); and continues east across Victoria Island . This section is also known as the John Marsh Heritage Highway . Route 4 east continues to Stockton , where it briefly joins I-5 and then enters

11745-431: The grand locust is a member of the pea family, related to the straggling pea plant. Fifty years later, the naturalist Muir described the day in his autobiography. "This fine lesson charmed me and sent me flying to the woods and meadows in wild enthusiasm". As a freshman, Muir studied chemistry with Professor Ezra Carr and his wife Jeanne ; they became lifelong friends and Muir developed a lasting interest in chemistry and

11890-466: The hills to recover, climbing Mount Rainier in Washington and writing Ascent of Mount Rainier . Muir threw himself into the preservationist role with great vigor. He envisioned the Yosemite area and the Sierra as pristine lands. He thought the greatest threat to the Yosemite area and the Sierra was domesticated livestock—especially domestic sheep, which he referred to as "hoofed locusts". In June 1889,

12035-479: The influential associate editor of The Century magazine, Robert Underwood Johnson , camped with Muir in Tuolumne Meadows and saw firsthand the damage a large flock of sheep had done to the grassland. Johnson agreed to publish any article Muir wrote on the subject of excluding livestock from the Sierra high country. He also agreed to use his influence to introduce a bill to Congress to make the Yosemite area into

12180-520: The interchange with Route 160. The median accommodates the eBART extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system. In early March 2016, reconfiguration of the interchange of SR 4 and SR 160 was officially opened, allowing westbound SR 4 traffic to access northbound SR 160 directly and southbound SR 160 to access eastbound SR 4. From SR 160 to the Balfour Road interchange it continues as

12325-399: The land and Hercules began to transform into the bedroom community it is known as today. Eventually, the ammonia plant began to be outcompeted by foreign manufacturers, and this combined with labor issues, resulted in its permanent closure in 1976. Although Hercules Powder Company is now gone one legacy remains: a study has been made of upper layer soil contamination from prior emissions of

12470-504: The luxuriously refitted 250-foot (76 m) steamer, the George W. Elder. He later relied on his friendship with Harriman to pressure Congress to pass conservation legislation. In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt accompanied Muir on a visit to Yosemite. Muir joined Roosevelt in Oakland, California , for the train trip to Raymond . The presidential entourage then traveled by stagecoach into

12615-400: The middle of Hercules in a northwest direction and empties at the shoreline. The town is bisected by Interstate 80 which runs parallel and roughly one mile inland from the coast. I-80 is the main highway between San Francisco and Sacramento and intersects California State Route 4 in the city limits. Major arterial roads include San Pablo Road which lies to the north of I-80 (this road

12760-483: The mileage sign just south of town. The portion from Arnold to its terminus is designated the Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway , which is eventually one lane. Through the mountains, SR 4 is not suitable for large trucks, buses, or RVs , as it becomes very steep and eventually single-track, with no center dividing line shortly after the Mount Reba Turnoff to Bear Valley Ski area, with tight switchbacks. Ebbetts Pass

12905-513: The most accurate sources. In his book, The Story of My Boyhood and Youth (1913), he writes that during his childhood, his father made him read the Bible every day. Muir eventually memorized three-quarters of the Old Testament and all of the New Testament . Muir's father read Josephus 's War of the Jews to understand the culture of first-century Judea , as it was written by an eyewitness, and illuminated

13050-414: The most were located). Author Amy Marquis notes that he began his "love affair" with nature while young, and implies that it may have been in reaction to his strict religious upbringing. "His father believed that anything that distracted from Bible studies was frivolous and punishable." But the young Muir was a "restless spirit" and especially "prone to lashings". As a young boy, Muir became fascinated with

13195-481: The need for timber and the forests to provide it, but Pinchot's view of wilderness management was more resource-oriented. Their friendship ended late in the summer of 1897 when Pinchot released a statement to a Seattle newspaper supporting sheep grazing in forest reserves. Muir confronted Pinchot and demanded an explanation. When Pinchot reiterated his position, Muir told him: "I don't want any thing more to do with you". This philosophical divide soon expanded and split

