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55-413: Modern Merzifon is a typical large but quiet Anatolian town with schools, hospitals, courts and other important infrastructure but few cultural amenities. There is a large airbase nearby. Merzifon is twinned with the city of Pleasant Hill, California . Former variants of its name include Marzifūn, Mersivan, Marsovan, Marsiwān, Mersuvan, Merzpond and Merzban. The name apparently comes from marzbān ,

110-662: A constitutional monarchy in the Young Turk Revolution of 1908. The collapsing Ottoman Empire lost its Balkan possessions after Orthodox Christian uprisings in the First Balkan War of 1912–13. As White's college presidency began, at least half a million Muslim Ottomans from the Empire's former Balkan possessions sought refuge in Turkey, some seeking revenge against Christians. Muslim Balkan refugees intensified Turkish fears that

165-824: A local Congregational church in Waverly , Iowa . White began his missionary career in 1890. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) sent him to Merzifon in the Ottoman Empire as treasurer and dean of the Anatolia College in Merzifon . Anatolia College had opened in 1887 after incorporation under Massachusetts law. White was promoted to the college's president in September 1913. The College's faculty then consisted of 11 Armenians, 10 Americans, and 9 Greeks. By World War I, 2,000 students had graduated from

220-498: A local news website covering community news and events. Patch Media is owned by AOL Inc. Pleasant Hill, California has one sister cities , as designated by Sister Cities International : , George E. White (missionary) George Edward White (October 14, 1861 – April 27, 1946) was an American Congregationalist missionary for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions for forty-three years. Stationed in

275-422: A system of environmental planning at a relatively early stage of its modern growth. Notably the city authorized a study in the 1980s of hillside development, which included detailed mapping of biota , geotechnical hazards, sound levels and other environmental constraints. These studies were used to establish appropriate zoning and development densities for all the principal undeveloped hillside areas within

330-559: Is rare, but it does happen. Summer fog is occasional but winter fog is very common. Elementary schools Middle schools High schools The Pleasant Hill Library is part of the Contra Costa County Library system. The library system was headquartered in Pleasant Hill before relocating to Martinez in preparation for the construction of a new Pleasant Hill Library. Parks in Pleasant Hill are maintained and managed by

385-484: The Armenian genocide between 1915 and 1917. By the 19th century Merzifon had become a centre for European trading and missionary activity, and American missionaries established a seminary here in 1862. In 1886, a school called the Anatolia College in Merzifon was founded (it expanded to serve girls in 1893). By 1914, the schools had over 200 boarding students, mostly ethnic Greeks and Armenians. The complex also had one of

440-667: The Black Sea . After 700 BC the fortifications were rebuilt by the Phrygians , who left a number of burial mounds and other remains. From 600 BC the Phrygians were pushed out by further invasions from the east, this time by Cimmerians from across the Caucasus mountains; graves from this period have been excavated and their contents displayed in the museum in Amasya. Merzifon then became a trading post of

495-593: The Iron Horse Regional Trail crosses Hookston Road, and Sparkle, where the Southern Pacific and Sacramento Northern Railway intersected and today stands the Pleasant Hill BART station. The area began to be suburbanized in the 1920s following prohibition , as the many local vineyards were removed and the formerly agricultural land was subdivided for housing. Monument Boulevard was named after

550-499: The Köppen Climate Classification system, Pleasant Hill has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate , abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps. Winter daytime temperatures tend to be in the fifties to low sixties, and summers range in the seventies to upper eighties, occasionally reaching the low nineties. On very rare occasions, the temperatures can reach the one hundred degree range during extreme heat waves . Freezing in winter

605-536: The Ottomans . Merzifon was an important city for the Ottomans because of its proximity to Amasya (where Ottoman princes were raised and schooled for the throne). The Turkish travel writer Evliya Çelebi recorded it as a well-fortified trading city in the 17th century. Merzifon was home to one of the last communities of Armenian Zoroastrians - known as Arewordik (children of the sun) - who are believed to have been killed in

