ONE of East Contra Costa’s newest cities, Oakley incorporated in 1999. Oakley, like many agricultural communities that formed in the late 19th century, began when the demand for California wheat, and later specialty fruit, prompted the Santa Fe railroad to designate a railroad stop.

The first transcontinental passengers rolled through the village in 1900. A hotel followed in 1908, and then a general store two years later, and a county branch library in 1913.

The hamlet retained its sleepy atmosphere until the late 1980s, when the demand for housing and an influx of commuters, many driving to Silicon Valley daily, transfomed the town into a booming bedroom community.

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