Bernardo Fernandez Explained

Bernardo Fernandes, later known as Bernardo Fernandez, (November 15, 1828 – May 12, 1912) was an early pioneer of western Contra Costa County, California in the United States of America.

Biography

Born in Portugal, Fernandez joined a ship to Brazil when he was 13 years old, rose to be a ship's captain, and first settled in the United States in 1850, operating coastal shipping from New York.[1] [2] In 1853 he arrived in Pinole, California,[1] as a gold prospector, but decided to settle,[3] operating a freight business between Contra Costa County and San Francisco[4] and starting in 1857 acquiring land.[2] He eventually became the area's wealthiest resident,[5] owning more than 20,000 acres in Pinole, Oakland, and San Francisco.[6] Among his holdings was a 9,000-acre ranch in western Contra Costa County on which he grew wheat and raised cattle; the remaining 700 acres of the Fernandez Ranch were acquired as an open space preserve in 2004[7] and expanded in 2010 with the addition of the adjacent Franklin Canyon property, also originally part of the ranch.[3] [4]

In 1859 he married Carlotta Cuadra, a member of a Marin County pioneer family from Chile; they had six children.[1] [2] Their third home, a 22-room mansion built in about 1894, is preserved as the Bernardo Fernandez House.[6] He died at home in Pinole in 1912.[1]

Notes and References

  1. News: Bernardo Fernandez Who Joins Pioneers Beyond the Divide: Reaper Calls Another Maker of Early History in California . San Francisco Call . May 14, 1912 . Pinole Patch . December 18, 2018 .
  2. Book: J. P. Munro-Fraser . History of Contra Costa County, California . 1882 . San Francisco . W. A. Slocum . 1685078 . 556–57 .
  3. News: Carolyn Jones . Hercules gift helps preserve Franklin Canyon . San Francisco Chronicle . July 28, 2010 .
  4. News: Maggie Avants . East Bay Trails: Newly Expanded Fernandez Ranch Opens To Public . Martinez Patch . June 2, 2017 . December 18, 2018 .
  5. News: Chris Treadway . Early Contra Costa Pioneer to be Focus of History Talk . East Bay Times . May 10, 2017 .
  6. Web site: 25. Fernandez Mansion . Walking Tour . Pinole Historical Society . 6 . 2018-12-18 .
  7. News: Erin Hallissy . Family hopes to preserve pristine Fernandez Ranch: Fund raising begins to save last vestige of historic site . San Francisco Chronicle . May 1, 2004 . December 18, 2018 .