Name/Title
1920s Downtown PinoleDescription
Pinole was no longer a wooden tinderbox waiting for a match. Roads were paved, automobiles were commonplace, and a business district grew out of the ashes of the 1908 fire that devoured much of the downtown.
Modern stone and brick buildings appeared downtown with the Bank of Pinole (1915), and the Pinole-Hercules Methodist Episcopal Church (1925). A municipal building with a library, jail, and firehouse was erected in 1926, and in the 1930s, the Fernandez family gave the city a downtown park.
During World War II, citizens rationed butter and meat and collected scrap metal. School children collected $3,000 for war bonds, but kids could neither get rubber balloons, nor their mothers get nylons. White-helmeted Civil Defense teams guarded Pinole Creek Bridge during blackout drills. Six servicemen died, including Dr. Fernandez’s son, Bernardo.
Returning veterans found Pinole had changed little. By 1950, Pinole’s population had reached 1,147.Copyright
Copyright Holder
Pinole Historical Society