Progressive Pleasanton
In 1894 the residents of Pleasanton voted to form a city government, ushering in a new era of civic improvement. Over the next half-century Pleasanton built up its infrastructure and dealt with the challenges of Prohibition, Depression, and two world wars.
A Government of Their Own
Incorporation gave Pleasanton’s residents more power to deal with the problems a growing community faced. Beginning with such basic improvements as sidewalks, running water, and a sewer system, the town trustees also partnered with the Women’s Improvement Club to build parks and a combination library/town hall/meeting room that today houses Pleasanton's Museum on Main.
Rolling with the Changes
Although Pleasanton remained the hub of a farming community during these years, it still had to adjust to the changing world around it. Automobiles brought paved roads and reduced the importance of the railroad. Telephones, radio, and eventually television made the world outside the Valley closer and smaller. The film industry even made a brief appearance, using the town for location shoots throughout the late silent era.
Political and economic forces also brought change. A dwindling water table put an end to hop farming by 1912; a 1909 bookmaking ban hurt the racetrack; and in the 1920s Prohibition nearly killed the vineyards. But the town persisted, and other businesses such as dairying and fruit and vegetable farming stepped forward in their places. And when the Great Depression came, repeal of Prohibition soon followed to revive the wine industry and help the town make it through the crisis.
Political and economic forces also brought change. A dwindling water table put an end to hop farming by 1912; a 1909 bookmaking ban hurt the racetrack; and in the 1920s Prohibition nearly killed the vineyards. But the town persisted, and other businesses such as dairying and fruit and vegetable farming stepped forward in their places. And when the Great Depression came, repeal of Prohibition soon followed to revive the wine industry and help the town make it through the crisis.
Pleasanton Goes to War
When the nation mobilized for two world wars, Pleasanton mobilized with it. In World War I [approximate #] local men served in Europe while their families back home bought bonds, canned produce and wound bandages for victory. Just over twenty years later, a new generation served in even larger numbers and made greater sacrifices on the home front for World War II, while the Navy brought thousands of sailors into the Valley for training and processing at the Parks and Shoemaker bases they built north of town. Japanese-American community members, however, were torn from their homes and sent to internment camps.