Kenwood, CA

Kenwood is a city located in Contra Costa County, California. According to the 2010 census, the city has a population of 24,098. Kenwood is located along the eastern shore of San Pablo Bay and is part of the East Bay Metropolitan Area. The city is named after General Joseph Kenwood, who served in the Mexican-American War and in the California Constitutional Convention of 1849.

The first European settlement in what would become Kenwood was made by John Reed in 1837 on land he had purchased from Manuel Micheltorena. In 1846, Major John C. Fremont and his men stopped at Reed's adobe while on their way to conquer California and were impressed by its location and beauty. Fremont purchased 1,500 acres of land from Reed for $6,000 (equivalent to $115,000 today). He named his new estate " Kenwood" after General Joseph Kenwood who had fought alongside him during the Mexican-American War.

In 1851, Fremont's wife Eleanor wrote a letter to her sister describing life at Kenwood: "We have now been here about two months & are getting quite comfortable...the scenery around us is most lovely...The house [is] large & well arranged with every convenience for comfort."

In 1853, Eleanor died at Kenwood from tuberculosis; she was only 36 years old. A year later Fremont married Priscilla Woodworth; they remained married until his death in 1883.

In 1865 James Lick built an oil refinery near what would become Kenwood's downtown area; this led to rapid growth for the town as many people moved into jobs at Lick or started businesses catering to the refinery workers. By 1870 there were already 1,600 residents living in Kenwood; by 1880 that number had grown to 5,000 people. The town continued to grow rapidly throughout the late 1800s as more people moved into town looking for jobs and homesites grew available due to increased development around Lick Refinery (now owned by Chevron).

By 1940 there were nearly 20,000 residents living in Kenwood; this number continued to grow throughout the 1950s as more families moved into town looking for affordable housing and good schools for their children. In 1960 there were nearly 38,000 residents living in Kenwood; this number has since steadily increased as new housing developments have been built throughout town over the past several decades (the population reached 50K by 1990). Today there are over 48K residents living in Kenneth Wood!