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660-771: The Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District . The district is a separate entity from the City of Pleasant Hill. The 2010 United States Census reported that Pleasant Hill had a population of 33,152. The population density was 4,688.1 inhabitants per square mile (1,810.1/km ). The racial makeup of Pleasant Hill was 24,846 (74.9%) White , 686 (2.1%) African American , 127 (0.4%) Native American , 4,516 (13.6%) Asian , 66 (0.2%) Pacific Islander , 1,079 (3.3%) from other races , and 1,832 (5.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4,009 persons (12.1%). The Census reported that 32,689 people (98.6 percent of

715-669: The Anatolian colleges and demanded deportation of all Armenian students and teachers. White "refused to tell" where Armenians were hiding so as to save them from getting deported or killed. However, the officials threatened to execute the College staff if the Armenians weren't handed over. White then agreed to hand the Armenians over and then held a prayer service for the deportees sent with the Turkish officials. The Armenian males were then separated from

770-475: The Armenians who had embraced Mohammedanism was thus plundered. Afterward, White headed a 250-person expedition funded by the Near East Relief Fund to aid Armenian refugees. White also supported an independent Armenia because he believed that without a free Armenia, Armenians would have "no real security for the life of a man, the honor of a woman, the welfare of a child, the prosperity of a citizen or

825-411: The College. White stated that the "Armenians have furnished the larger part of the students hitherto and the constituency is not merely local." Armenian Christians had been an oppressed minority in the Ottoman Empire, often turning to Protestant missionaries as well as Eastern Orthodox Russia for protection. Russian troops had been stationed in several Eastern Ottoman Provinces after the treaty ending

880-529: The Dome on April 21, 2013. On its last night of operation, CinéArts screened Stanley Kubrick's classic 2001: A Space Odyssey . Sywest gained the approval of the Pleasant Hill City Council for its proposal to tear down the theater and redevelop the property as a two-story, 73,000+ square-foot building to house a Dick's Sporting Goods. Supporters of the theater submitted two separate appeals to overturn

935-470: The Empire's Armenian Christian minority—with the assistance or encouragement of Western governments—might also attempt to establish an independent state and thus break up the Empire's Eastern provinces. White considered the demographic situation as an "internal breach that would come to surface as a deadly wound." He predicted that since many Christians lived in the area, conflict would be inevitable, merely awaiting an opportune time and conditions. When

990-595: The Ottoman Empire during the Armenian genocide as President of the Anatolia College in Merzifon , White attempted to save the lives of many Armenians, including "refused to tell" where Armenians were hiding so to save them from getting deported or killed. Thus he became an important witness to the Armenian Genocide . On October 14, 1861, George Edward White was born in Marash , Ottoman Empire where his Christian missionary parents had arrived in 1856. He then traveled to

1045-510: The Persian title for a "march lord" or a district governor, although the exact connection is not clear. Scholar Özhan Öztürk , however, claims that original name was Marsıvan (Persian marz 'border + Armenian van 'town') which means "border town". Standing on a plain, watered by a river, Merzifon is on the road between the capital city of Ankara and Samsun on the Black Sea coast, 109 km from Samsun, 325 km from Ankara and 40 km west of

1100-639: The Pleasant Hill Library of the Contra Costa County Library system, and the Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District. Before colonization the area was inhabited by members of the Bay Miwok people. The San Ramon Valley Branch Line of the Southern Pacific entered service in 1891 with two flag stops in the area that would become the City of Pleasant Hill: Hookston, located today where

1155-660: The Russo-Turkish war, pending the Ottoman Empire's adoption of reforms, even as modified by the Congress of Berlin in 1878. Armenian nationalists rioted in Constantinople and in the provinces shortly after White's arrival in Merzifon, and were brutally suppressed in the Hamidian Massacres of 1894-1896. Ottoman military officers, including Mustafa Kemal Atatürk seized power from Sultan Abdülhamid II and attempted to establish