13340-570: The observations he recorded amounted to a description of "the sublimity of Nature", and what amounted to "an aesthetic and spiritual notebook". Muir felt that his task was more than just recording "phenomena", but also to "illuminate the spiritual implications of those phenomena", writes Williams. For Muir, mountain skies, for example, seemed painted with light, and came to "... symbolize divinity". He often described his observations in terms of light. Muir biographer Steven Holmes notes that Muir used words like "glory" and "glorious" to suggest that light

13485-401: The orchards on the family 2600 acre farm in Martinez, California . John and Louisa had two daughters, Wanda Muir Hanna and Helen Muir Funk . He was sustained by the natural environment and by reading the essays of naturalist author Ralph Waldo Emerson , who wrote about the very life that Muir was then living. On excursions into the back country of Yosemite, he traveled alone, carrying "only

13630-427: The original Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway right-of-way (now BNSF ), still remains. Explosives manufacturing was indeed a hazardous industry in that era: in the first 38 years of operations in Hercules, 59 lives would be lost including 24 in a large explosion in February 1908. Later, further deadly explosions would plague the plant in 1944, 1948 and 1953. The Sherman Antitrust Act would force Dupont to spin

13775-502: The origins of the natural world. According to Williams, philosophers and theologians such as Thomas Dick suggested that the "best place to discover the true attributes of deity was in Nature". He came to believe that God was always active in the creation of life and thereby kept the natural order of the world. As a result, Muir "styled himself as a John the Baptist ", adds Williams, "whose duty

13920-421: The park. While traveling to the park, Muir told the president about state mismanagement of the valley and rampant exploitation of the valley's resources. Even before they entered the park, he was able to convince Roosevelt that the best way to protect the valley was through federal control and management. After entering the park and seeing the magnificent splendor of the valley, the president asked Muir to show him

14065-418: The patron saints of twentieth-century American environmental activity", both political and recreational. As a result, his writings are commonly discussed in books and journals, and he has often been quoted by nature photographers such as Ansel Adams . "Muir has profoundly shaped the very categories through which Americans understand and envision their relationships with the natural world", writes Holmes. Muir

14210-503: The plan, including the Central Waterfront around the historic core of Hercules and Victoria by the Bay. However, the development of Hercules has not been without its challenges. In a national story in 2006, Hercules strongly opposed Walmart 's attempt to build a new supercenter store on 17-acre (69,000 m ) property overlooking San Pablo Bay as many residents deemed it incompatible with the waterfront redevelopment project, and it

14355-438: The population is foreign born. Per 2014 US Census data, the median household income in the city was $ 101,018, and the median income for a family was $ 113,658, which would put much of Hercules’ population in the upper middle class or “ mass affluent ” categories. Males had a median income of $ 66,348 and females had a median income of $ 59,517. The per capita income for the city was $ 37,247. About 4.0% of families and 5.1% of

14500-629: The population were below the poverty line , including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over. Hercules is primarily a suburban community, but is the headquarters of Bio-Rad , a Fortune 500 biotech company which as of 2017 had 7,800 employees worldwide and $ 2.1 billion in revenue. The company is located in the North Shore Business park which includes over 1.1 million square feet of industrial and R&D space. The community has an additional 210,000sf of retail and office space in three neighborhood shopping centers. According to

14645-399: The population were below the poverty line, including 5.2% of persons under age 18 and 3.2% of those 65 or over. Per the same dataset, 42.7% of Hercules residents were college educated. 46.0% of residents were employed in management, business and arts occupations, 27.2% in sales and office occupations, and 14.3% in service occupations. The 2010 United States Census reported that Hercules had

14790-642: The population) lived in households, 17 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 38 (0.2%) were institutionalized. There were 8,115 households, out of which 3,175 (39.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 4,675 (57.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,250 (15.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 371 (4.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 344 (4.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships , and 66 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships . 1,482 households (18.3%) were made up of individuals, and 449 (5.5%) had someone living alone who

