, a wealthy
Californio ranchero, was granted
Rancho Los Méganos in 1835, covering all of modern Brentwood. Brentwood was originally laid out on land donated from property owned by
John Marsh, an East Contra Costa County pioneer who acquired
Rancho Los Méganos, the land grant that Brentwood is built upon, in 1837 from
Jose Noriega. Marsh was one of the wealthiest men in California and was instrumental in its becoming independent from Mexico and part of the United States. His letters extolling the potential for agriculture in California were published in newspapers throughout the East. They resulted in the first wagon trains to California. Marsh encouraged this, and allowed new arrivals to stay on his ranch until they could get settled.
Rancho Los Méganos became the terminus of the California Trail. Brentwood was named after Marsh's ancestral home, the town of
Brentwood in the
County of
Essex, England. Brentwood's first post office was established in 1878. The city
incorporated in 1948. The Brentwood water tower perhaps symbolizes the city's transition from a rural farm community to a modern bedroom community. This landmark on Walnut Boulevard, across the street from the Brentwood Park and Ride lot, is the tallest structure in the city. It is no longer used for its original purpose, but now serves as a
cell phone tower. City water is stored in large tanks atop hills outside the city. The city is bordered on three sides by the Contra Costa County Agricultural Core which consists of 11,000 acres of preserved and still actively productive farm land. During the mid-2000s, many retail stores were built along the Brentwood/
Antioch border on Lone Tree Way, on both sides of
SR 4, about from downtown Brentwood. This includes Lone Tree Plaza (includes
The Home Depot), which was opened in 2004.
The Streets of Brentwood, an outdoor lifestyle retail center, along Sand Creek Rd opened in 2008. The city broke ground for a new civic center in November 2009. The Mission-style architectural inspiration for City Hall, the main building, was the 1910 Brentwood Hotel. The $60 million project, completed in May 2012, includes the 58,000-square-foot City Hall and state-of-the-art City Council Chambers, a 32,000-square-foot community center, 280-space parking garage and redevelopment of the -acre City Park. The community center also includes arts and crafts rooms as well as studios for dance classes and community exercise programs. The center received a
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver certification for amenities such as green roofs, biosales, permeable paving and infiltration planters. City departments began moving into the new facility in October 2011, and the former city hall was demolished during November 2011. ==Indigenous history==