Orinda Historical Society

Orinda Historical Society Membership-based, non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve the history of Orinda.

Our local Daughters of the American Revolution chapter has put up a bicentennial china display here at the Orinda Histor...
06/13/2026

Our local Daughters of the American Revolution chapter has put up a bicentennial china display here at the Orinda Historical Society. Come check it out!

Our lovely paver at the Joaquin Moraga Adobe - the oldest house in Orinda AND Contra Costa County.
04/14/2026

Our lovely paver at the Joaquin Moraga Adobe - the oldest house in Orinda AND Contra Costa County.

The Orinda Historical Society is pleased to share the following news: The Moraga Adobe is now open for public tours!Loca...
02/25/2026

The Orinda Historical Society is pleased to share the following news: The Moraga Adobe is now open for public tours!

Located at 60 Adobe Lane in Orinda, the museum houses a fascinating variety of antiques dating back to the 1800s.

Orinda's backyard is home to a rich history tied to the Spanish explorers of the late 18th century. Joaquin Moraga, the grandson of a prominent Spanish military officer Joseph Joaquin Moraga, received a 13,000-acre land grant in 1835 from the Mexican government comprising parts of Lamorinda. In 1841, Moraga built an adobe house in South Orinda and resided there with his family.

In 1954 the Moraga Adobe was admitted as a State of California Landmark #509. Today, the Moraga Adobe is a museum and is now open to the public. Tours are required to visit.

Book a tour at Moraga Adobe today at Moraga Adobe Website: https://moragaadobe.org/

Tours are filling up so reserve one today!

Did you know that the Orinda Historical Society has a number of old newspapers available to review? Check out the list a...
01/10/2026

Did you know that the Orinda Historical Society has a number of old newspapers available to review? Check out the list above!

What stands here today at the crossroads is BevMo!, but 50 years ago it was Black’s, a popular grocery and imports store...
01/10/2026

What stands here today at the crossroads is BevMo!, but 50 years ago it was Black’s, a popular grocery and imports store that later closed in 1991

Information update from Alison Burns:As President of the Orinda Historical Society, I am very happy to give you an updat...
01/02/2026

Information update from Alison Burns:

As President of the Orinda Historical Society, I am very happy to give you an update on OHS.

Yes, we're only open to the public on Saturdays, from 11am to 1pm, due to staffing issues, but we answer queries pretty quickly. So.....

CALL us at 925 254 1353 — leave a message if we're not in, but if we're in we'll pick up (and we ARE in, very often, there's so much to do behind the scenes)!

EMAIL us: [email protected]

Or take a look at our WEBSITE: orindahistory.org

VISIT the OHS Museum on Saturdays from 11am-1pm where we're happy to show you around.

Or find us on INSTAGRAM - it's a fun and very informative site! Look at all those gingerbread houses in our ever-changing museum windows. We are listed as orindahistoricalsociety .

But best of all.... you can do a lot of OHS research from the comfort of your own home. Thanks to our wonderful tech-minded volunteers, a lot of our documents, photographs, even some of our oral histories, have been digitized, and we continue to add to this treasure trove as time and funds permit. So take a look at our website and click on "view our archives".

Our Board Members work hard for the Orinda community and I'm extremely proud to be able to call on such enthusiastic, knowledgeable and willing volunteers to assist Orindans with their local history.

ORINDAHISTORY.ORG
Orinda Historical Society

Come see the gingerbread houses from the Orinda Tabor Sister City Foundation’s Gingerbread Contest!
12/06/2025

Come see the gingerbread houses from the Orinda Tabor Sister City Foundation’s Gingerbread Contest!

View of the Orinda Theater 1941 vs Today. Due to construction of the BART station in the mid 70’s, the point where the o...
11/15/2025

View of the Orinda Theater 1941 vs Today. Due to construction of the BART station in the mid 70’s, the point where the original photo was taken is no longer accessible.

Where do you think this Spanish tile was found?A) The Moraga Adobe, as it was reminiscent from the 1940’s renovation B) ...
09/27/2025

Where do you think this Spanish tile was found?
A) The Moraga Adobe, as it was reminiscent from the 1940’s renovation
B) The Wagner Ranch nature area, where the Wagner house used to stand
C) In a creek behind the DeLaveaga house
D) In San Pablo Creek

In 1950 the soft sedimentary rock by highway 24 on the way to the Caldecott Tunnel collapsed. Here are two photos, one f...
09/27/2025

In 1950 the soft sedimentary rock by highway 24 on the way to the Caldecott Tunnel collapsed. Here are two photos, one from right after, and one today.

(Taken from satellite on Apple Maps)

Address

26 Orinda Way, Room 106
Orinda, CA
94563

Opening Hours

11am - 1pm

Telephone

+19252541353

Website

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