The C&H Company House

The house, built by the California and Hawaiian Sugar Company in 1917, still exists but now is owned and occupied different owners. The home and the grounds have been completly renovated and remodeled by the new owners but still stands in a location overlooking Crolona Heights. The full story of the company house can be read in the Crockett Museum and Historical Society. Crockett writer and historian Diane Botini Thomas wrote about it in the Fall 1993 issue of the Alexander & Baldwin AMP&RSAND.

Dates to Remember About Crockett and C & H Sugar

For over 100 years the connections among Crockett, Hawaii and C & H Sugar have been intense and ought to be remembered. Some of them are:
1897 - Nov. 30, George McNear with Hawaiian and Calif. businessmen purchased the Edwards Ranch
1899 - June 14, the name of the firm changed from California Beet Sugar and Refining Co changed to California and Hawaiian Sugar Refining Company.
1906 - The first year sugar was produced - 74,000 tons - by the C & H Refining Company

In 2011 C & H is producing as much, or more, sugar as ever. The ownership of the company is different but the C&H building still attracts visitors to our town and we show visitors the C&H waterfront. With 100 plus truckloads of sugar in and out every day, Crockett still maintains a strong relationship. So stay tuned for more blogs about the towns major product.

Crockett Museum Hilights

The Crockett Museum and Historical Society has 55 annual members, 133 Life members and 26 Crockett Rocket members. "Crockett Rocket" is a special life membership for people under 18 years of age. They are folks how may be around to celebrate the 200th birthday of Crockett in 2081. We hope to see a significant increase in annual membership durinh 2011. Annual membership for a single individual is $10; for a family it is $15 and Life membership for an individual is $125. Crockett Rocket membership is $100.

Admission is free so come and spend several hours admiring a world record sturgeon or a really big wasp nest. Among our collections you will find the telephone switchboard used when we all had 2 or 3 diget phone numbers and an operator asked "number please" and then connected you. If you or a relative attended John Swett High School we have the class pictures for almost every year.

THE SAINT ROSE STORY the Saga of Crockett

Each month, for the Crockett Signal Magazine, I write an article about the history of Crockett and the Carquinez Strait. The story in April is mostly about the priests who have parstored the Catholic Church since the parish was established in 1912. The first mass in the Saint Rose of Lima church was held on Christmas 1892 when it was located on the Valona hill looking down on present day Port Street. In 1908 it was moved to the Starr Street location and became a parish served by Dominican priests from the from the Order of Preachers in Benicia. During the first 100 years the parish has had 18 parish pastors beginning with Father Edward B. Kenney, O.P. to our present day Shepard Father Ciaran Dillon, O.M.I. (Oblates of Mary Immaculate).

Next year in 2012 the Parish will celebrate its 100th birthday. It is my intent to write several more stories about St. Rose and its mission church in Port Costa, St. Patrick adding to the 5 or 6 already written. Visit me at the Crockett Museum and Historical Society on Wednesday or Saturday and share your memories.