Crockett

For most of its existence, Crockett was a company town. California and Hawaiian Sugar Company employed nearly the entire city before World War II began. C&H Sugar, as it’s better known, is responsible for much of the town’s infrastructure and, under a deal with the city that allowed the company to build a processing plant on the banks of the Carquinez Strait, C&H still funds the Crockett Fire and Police Departments. Although significantly reduced by globalization, the company factory still lights Crockett up at night with its 24-hour production, and its classic Americana oval blue label with the pink hibiscus flower is standard on lists of sponsors on flyers and posters for Crockett community events.

Downtown Crockett has the charm of an old-timey Bay Area town. To stand at the corner of Pomona Street and 2nd Avenue is to get a feel for what northern California used to be all over and what it still is in places like Crockett. The streets rise toward the 800-foot mountains of Crockett Hills Regional Park, and the storefronts are mostly the same as they were almost a century ago. To the north, the steel-covered Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge spans across the dark blue water toward Vallejo. The streets outside of town are hilly and sometimes foggy and cool from the breeze coming off the frigid northern waters.

Crockett is 30 miles from San Francisco via Interstate 80, which runs through Crocket and continues into Vallejo, and it’s best to factor an hour into your drive if you’re heading that way. This distance makes Crockett affordable, and homes start at $550,000 and go up to well over $1 million. For under $600,000, you’ll find two-bedroom clapboard Victorians with scalloped siding and ornamental cornices looking out over hills much like those in San Francisco, but for a fraction of the price. For under $800,000, you’ll find sprawling Monterey homes with four bedrooms, clay-tiled roofs and sliding glass doors looking past a balcony out at cirrus clouds scraping the bridge.

According to Eater Magazine, one of the East Bay’s 38 Essential Restaurants is a mile from Downtown Crockett on the other side of the several hundred acres of wilderness of the Bull Valley Staging Area. Live music happens on weekends. Artisanal cocktails and a locally sourced seasonal traditional American menu make Bull Valley Roadhouse a favorite of local critics. The San Francisco Gate recommends the Spicy Coppa Italian sandwich at Lucia’s Craft Sandwich in Downtown Crockett. You can always walk it off along the stunning 2,100 acres of Crockett Hills Regional Park, home to a 4.5-mile section of the Bay Area Ridge Trail. There’s a local market nearby and a Trader Joe’s, a Sprouts Organic and a Safeway 5 miles south in Hercules.

Crockett is in the John Swett Unified School District, which received an overall B-minus grade on the school rankings website Niche. Rodeo Hills Elementary School is in Rodeo, which is the next town over. Happily for Crockett residents with children, Carquinez Middle School and John Swett High School are both in the center of Downtown Crockett, a short walk from many residences. Carquinez Middle received a B-minus from Niche. John Swett High received a B-plus for its overall performance and college preparatory programs. Scholars in this 400-student school have the option of doing a gifted and talented track or taking Advanced Placement courses to get a head start on their college studies.
While San Francisco might be far, it's still only a little more than the average American commute. For many, the beauty, peace and relative affordability of Crockett offset its distance from the nearby urban centers. And if you find employment at C&H, you can walk to work.

Written By

Abbot Street

Photography Contributed By

Teal Mandzik

Video By

Taylor Gilbert