14935-529: The preservation of many other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club , which he co-founded, is a prominent American conservation organization . In his later life, Muir devoted most of his time to his wife and the preservation of the Western forests. As part of the campaign to make Yosemite a national park, Muir published two landmark articles on wilderness preservation in The Century Magazine , "The Treasures of

15080-493: The real Yosemite. Muir and Roosevelt set off largely by themselves and camped in the back country. The duo talked late into the night, slept in the brisk open air of Glacier Point, and were dusted by a fresh snowfall in the morning. It was a night Roosevelt never forgot. He later told a crowd, "Lying out at night under those giant Sequoias was like lying in a temple built by no hand of man, a temple grander than any human architect could by any possibility build." Muir, too, cherished

15225-527: The reality he wished to convey". However, he was prodded by friends and his wife to keep writing and as a result of their influence he kept at it, although never satisfied. Muir wrote in 1872, "No amount of word-making will ever make a single soul to 'know' these mountains. One day's exposure to mountains is better than a cartload of books". In one of his essays, he gave an example of the deficiencies of writing versus experiencing nature. Muir believed that to discover truth, he must turn to what he believed were

15370-499: The respective cities. In return, it gained control of the bypass and the upgraded section of Marsh Creek Road, which officially became State Route 4. In 2004 voters passed a half cent tax increase to fund widening from 4 to 8 lanes from Loveridge Road to Hwy 160. The project lasted from 2010 to 2016 through Pittsburg and Antioch, with the final configuration as three mixed use lanes and one High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane in each direction and auxiliary lanes between interchanges as far as

15515-415: The same time writing articles for publication. During those years, Muir and Carr continued corresponding. She sent many of her friends to Yosemite to meet Muir and "to hear him preach the gospel of the mountains", writes Gisel. The most notable was naturalist and author Ralph Waldo Emerson . The importance of Carr, who continually gave Muir reassurance and inspiration, "cannot be overestimated", adds Gisel. It

15660-531: The sawmill and rake factory of William Trout and Charles Jay. Muir lived with the Trout family in an area called Trout Hollow, south of Meaford, on the Bighead River . While there, he continued "botanizing", exploring the escarpment and bogs, collecting and cataloging plants. One source appears to indicate he worked at the mill/factory until the summer of 1865, while another says he stayed on at Trout Hollow until after

15805-460: The sciences. Muir took an eclectic approach to his studies, attending classes for two years but never being listed higher than a first-year student due to his unusual selection of courses. Records showed his class status as "irregular gent" and, even though he never graduated, he learned enough geology and botany to inform his later wanderings. In 1863, his brother Daniel left Wisconsin and moved to Southern Ontario (then known as Canada West in

15950-470: The simplest English language, and therefore admired above all the writings of Carlyle , Emerson and Thoreau . "He is a very firm believer in Thoreau and starts by reading deeply of this author". His secretary, Marion Randall Parsons, also noted that "composition was always slow and laborious for him. ... Each sentence, each phrase, each word, underwent his critical scrutiny, not once but twenty times before he

16095-784: The southeast shore of the San Pablo Bay . According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 18.2 square miles (47 km ), of which, 6.2 square miles (16 km ) is land and 12.0 square miles (31 km ) (65.87%) is water. Hercules is on the southeastern shores of San Pablo Bay , roughly 4 miles southwest of the Carquinez Bridge . By road, Hercules is roughly 12 miles north of Berkeley, California , 18 miles north of Oakland and 22 miles northeast of San Francisco . The shoreline at this location runs northeast to southwest. Refugio Creek runs through

16240-465: The story of "this creation in words any reader could understand". As a result, his writings were to become "prophecy, for [they] sought to change our angle of vision". Williams notes that Muir's philosophy and world view rotated around his perceived dichotomy between civilization and nature. From this developed his core belief that "wild is superior". His nature writings became a "synthesis of natural theology" with scripture that helped him understand

