Fleming Point

Fleming Point is a rocky promontory in the U.S. state of California. It is situated in Albany, on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay. Albany Bulb is an extension of the point, having been formed in the 1960s from construction debris.^[1]

History

Fleming Point is named after John T. Fleming who lived in the area in 1853,^[2] having bought the land from Jose Domingo Peralta.^[3] In the 19th century, it was the site of the Judson Dynamite and Powder Company;^[4] the Point Fleming Powder Plant exploded in 1883, one of at least two such explosions at the site.^[5] Dynamite factories dominated the Albany waterfront until 1905 when they were replaced with less explosive chemical factories. By the first decade of the 20th century, it was used by residents of Berkeley as a garbage dump, one of the reasons the City of Albany decided to incorporate in 1908.^[6] It is currently the site of Golden Gate Fields, which held its first meet on February 1, 1941.

Geology

Near Fleming Point, south of Point Richmond, the waters of the bay have cut low cliffs in which even alternations of sandstone and shale are observable. In some instances the black shale shows a decided lenticular character. Some lenses are fifteen to twenty feet long and a foot or so thick in the central part.^[7]

References

1. Hailey 2013, p. 288.
2. Gudde 1960, p. 110.
3. Weinstein 2008, p. 26.
4. The Oakland Tribune 1898, p. 221.
5. "Fleming Point explosion, 2 of 2". California Digital Library. The Regents of The University of California.
6. "Waterfront & Bulb". City of Albany. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
7. University of California, Berkeley. Department of Geology 1919, p. 16.

Bibliography

• Gudde, Erwin Gustav (1960). California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names. University of California Press. GGKEY:403N5Z6QERG.
• Hailey, Charlie (1 August 2013). Spoil Island: Reading the Makeshift Archipelago. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-0-7391-7307-7.
• The Oakland Tribune (1898). Alameda County: The Eden of the Pacific : the Flower Garden of California : a History of Alameda County from Its Formation to the Present : Its Resources and Many Thriving Industries : Souvenir Showing Its Superior Advantages as a Residence Section and a Manufacturing Center : Citizens who Have Aided the March of Progress. Tribune Publishing Company.
• University of California, Berkeley. Department of Geology (1919). University of California Publications. Bulletin of the Department of Geology. University of California Press.
• Weinstein, Dave (2008). It Came from Berkeley: How Berkeley Changed the World. Jones & Bartlett Learning. ISBN 978-1-4236-0254-5.

Coordinates: 37°53′09″N 122°18′52″W / 37.8858°N 122.3144°W