Cornwall, California

Cornwall,[1] formerly known as Cornwall Station,[2] was an unincorporated community in Contra Costa County, California,[1] before it was absorbed into the City of Pittsburg. It was located 7.25 miles (11.67 km) east-southeast of Baypoint and 1 mile (1.6 km) south of downtown Pittsburg,[2] at an elevation of 39 feet (12 m) ASL.[2]

For other uses, see Cornwall (disambiguation).

Cornwall
Unincorporated community
Cornwall is located in California
Cornwall
Cornwall
Location in California
Coordinates: 38°01′14″N 121°52′44″W[1]
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountyContra Costa County
Elevation
[1]
39 ft (12 m)
GNIS ID[1]253407

The area appears to have been named after Pierre Barlow Cornwall, an early California pioneer and president of the Black Diamond Coal Mining Company at nearby Nortonville, California from 1872 to 1904.[3] Cornwall sprung up at the intersection of two railroads, the Black Diamond Coal Mining Railroad and the San Pablo and Tulare Railroad[4] (the latter became part of the Southern Pacific system in 1888). The coal railroad crossed the San Pablo and Tulare line using an overhead trestle.[4]

A post office operated at Cornwall Station from 1881 to 1888.[2] Cornwall post office operated from 1890 to 1911.[2]

The Cornwall area, together with the nearby town of Black Diamond, was officially renamed "Pittsburg" on February 11, 1911, which may explain why the Cornwall Post Office stopped operations in that same year.

References
  1. "Cornwall (Contra Costa County, California)". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
  2. Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 681. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
  3. Bruce Cornwall, "Life Sketch of Pierre Barlow Cornwall," (1906), pp. 60 and 82.
  4. The Pacific Tourist, J. R. Bowman, Publisher, 1882, p. 335.


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