MINES ROAD BOOKS
TESLA
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CONTENTS
Welcome to Tesla, California! Tesla was once a coal mining town located in Corral Hollow in eastern Alameda County. A view of the town of Tesla in 1898 is shown on the right. John Treadwell opened the Tesla coal mines in 1890 and they became the largest coal producer in California from 1897 to 1905.
Over 1,200 people of many nationalities lived and worked at Tesla. In 1897, John Treadwell named the town for Nikola Tesla, a famous electrical inventor, who was first to harness the use of alternating currents. Treadwell planned to use Tesla's invention to send electricity to Bay Area cities from a coal-burning power plant at Tesla. However, this plan never materialized due to the startup of the Blue Lakes hydroelectric power plant. Instead, Treadwell built the first successful coal briquetting plant in the United States. This plant was located in Stockton and operated from 1901 to 1905. A fire in 1905 destroyed the plant and forced coal mining to shut down at Tesla.
Sand and clay continued to be mined at Tesla. Sand was shipped to the Pacific Window Glass Company in Stockton and made into window panes. Clay was shipped to Carnegie, where it was molded into brick and architectural terra cotta. Sewer pipes, pottery, and figurines were made at the Pottery plant near Tesla.
The Alameda and San Joaquin Railroad was built from Stockton to Tesla in 1895 to ship Tesla products to the Stockton Channel, where they were distributed by rail and barges. The same folks who managed this railroad started the Western Pacific Railroad Company. Led by Walter J. Bartnett and John Treadwell, the coal line was extended to the Oakland waterfront. This was begun in 1902 and completed in 1909. With help from George Gould, this railroad became part of the second transcontinental railroad.
After the mines closed in 1911, Tesla became a ghost town. Eventually, all of the buildings disappeared and it was reduced to a town site, where only cattle grazed. Today, Tesla is part of the Carnegie Vehicular State Recreational Area. The site of Carnegie is currently being used for off-road motorcycling.
The history of Tesla is full of interesting discoveries and significant achievements for California as well as for the nation, as documented in my book. These include:
1. The first commerical coal mine in California
2. The first use of coal in locomotives in California
3. Owned the nation's first successful coal briquette plant
4. The first use of coal briquette in locomotives in the U.S.
5. Owned the first window glass plant in the West
6. Owned the largest manganese mine in California
7. Produced award winning Carnegie brick and terra cotta
8. Started the Western Pacific Railroad Company
9. Brought hundreds of skilled laborers and miners to California
I've spent a good part of my life studying Tesla, its mines, its people, and its industries. The research really never ends. If you or someone you know had ancestors who once lived or worked there, I would be happy to hear from you. See below for additional information about Tesla. Thanks for visiting.
Dan Mosier
Tesla Historian
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Check the list of Teslaites to see if your ancestors lived or worked at Tesla. Gives name, occupation, and year.
Surnames A - C
Surnames D - F
Surnames G - K
Surnames L - M
Surnames N - Q
Surnames R - S
Surnames T - Z
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Carnegie, named for Andrew Carnegie, was located in San Joaquin County,
four miles east of Tesla. It was subsidiary of the Tesla coal mining
operation where fire brick and architectural terra cotta were manufactured
from 1902 to 1912 by the Carnegie Brick and Pottery Company. The clay was
shipped by rail from Tesla, and the finished products were shipped by rail
to Stockton.
The company town consisted of a hotel, school, bakery, saloon, bunkhouses,
and cabins. It had a population of 350 to 400 of mostly Italian immigrants.
There was also a small Chinese section near the Graner Hotel.
Carnegie consisted of a brick plant with several drying sheds and 12 kilns
capable of producing 110,000 brick per day. A well-known landmark was the
317-foot high square brick chimney fed by six kilns.
In 1905, the terra cotta plant was added to produce the ornate terra cotta
trimmings found on many of the buildings still remaining today throughout the
state. Some of the finest examples include the Oakland Hotel, Los Angeles
County Natural History Museum, and the Mercantile Book Concern in San
Francisco.
After Carnegie shut down in 1912, the plants and buildings were razed and
the property eventually became a motorcycle and off-road vehicle park. Today
the site is managed by the Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area.
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Check the list of Carnegie residents to see if your ancestors lived or worked at Carnegie. Gives name, occupation, and year.
Surnames A - Z
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For additional information about Tesla, see the following book:
- History of Tesla, A California Coal Mining Town
- Dan L. Mosier and Earle E. Williams, 1998, soft cover, illustrations, maps, bibliography, appendices, index, 380 p.
List $29.95
Order from:
Mines Road Books
P.O. Box 3185
Fremont, CA 94539
Add $2.00 shipping and postage for one book (U.S. Postal book rate).
Add $0.50 shipping and postage for each additional book.
All orders must be prepaid except institutions.
Please make checks payable to Mines Road Books. (Sorry no credit cards)
Please expect up to 5 weeks for delivery.
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Can't wait? You can find this book at the following locations:
- Livermore History Center, 3rd and K St., Livermore, CA
- Goodenough Books, Railroad Ave., Livermore, CA
- Walden Pond, 3316 Grand Ave., Oakland, CA
- Amador-Livermore Valley History Museum, Main St., Pleasanton, CA
- Borders Books and Music, Pleasanton, CA
- Towne Center Books, Main St., Pleasanton, CA
- Niles Canyon Railway Bookstore, Brightside, Sunol, CA
- Bookland, 265 Lincoln Center, Stockton, CA
- Maxwell's Bookmark, 2103 Pacific Avenue, Stockton, CA
- B. Dalton Books, West Valley Mall, Tracy, CA
- Skip's At Carnegie, 18600 Corral Hollow Rd., Carnegie, CA
- Shinn Historical Park, 1251 Peralta Blvd., Fremont, CA
- Museum of Local History, Anza St., Fremont, CA
- You can also order from your local bookstore,
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Treadwell Family History Page Charles Wall's site gives additional information about John Treadwell and related families.
The Western Pacific Lives Here! Frank Brehm's site provides historical information on the Western Pacific Railroad, which had its beginnings at Tesla.
Nikola Tesla Page, Tesla Coils Bill Beaty's site provides information and web links on Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), foremost electrical inventor.
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