Brentwood

Brentwood is a suburban city in Contra Costa County, California, spreading across gentle hills and agricultural plains between housing developments and fruit farms. The built landscape alternates with open fields and vineyards, while the horizon near the San Francisco Bay remains flat and open.

The territory was part of Rancho Los Meganos, granted to Don Jose Noriega in 1835, before John Marsh acquired the land in 1837 and named it after his hometown in Essex, England. The town was founded decades later, when railroad lines and irrigation systems enabled agricultural development.

The town center grew along routes that once linked ranches, and today some streets still follow those original paths through farmland and housing areas. Families visit remaining orchards during harvest season to buy cherries and other fruit directly from growers, creating a connection to the rural past.

Visitors can easily navigate residential neighborhoods and farm areas spread along main roads, which offer a straightforward layout. Public transit connects the town with neighboring communities, making trips to the wider region manageable.

The Julpuns, part of Bay Miwok tribes, settled along creek areas and held a close connection to Mount Diablo, which played a central role in their cosmology. Traces of their earlier presence remain faint in the landscape, though some street names and parks reference these roots.