Join us on May 9, 2026, for the Castro Valley History Festival, an all‑community celebration presented by the Rowell Ranch Rodeo Committee. This year’s festival features a major new exhibition: “Old Town Castro Valley: Untold Stories of a Growing Community.”
The exhibit explores the early commercial corridor, family‑run businesses, ranching traditions, and the everyday relationships that shaped Castro Valley’s identity. Through photographs, maps, artifacts, and first‑person accounts, visitors will discover the people who built the foundations of the town—shopkeepers, farmers, laborers, families, and community organizers whose stories rarely appear in official histories.
Alongside the exhibit, the festival offers a full afternoon and evening of activities:
- History Festival from 3–9pm
- Rowell Ranch Pro Rodeo Parade at 6pm
- Classic cars, cowboy demonstrations, street vendors, food, and live music
This event invites visitors of all ages to experience Castro Valley’s heritage—its early “Old Town” businesses, its agricultural roots, and the personal stories that reveal how a rural valley grew into a thriving community. The festival blends celebration with education, honoring both the well‑known landmarks and the lesser‑known individuals who contributed to Castro Valley’s development.
Castro Valley History Museum
The Castro Valley History Museum is a newly formed nonprofit dedicated to preserving and celebrating our town’s rich heritage. While we’re still searching for a permanent, year-round location, our passionate board is hard at work cataloging artifacts, photos, and stories from local historians and community members—making them accessible online for all to explore.
In the meantime, we’re bringing history to life through pop-up exhibits, community events, and educational programs. Thanks to the Adobe Art Center, we’ll also host seasonal displays and welcome third-grade students to learn about Castro Valley’s past.
We’re building a museum for the community, with the community—and we’re just getting started.
Castro Valley books
Images of America: Castro Valley
Images Of America - Castro Valley, CA An officer in the Mexican army bequeathed his name to the crescent-shaped basin once known as Castro's Valley. Driven to ruin by squatters, drought, and gambling debts, he sold a portion of his cattle ranch to Methodist minister Zachariah Hughes, who built a church and school in what is now Crow Canyon. The one-room, redwood school Hughes christened Eden Vale educated about 50 children until a group from the burgeoning town to the south, "Hayward's," stole it by wagon in the dead of night. Undaunted, Castro Valley, delineated from its now friendly neighbors by hills, Lake Chabot, and an independent spirit, built and fully supported its own Redwood School. It has now developed into one of the most populous unincorporated areas in the United States.
Rancho to Ranch Homes: Mapping the Evolution of Castro Valley, California
This comprehensive book traces Castro Valley's transformation from Native American land to a modern commuter suburb, utilizing a wide range of online databases, local archives, and personal contributions from descendants of early settlers. It explores the area's complex history, from Guillermo Castro's acquisition of Rancho San Lorenzo to its evolution through agricultural changes, intense chicken ranching, and gradual suburbanization during World War II and beyond. The book also examines societal issues like racial discrimination and efforts to incorporate Castro Valley as a city. Richly illustrated with rare photographs, maps, and biographies, it offers detailed appendices on road names, subdivisions, and agriculture, supported by over 1,000 references for further research. The final chapter discusses preserved, lost, and at-risk historical elements and reflects on the town's uncertain future amid California's housing crisis.