16385-461: The street naming conventions of each subdivision. The portion near the shoreline, somewhat flatter but still rolling terrain, was developed starting in the 1980s and has some of the town's newer developments including the Waterfront centered around the historic old town, Olympian Hills (which uses Greek mythical figures for its street naming convention), Hercules by the Bay, Village Park and Victoria by

16530-513: The then-existing segment was officially known as the "Borden Highway", and the bridge over the San Joaquin River is still referred to as the "Borden Highway Bridge" in tidal tables. Construction of Route 4 did not finish until 1935, however. The portion of Route 4 from US Route 40 to State Route 24 was added to the highway system in 1933 as Legislative Route Number (LRN) 106. East of the concurrency with State Route 24 to State Route 49, Route 4

16675-735: The use of the country's natural resources. Pinchot saw conservation as a means of managing the nation's natural resources for long-term sustainable commercial use. As a professional forester, his view was that "forestry is tree farming", without destroying the long-term viability of the forests. Muir valued nature for its spiritual and transcendental qualities. In one essay about the National Parks, he referred to them as "places for rest, inspiration, and prayers." He often encouraged city dwellers to experience nature for its spiritual nourishment. Both men opposed reckless exploitation of natural resources, including clear-cutting of forests. Even Muir acknowledged

16820-455: The valley as "the highest possible use which could be made of it". In contrast, Muir proclaimed, "Dam Hetch Hetchy! As well dam for water-tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the hearts of man". In 1899, Muir accompanied railroad executive E. H. Harriman and esteemed scientists on the famous exploratory voyage along the Alaska coast aboard

16965-581: Was "saving the American soul from total surrender to materialism". On April 21, 2013, the first John Muir Day was celebrated in Scotland, which marked the 175th anniversary of his birth, paying homage to the conservationist. John Muir was born in Dunbar , Scotland, in a three-story stone building now preserved as a museum . He was the third of eight children of Daniel Muir and Ann Gilrye; their other children were Margaret, Sarah, David, Daniel, Ann and Mary (twins), and

17110-435: Was "through his letters to her that he developed a voice and purpose". She also tried to promote Muir's writings by submitting his letters to a monthly magazine for publication. Muir came to trust Carr as his "spiritual mother", and they remained friends for 30 years. In one letter she wrote to Muir while he was living in Yosemite, she tried to keep him from despairing as to his purpose in life. The value of their friendship

17255-411: Was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males. According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $ 88,966, and the median income for a family was $ 93,294. Males had a median income of $ 50,672 versus $ 40,433 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 27,699. About 1.9% of families and 3.2% of

17400-412: Was 39.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males. There were 8,553 housing units at an average density of 470.5 units per square mile (181.7 units/km ), of which 8,115 were occupied, of which 6,450 (79.5%) were owner-occupied, and 1,665 (20.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3%; the rental vacancy rate

17545-468: Was 6.2%. 19,067 people (79.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 4,938 people (20.5%) lived in rental housing units. As of the census of 2000, there were 19,488 people, 6,423 households, and 4,997 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,008.2 inhabitants per square mile (1,161.5/km ). There were 6,546 housing units at an average density of 1,010.5 units per square mile (390.2 units/km ). The racial makeup of

17690-417: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96. There were 6,296 families (77.6% of all households); the average family size was 3.38. The population was spread out, with 5,481 people (22.8%) under the age of 18, 2,064 people (8.6%) aged 18 to 24, 6,512 people (27.1%) aged 25 to 44, 7,473 people (31.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,530 people (10.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

17835-577: Was a Scottish-born American naturalist , author, environmental philosopher , botanist , zoologist , glaciologist , and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States. His books, letters and essays describing his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada , have been read by millions. His activism helped to preserve the Yosemite Valley and Sequoia National Park , and his example has served as an inspiration for

17980-513: Was already 11 years old when he and his family emigrated to America. In 1849, Muir's family immigrated to the United States, starting a farm near Portage, Wisconsin , called Fountain Lake Farm . It has been designated a National Historic Landmark . Stephen Fox recounts that Muir's father found the Church of Scotland insufficiently strict in faith and practice, leading to their immigration and joining

