San Joaquin City, California
San Joaquin City, California, San Joaquin County – Once a bustling river port, San Joaquin City played a pivotal role during the California Gold Rush. Nestled along the San Joaquin River, it served as a critical hub for miners and goods heading to the goldfields. Below is detailed information about the town.
County: San Joaquin County
Zip Code: Not available
Latitude / Longitude: 37.7422° N, 121.2644° W
Elevation: Approximately 13 feet (4 meters) above sea level
Time Zone: Pacific Time Zone
Established: 1849
Disestablished: 1861
Comments: San Joaquin City was founded during the height of the Gold Rush as a strategic point for transportation and trade. Its location on the river made it a key site for steamboats traveling between San Francisco and the goldfields.
However, its prosperity was short-lived due to various factors, including flooding and developing more reliable transportation routes. San Joaquin City, a former settlement in San Joaquin County, California Ghost Townlifornia during the California Gold Rush.
The site of San Joaquin City, was located on the west bank of the San Joaquin River just below the point where Airport Way (formerly Durham Ferry Road) crosses the river today. It was an important settlement along the old River Road (now Kasson Road in San Joaquin County) between Banta and Grayson’s Ferry (now the community of Grayson in Stanislaus County.
Remains: Today, there are very few remains of San Joaquin City. The townsite is primarily agricultural land, with few visible remnants of its past. Occasionally, artifacts from the town surface during farming activities.
San Joaquin City was a river town established in 1849. Pioneers and freight wagons following post roads to the southern mines crossed the San Joaquin River nearby at Durham’s Ferry. As a terminal for riverboats, the town played an important part in the development of the west side of San Joaquin Valley grain farming and cattle raising.
Current Status: San Joaquin City’s site is now part of private farmland. It is not accessible to the public, and no significant efforts have been made to preserve its history on-site.
Remarks: San Joaquin City poignantly reminds us of the transient nature of boomtowns during the Gold Rush era. Although it thrived briefly, the town’s decline was hastened by natural disasters and the relentless progress of infrastructure development, which bypassed the once-thriving river port.
The former city’s site is opposite 31167 Kasson Road in Tracy, California Ghost Townlifornia. California Historical Landmark 777 marked it. The fifty-pound bronze plaque is missing from this monument.
The family residing across the street reported its disappearance to the County Sheriff in October 2005, according to Jake Armstrong reporting in the 9 June 2007 edition of the Stockton Record.
According to the Record, “the agencies whose names are emblazoned on the face of the plaque – the California State Park Commission and the San Joaquin County Historical Society – did not know it was even missing or who is responsible for maintaining it.”
