Cattle round-ups, squatters, Cherry festivals, Holy Ghost festivals, oyster pirates, Best tractors, Portuguese -- the many threads of San Leandro's past have woven a rich historical tapestry underlying the modern city of San Leandro. These 15 square miles between San Francisco Bay and the East Bay hills have been an Ohlone village, a Spanish rancho, a small farm town, the Portuguese capital of the West, an industrial center, and a major metropolitan suburb as a succession of new people has transformed the area. The volunteers of the San Leandro Historical Society are committed to exploring, sharing, and preserving the stories and structures of our diverse community.

The Little Brown Church, built as the First Presbyterian Church in 1867, is  the home of the San Leandro Historical Society. The sanctuary of the church was dismantled in the 1930s, but the Sunday school addition (added to the church around 1890) remained on Clarke Street. In the 1970s, the Historical Society acquired the old building that had once been the Sunday school and moved it down the street to save it from being razed for development. Now behind the Casa Peralta, it adds a third piece to the downtown history complex formed by the city-owned Casa Peralta and San Leandro History Museum, and the Historical Society-owned Little Brown Church.

Click here to learn more about the Little Brown Church.