18125-479: Was an author and Professor of Art at Rutgers College (now Rutgers, State University of New Jersey). His nephew Dix Strong Van Dyke had gone to Daggett, California to seek his fortune. Like his uncle, Dix was an author, who wrote Daggett: Life in a Mojave Frontier Town (Creating the North American Landscape) . John Muir found his way to Daggett and had many conversations with the uncle and nephew Van Dyke at

18270-623: Was delighted to find at the end of his career the prophet-naturalist he had called for so long ago ... And for Muir, Emerson's visit came like a laying on of hands." Emerson spent one day with Muir, and he offered him a teaching position at Harvard, which Muir declined. Muir later wrote, "I never for a moment thought of giving up God's big show for a mere profship!" Muir also spent time with photographer Carleton Watkins and studied his photographs of Yosemite. Pursuit of his love of science, especially geology, often occupied his free time. Muir soon became convinced that glaciers had sculpted many of

18415-559: Was designated as LRN 75 from 1931 to 1934. Finally, the segment from State Route 49 to State Route 89 was signed as LRN 24 from 1909 to 1934. In the 1970s, a significant portion of the Filipino American community of "Little Manila" in Stockton was demolished when the "Crosstown Freeway" was constructed, displacing what was once the largest population of Filipinos outside of the Philippines . The freeway, while not yet designated SR 4,

18560-401: Was elected president, Warren Olney was elected vice-president, and a board of directors was chosen that included David Starr Jordan , president of the new Stanford University . Muir remained president until his death 22 years later. The Sierra Club immediately opposed efforts to reduce Yosemite National Park by half, and began holding educational and scientific meetings. At one meeting in

18705-417: Was extremely fond of Thoreau and was probably influenced more by him than even Emerson . Muir often referred to himself as a "disciple" of Thoreau. During his first summer in the Sierra as a shepherd, Muir wrote field notes that emphasized the role that the senses play in human perceptions of the environment. According to Williams, he speculated that the world was an unchanging entity that was interpreted by

18850-490: Was first developed in 1881 as a manufacturing facility of the California Powder Works for the production of its patented dynamite formulation, Hercules powder. In 1882, the Hercules Powder Company was incorporated and assumed responsibility for the Hercules site. It was one of several explosive manufacturers that were active along the Pinole shoreline in the late 19th to the mid-20th century. The small company town that grew up near

18995-475: Was first disclosed by a friend of Carr's, clergyman and writer G. Wharton James. After obtaining copies of their private letters from Carr, and despite pleadings from Muir to return them, he instead published articles about their friendship, using those letters as a primary source. In one such article, his focus was Muir's debt to Carr, stating that she was his "guiding star" who "led him into the noble paths of life, and then kept him there". John Charles Van Dyke

19140-526: Was frequently heard talking about his childhood spent amid the East Lothian countryside. He greatly admired the works of Thomas Carlyle and poetry of Robert Burns ; he was known to carry a collection of poems by Burns during his travels through the American wilderness. He returned to Scotland on a trip in 1893, where he met one of his Dunbar schoolmates and visited the places of his youth that were etched in his memory. He never lost his Scottish accent since he

19285-458: Was initially constructed from a long-term temporary west end at Fresno Avenue, past I-5, up to a temporary east end at Stanislaus Street, essentially becoming a "freeway to nowhere." In 1993, construction of the Crosstown Freeway from Stanislaus Street to SR 99 was finally completed. It is officially the Ort J. Lofthus Freeway for which it is named after the local civic leader lobbied to get construction of

19430-462: Was most important about his writings was not their quantity, but their "quality". He notes that they have had a "lasting effect on American culture in helping to create the desire and will to protect and preserve wild and natural environments". His first appearance in print was by accident, writes Miller; a person he did not know submitted, without his permission or awareness, a personal letter to his friend Jeanne Carr, describing Calypso borealis ,

