How Castro Valley Got Its Name

Castro Valley is named after Don Guillermo Castro, who was a soldier in the Mexican army and a rancher. Castro Valley was part of the original 28,000-acre land grant given to Castro, called Rancho San Lorenzo. This land grant included Hayward, San Lorenzo, and Castro Valley, including Crow Canyon, Cull Canyon, and Palomares Canyon. Castro had a gambling habit and had to sell off portions of his land to pay gambling debts. The last of his holding was sold in a sheriff's sale in 1864 to Faxon Dean Atherton for $400,000.

Atherton (whom the city of Atherton is named after) in turn began selling off his portion in smaller parcels. Two gentlemen named Cull (the namesake of Cull Canyon) and Luce bought some 2,400 acres and began running a steam-operated saw mill in Redwood Canyon. The Jensen brothers also bought land from Atherton in 1867.

During the 1940s and 1950s, Castro Valley was known for its chicken ranches. Later it developed into a bedroom community, where workers live and commute to their jobs in the surrounding communities.

Pictorial History of Castro Valley's Early Residents

Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 57,292 people, 21,606 households, and 15,016 families residing in the CDP.

The population density was 1,533.0/km² (3,971.6/mi²). There were 22,003 housing units at an average density of 588.7/km² (1,525.3/mi²).

The racial makeup of the CDP was 70.84% White, 5.14% Black or African American, 0.59% Native American, 13.54% Asian, 0.44% Pacific Islander, 4.11% from other races, and 5.34% from two or more races. 12.19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 21,606 households out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $64,874, and the median income for a family was $73,060. Males had a median income of $51,068 versus $38,907 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $30,454. About 2.7% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

 Hayward Senior Center

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Famous and Sort of Famous Residents 

Castro Valley is the birthplace of the late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton,

Actor Daniel Selby,

Liberal radio host Rachel Maddow,

Former major league baseball players Ed Sprague and Kevin Maas,

Actress Jennifer Roszell,

Full Clip composer Scott Goldberg, and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio.

It is also the hometown of Val Diamond, of Beach Blanket Babylon fame, and visual effects artist Randy Cook, who shared an Oscar for the recent Lord of the Rings movies.

Another notable resident is Nero [AKA Marshall Carnage] of Psyclon Nine.