Indians of the San Ramon Valley

Introduction

Here are several essays which provide a history of the first people who lived in the San Ramon Valley. According to ethnohistorian Randall Milliken and archaeologist David Fredrickson, it is likely people may have lived here for 10,000 years.

While there are many specifics we do not know about their culture, several archaeological investigations, mission records, writings from the first Europeans to enter the valley, interviews as transcribed by J. P. Harrington and descendants’ information provide the basis for these essays. Books and academic papers produced in recent decades have vastly enriched our knowledge about Indians of California. See the Selected Bibliography for some of these sources.

The Museum of the San Ramon Valley has a research library with an extensive collection of books about California Indians.