E L C E R R I T O ’ S
1 0 0 t h A N N I V E R S A RY
By Suzanne Iarla
One hundred years ago, in August 1917, the
unincorporated areas of Rust, Stege, Schindler, and
Schmidtville voted to incorporate, establishing the City
of El Cerrito. The vote to incorporate passed with 158
in favor and 131 opposed. El Cerrito’s population in
1917 was approximately 1,500. There were streetcars
on San Pablo Avenue and the Santa Fe Railway ran
where BART now runs. Farms and dairies were spread
out along the flatlands, and there were very few trees.
There were many stores and saloons, one local doctor,
two quarries, some flower nurseries, two schools, and a
community library.
The first board of trustees (City Council) included
Kirk Gray, John Sandvick, Philip Lee, George Adams,
and Peter Larsen, with George Scott as treasurer. Mrs.
Grace Castner was elected first City Clerk and Henry
Wildgrube was City Attorney. George Barber was
Cerrito Theater - This photo, circa 1995, shows the Cerrito
Theatre on San Pablo Avenue, which opened in 1937. The
theater had 644 seats, delighting children and entertaining
adults until it closed in 1966. With encouragement and support
from the community, the City renovated the theater which
re-opened in 2006. Photo from the El Cerrito Historical Society
Collection, courtesy of the Kirby family.
appointed the first City Marshal; his job also consisted
of tax and license collector; street inspector; building,
plumbing, and electrical inspector.
The community incorporated in order to improve
their quality of life, and the City set about establishing
police and fire services, and a street improvement
program to pave the dirt roads. In the 1920s and 1930s,
El Cerrito was known for nightclubs, gambling and
speakeasies. The area grew slowly, reaching a population
of 3,970 in 1930 and 6,137 by 1940.
A number of streets and sidewalks, as well as Huber
Park and Poinsett Park, were constructed by the Federal
Works Progress Administration (WPA) program. During
World War II, El Cerrito’s population skyrocketed to
Pre-incorporation, the area on San Pablo Ave. between Central
Ave. and the county line was called Rust. This photo circa
1915 shows a sign for the Rust post office, located in William
F. Rust’s blacksmith shop on San Pablo Ave. Photo from the El
Cerrito Historical Society Collection, courtesy of the Umbraco
family.