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1210-542: The Soldiers Memorial Monument to commemorate veterans and war dead of World War I from Contra Costa County. It was erected on December 11, 1927, at the intersection of Monument Boulevard and the Contra Costa Highway, now Contra Costa Boulevard. The monument depicts one black and three white soldiers. It is 45 feet (14 meters) tall, constructed of formed concrete, and weighs 150 tons. In 1954 the monument

1265-500: The Turkish government began deporting Armenians in 1915, White remained in Merzifon (which Armernians called Marsovan). At the time, half the city's 30,000 people were Armenian. By spring, "the situation for Armenia, became excessively acute", White stated "the Turks determined to eliminate the Armenian question by eliminating the Armenians." White found "the misery, the agony, the suffering (of

1320-404: The Turkish homes. I heard of one of our Marsovan girls, married to an Arab, who might come back now; but her face had been tattooed in such a way that she was ashamed to show it among people who had known her. The poor mistreated girls! How shall we bring new hope, new life, to them? White helped establish various additions to the campus which included an agriculture section. By 1919, an orphanage

1375-470: The Turks. Everywhere girls are coming back who were carried away and forcibly married to Turks. Two of our Marsovan schoolgirls were taken into the homes of Turks in Marsovan. They ran away together and got to Constantinople in some way. I saw in one orphanage of this sort a few days ago thirty girls. They expect to have seventy-five. They have sad stories to tell. Most of those who had had babies have left them in

1430-704: The United States to attend Iowa College in Grinnell , Iowa and marry. Deciding upon a pastoral career, White then attended the Hartford Theological Seminary during the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878) and continued his education at Oxford University in England . Upon returning to Iowa, he received a Doctor of Divinity degree from Grinnell College . For three years, George E. White served as pastor of

1485-479: The approval of demolition: one by a resident of Pleasant Hill, and one by Save the Pleasant Hill Dome (SPHD) organization. Both appeals were voted down by a majority of the city council; Mayor Michael G. Harris and councilmember Ken Carlson voted in favor of the appeal. SyWest had the Dome demolished on May 8, 2013, precluding any further court action. On October 14, 2019, a magnitude 4.5 earthquake shook

1540-570: The area around the intersection of Monument and Contra Costa boulevards. In July 2000, Downtown Pleasant Hill finally opened. The privately owned and operated outdoor shopping center was designed to resemble a typical small Main Street. Starting in 2003, CinéArts operated the former Century 5 Theatres, screening primarily independent and foreign films. Due to changes in viewing habits, as many people screened movies at home, business continued to decline. The theater's property owner, SyWest Development, closed

1595-416: The as-yet-unconstructed Salonika branch. He later described that upon his arrival, the building was "without a book, a bell or a bench." White raised funds to construct and operate the new College. After a total of forty-three years of missionary service, White retired in 1934 and returned to the United States. On 27 April 1946, George E. White died in his home, 287 4th Avenue, Claremont, California at

1650-617: The buildings damaged and deteriorated during the military occupation. Nonetheless, White immediately began providing relief to victims of the Genocide. He described the relief efforts and the College: Inquiries are already being made by all races as to when our College will open. For the present we must press the relief work, but by fall we hope to take up also the school work. We shall need several first-class American tutors. You will remember that eight of our Armenian teachers were killed by

1705-529: The city of Amasya . Merzifon has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen : Csb ). The weather is moderately cold in winter and warm in summer. Archaeological evidence (hundreds of burial mounds or höyüks ) indicates settlement of this well-watered area since the Stone Age (at least 5500 BC). The first fortifications were built by the Hittites , who were expelled in around 1200 BC by invaders descending from

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1760-544: The city. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 7.1 square miles (18 square kilometers). Pleasant Hill has a varied landscape with some valleys and rolling hills. In undisturbed wilderness, oak woodlands and mixed woods can be found. It is located in the central East San Francisco Bay . This region has warm and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius). According to

1815-569: The city. The city of Pleasant Hill is served by the East Bay Times daily newspaper , published by Bay Area News Group-East Bay (part of the Media News Group of Denver, Colorado). It is also served by the Community Focus newspaper. Community Focus is an independent, monthly newspaper that concentrates on local events and information. The city is also served by Pleasant Hill Patch,

