CITY OF MARTINEZ by Amazon Stones

Martinez is a city in and the county seat of Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 35,866 at the 2000 census. The downtown is notable for its large number of preserved old buildings. Martinez is located on the south side of the Carquinez Strait in the San Francisco Bay Area, directly facing the city of Benicia.

In 1824 the Alhambra Valley was included in the Rancho El Pinole Mexican land grant to Ygnacio Martinez. By 1849, Martínez served as a weigh station for the California Gold Rush. The town was laid out in 1849 by Col. William M. Smith and named for Martinez. It became the county seat in 1850, but could not incorporate at the time because it lacked the 200 registered voters required, and only became a city in 1876. In 1847, Dr. Robert Semple contracted to provide ferry service from Martinez to Benicia, CA (across the Carquinez straight, Benicia was a growing community and state capitol for a year in 1852). Martinez was the home of John Muir from 1880 until his death in 1914. He was buried about a mile south of the building that is now the John Muir National Historic Site. Also nearby is the property is the Don Vicente Martinez Adobe, built in 1849 by the son of Rancho owner, Ygnacio Martinez, of the Rancho el Pinole.

In 1860, Martinez played a role in the Pony Express, where riders would take the ferry from Benicia (particularly if they missed the steamer in Sacramento). In 1915, Shell Oil Company built an oil refinery near Martinez, which sparked a building boom in the area. Martinez's oil refineries can still be seen today from Interstate 680, and it continues to be a significant port and petroleum processing center. Some call Martinez the "Magic Capital of Northern California."