19575-591: Was named sheriff , becoming its first officer. After World War II the company began to diversify its production line and build an anhydrous ammonia plant, a base for fertilizer. Explosive manufacturing was discontinued in Hercules in 1964 (neighboring Giant Powder stopped its operations in 1960). In 1974, the cessation of explosives production allowed hundreds of acres of protective “buffer” land (separated by large stands of eucalyptus trees, many of which still stand) to be reused for other purposes. Starting in 1974, real estate development companies began to develop

19720-404: Was noted for being an ecological thinker, political spokesman, and environmental advocate, whose writings became a personal guide into nature for many people, making his name "almost ubiquitous" in the modern environmental consciousness. According to author William Anderson, Muir exemplified "the archetype of our oneness with the earth", while biographer Donald Worster says he believed his mission

19865-539: Was often invited to the Carrs' home; he shared Jeanne's love of plants. In 1864, he left Wisconsin to begin exploring the Canadian wilderness and, while there, began corresponding with her about his activities. Carr wrote Muir in return and encouraged him in his explorations and writings, eventually having an important influence over his personal goals. At one point she asked Muir to read a book she felt would influence his thinking, Lamartine 's The Stonemason of Saint Point . It

20010-475: Was realigned via train ferry through the purpose-built town of Port Costa then to Richmond and Berkeley to connect at the Oakland Pier . The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad came through the area around 1899. The city's history was primarily shaped by the Hercules Powder Company , named after its main product “Hercules powder”, a specially patented (1874) formulation of dynamite, in turn named after

20155-466: Was reconfirmed in 1842 as Rancho El Pinole . In 1848, this area became part of the United States with the rest of California. Contra Costa County was created in 1850 as one of California's original 27 counties. The Central Pacific Railroad (later part of Southern Pacific ) ran the first rail lines across Hercules’ waterfront in late 1878, as the main route for the Transcontinental Railroad

20300-403: Was satisfied to let it stand". Muir often told her, "This business of writing books is a long, tiresome, endless job". Miller speculates that Muir recycled his earlier writings partly due to his "dislike of the writing process". He adds that Muir "did not enjoy the work, finding it difficult and tedious". He was generally unsatisfied with the finished result, finding prose "a weak instrument for

20445-512: Was subsequently closed to traffic permanently. This was to alleviate heavy traffic to and from the Port of Stockton that plagued the Boggs Tract neighborhood for several decades. Despite being in the planning books for decades, it is unclear if the Crosstown Freeway past Navy Drive will ever be extended to SR 4 west of Stockton. From 1998 to 2009, a road built by the State Route 4 Bypass Authority, named

20590-451: Was the story of a man whose life she hoped would "metabolize in Muir", writes Gisel, and "was a projection of the life she envisioned for him". According to Gisel, the story was about a "poor man with a pure heart", who found in nature "divine lessons and saw all of God's creatures interconnected". After Muir returned to the United States, he spent the next four years exploring Yosemite, while at

20735-631: Was to immerse in 'mountain baptism' everyone he could". Williams concludes that Muir saw nature as a great teacher, "revealing the mind of God", and this belief became the central theme of his later journeys and the "subtext" of his nature writing. During his career as writer and while living in the mountains, Muir continued to experience the "presence of the divine in nature", writes Holmes. His personal letters also conveyed these feelings of ecstasy. Historian Catherine Albanese stated that in one of his letters, "Muir's eucharist made Thoreau's feast on wood-chuck and huckleberry seem almost anemic". Muir

20880-485: Was unneeded due to the close proximity of two other Walmarts in Richmond and Vallejo . On May 23, 2006, the Hercules city council voted unanimously to use its power of eminent domain to prevent Wal-Mart from building the supercenter. In 2009, the city purchased the land back from Walmart. In 2012, a state audit found that the City of Hercules had spent nearly $ 50 million on “questionable transactions” primarily centered on

21025-611: Was with the party that landed on Wrangel Island on the USS Corwin and claimed that island for the United States. He documented this experience in journal entries and newspaper articles—later compiled and edited into his book The Cruise of the Corwin . In 1888 after seven years of managing the Strentzel fruit ranch in Alhambra Valley, California , his health began to suffer. He returned to

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