1870-532: The college and orphanage, as well as a new "baby house" for displaced Armenian mothers and infants. However, the British troops soon withdrew and unrest continued in Merzifon. Merzifon's main attraction is the Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Paşa Mosque , built in 1666 and featuring one of the lovely şadırvans (ablutions fountains) with internally painted domes for which the Amasya area is known. Much of

1925-452: The deportees) beyond power of words to express, almost beyond the power of hearts to conceive. In bereavement, thirst, hunger, loneliness, hopelessness, the groups were swept on and on along roads which had no destination." White, estimated 11,500 deportees, or almost half Merzifon's population. White also estimated that 1,200 Armenians converted to Islam to evade deportations and save their lives. On August 19, Turkish authorities visited

1980-660: The division of the Roman empire in 395), although it was held briefly by Arab armies during the 8th-century expansion of Islam. After this the castle of Bulak was built as a defence. In the 11th century the Danishmend dynasty established Islam in Merzifon and the Byzantines never regained control. The Danishmends were followed by the Seljuk Turks , the Ilkhanids , and, from 1393 onwards, by

2035-418: The front of the building. Renamed as Century 5 Theatres, it continued to be known familiarly as the Dome. The city hall of Pleasant Hill was designed by architect Charles Moore. Completed in the late 20th century, it has won several awards for architectural design. For most of its history, Pleasant Hill did not have a true downtown or Main Street . In 1991, the city began planning the redevelopment of

2090-550: The kings of Pontus , who ruled the Black Sea coast from their capital in Amasya. The district of Amasya was destroyed during civil wars of the Roman era but Merzifon was restored by command of the emperor Hadrian . Finds from Roman temples in Merzifon are also on display in the Amasya museum. The city grew in importance under Roman rule as its walls and fortifications were strengthened, and it remained strong under Byzantine rule (following

2145-493: The largest hospitals in Asia Minor, and an orphanage housing 2000 children. However, the town also became a focal point for Armenian nationalism (Armenians comprised half of the population of what they called Marsovan in 1915) and anti-Western sentiment. It suffered at least two riots in the 1890s, but the damage was rebuilt. In 1915, over 11,000 Armenians were deported from the city (which had had approximately 30,000 inhabitants in

2200-457: The newly incorporated city. The theater was designed by prolific Bay Area architect Vincent G. Raney. It had a distinctive 50-foot-high domed ceiling and oversized curved screen. The theater was initially built to showcase the Cinerama widescreen process developed in the 1950s. The screen was later updated to standard flat-screen. In 1973, four additional single-screen auditoriums were added to

2255-610: The original mosque complex, including the hamam and the bedesten, survives and is still in use today. Pleasant Hill, California Pleasant Hill is a city in Contra Costa County , California , United States, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area . The population was 34,613 at the 2020 census . It was incorporated in 1961. Pleasant Hill is the home of College Park High School , Diablo Valley College ,

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2310-648: The population) lived in households, 151 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 312 (0.9%) were institutionalized. There were 13,708 households, out of which 3,892 (28.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6,329 (46.2%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,359 (9.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 597 (4.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 789 (5.8%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships , and 152 (1.1%) same-sex married couples or partnerships . 3,929 households (28.7%) were made up of individuals, and 1,431 (10.4%) had someone living alone who

2365-476: The pretext of searching for deserting soldiers, concealing bombs, weapons, seditious literature or revolutionists, the Turkish officers arrested about 1,200 Armenian men at Marsovan, accompanying their investigations by horrible brutalities. There was no revolutionary activity in our region whatever. The men were sent out in lots of one or two hundred in night 'deportations' to the mountains, where trenches had been prepared. Coarse peasants, who were employed to do what

