Washington Township Museum of Local History

Tri-City History (A-Z) in Photographs

A monthly column in the Tri-City Voice

Starting in 2024, the Tri-City History column will start going through the alphabet, with historical photos on a shared theme for each letter.

Have a topic or idea you’d like us to explore? Email us at info@museumoflocalhistory.org.

S: Swiss

No. 19: July 29, 2025: Swiss

Swiss: (noun) one of Swiss descent.

All photos courtesy of the Washington Township Museum of Local History

Swiss dairymen from Albertsen’s Dairy at Mowry Station, 1931. (Newark)
Damen Schwingest (Ladies Wrestling) at Newark Pavilion, 1934. (Newark)
The Swiss Bauhofer family moved to Centerville in 1927 to operate the Innes-Cloverdale Dairy on the Chadbourne Ranch (now the Fremont Hub Shopping Center). In 1938, the family opened Cloverdale Creamery on Main Street (Fremont Blvd.). The beloved location closed in 2001. Pictured here is Joe Bauhofer Jr. with one of the creamery trucks. (Centerville)
Exterior views of Swiss Park Hall entrance (top) and Swiss Park Bar and Grill, plus flower shop (bottom), 1993. (Newark)
Clipping from the Newark Register—detailing the opening of Swiss Hall, 1935. (Newark)

T: Towns

No. 20: August 26, 2025: Towns (Part 1)

Town: (noun) a compactly settled area usually larger than a village but smaller than a city.

Alvarado. Centerville. Decoto. Irvington.

Today we know them as districts, sections or areas of our larger cities—Fremont, Newark and Union City—but they were once individual towns. Independent of each other in many respects, the towns and the people who inhabited them also came together as one place, known as Washington Township. Now commonly referred to as the Tri-City Area, the southern portion of the East Bay, and the lowest geographic section of Alameda County, these eight towns still have much history left standing.

Stay tuned in September for the second half of this column.

All photos courtesy of the Washington Township Museum of Local History

Alvarado (now part of Union City), 1936.
Centerville (now part of Fremont), 1937.
Decoto (now part of Union City), 1940.
Irvington (now part of Fremont), 1950.

No. 21: September 30, 2025: Towns (Part 2)

Newark, 1956
Niles (now part of Fremont), 1946
Mission San Jose (now part of Fremont), 1950
Warm Springs (now part of Fremont), 1955

No. 22: November 4, 2025: Union

All photos courtesy of the Washington Township Museum of Local History

South Pacific Coast Railroad Depot at Drawbridge (Fremont). The South Pacific Coast Railroad was acquired by the Southern Pacific Railroad, which later merged with the Union Pacific Corporation. Today, the Capitol Corridor rail train runs daily past the old Drawbridge site.
Flood at Union Street at Five Corners, Irvington (Fremont). Mass flooding of Alameda Creek (the largest stream in the county) was a common occurrence before the establishment of the Alameda County Flood Control District (1949) and the flood control channel, which was built in the 1960s.
Union High School, No. 2 – Centerville (Fremont). Union High School, which was also known as Washington Union High School, and now simply as Washington High School, opened in 1891 and remains part of the Fremont Unified School District today.
Union Sanitary District survey party, near Coyote Hills (Fremont). The Union Sanitary District was founded in 1918 and continues to serve the residents of Fremont, Newark and Union City to this day.

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Fremont, CA 94539