2420-476: The previous year) in death marches ; others were killed and their property confiscated and sold to Turkish insiders, supposedly to benefit the Ottoman war effort, as documented by missionary George E. White . In addition, in 1915 several Greek men were murdered by the Ottomans, while the women were compelled to follow the Ottoman troops. Those who were exhausted after the long marches were abandoned with their babies on

2475-468: The rights of a father." On 16 May 1916, Turkish authorities closed the college, displacing White and the remaining staff in order to establish a military hospital. The staff of the College was eventually transported to Constantinople . The College remained a military hospital for the next two years. George E. White returned to the Ottoman Empire and the College's presidency, reopening in 1919. However, many Armenian teachers and staff had been killed, and

2530-731: The roadside. Following the Greco-Turkish War , the Merzifon College was closed and all the remaining Christians in Merzifon were forced to relocate to Greece where a new Anatolia College was opened in Thessaloniki in 1924 After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War , unrest continued. British troops were deployed in formerly Ottoman lands to ensure the terms of surrender, and some of them arrived in Merzifon in 1919 just as George White returned and reopened

2585-424: The state for the war fund. In this way all the Armenian houses, stores, shops, fields, gardens, vineyards, merchandise, household goods, rugs, were taken. The work was the charge of a commission, the members of which I met personally a number of times. It was commonly said that the commission did not actually receive enough for the government purposes to cover its expenses. Real estate was put up for rent at auction and

2640-452: The women and shot outside of the city. The women were deported to the Syrian desert , and none ever returned. White later remarked, "thousands of women and children were swept away. Where? Nowhere. No destination was stated or intended. Why? Simply because they were Armenians and Christians and were in the hands of the Turks." White later described the events in a New York Times article: On

2695-406: Was 40.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males. There were 14,321 housing units at an average density of 2,025.2 per square mile (781.9/km ), of which 13,708 were occupied, of which 8,470 (61.8%) were owner-occupied, and 5,238 (38.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3 percent; the rental vacancy rate

2750-508: Was 5.1 percent. 21,253 people (64.1 percent of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 11,436 people (34.5%) lived in rental housing units. The Gregory Gardens subdivision developed in 1950 required purchasers of new homes to accept a Covenant that restricted ownership to Caucasians (such provisions have since been ruled as unconstitutional). The Covenant also limited the structures that could be built, animals allowed on premises, and commercial activities. Pleasant Hill used

2805-424: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38. There were 8,285 families (60.4 percent of all households); the average family size was 2.96. The population was spread out, with 6,563 people (19.8%) under the age of 18, 3,180 people (9.6%) aged 18 to 24, 8,901 people (26.8%) aged 25 to 44, 9,902 people (29.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 4,606 people (13.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

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2860-410: Was done, said it was a 'pity to waste bullets,' and they used axes. In the same article, he claimed that girls were sold in the market for "$ 2 to $ 4 each." White claimed he had personally ransomed "three girls at the price of $ 4.40". White also provided a detailed account of the confiscated Armenian properties during the upheaval: All the properties of the Armenians were confiscated, nominally to

2915-468: Was established within the premises of the school which sheltered as many as 2,000 Armenian orphans. In addition, a "baby house" was established to house Armenian girls and babies displaced by the Genocide. However, the Turkish government in 1921 ordered the Anatolian College in Merzifon closed. The College ultimately relocated to Salonika , Greece . In 1924, George White was appointed president of

2970-439: Was most of it bid in at prices ridiculously low by persons who were on the inside. This I know not only as a matter of common information but directly from a Turkish attorney who was in our employ and who provided himself with one of the best Armenian houses. Turks moved out of their more squalid habitations into the better Armenian houses whose owners had been 'deported.' All the property of the Armenians except some remnants left to

3025-486: Was moved to its current site at the intersection of Boyd Road and Contra Costa Boulevard to make way for the construction of State Route 21 . Developed largely in the years following World War II , the area did not have a post office until 1948. The city incorporated in 1961. On February 21, 1967, Century 21 Theaters opened an 895-seat dome theater between Monument Boulevard and Hookston Road, just off I-680. The futuristic dome-topped cinema became an iconic landmark for

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