
Alamo, which borders Danville’s northern edge, is an unincorporated area of Contra Costa County. It is the second oldest township in Contra Costa County. Alamo was named for the many poplar trees found in the community by Spanish settlers. Alamo had the San Ramon Valley’s first post office in a private home in 1853. For many years it served as the only post office between Martinez and Mission San Jose in Fremont.
Indians were the first inhabitants of the area. During highway construction in the 1960s, Indian artifacts from about 6,000 years ago were found near Stone Valley Road. Several years later, an Indian burial ground that is believed to date back to 300 B.C. was discovered at the intersection of Stone Valley Road and Danville Boulevard.

Alamo, like much of the San Ramon Valley, was mostly a farming and ranching community before the rapid growth in the area beginning with the completion of Interstate 680 in the late 1960′s. During this time, Alamo became more of a wealthy bedroom community for the booming cities of Walnut Creek and Oakland. Because of its rural nature, Alamo contains mostly ½ minimum lots, a unique feature in today’s rapid subdivision development where lots are becoming smaller and smaller. Alamo is a small community, with a population of under 20,000. It is a wealthy community, with a median household income of $169,918, among the highest in the Bay Area.
Alamo has one commercial district at the intersection of Stone Valley Drive and Danville Blvd, where there is a large shopping center with Safeway as the anchor tenant. In the vicinity are several strip malls, office buildings, restaurants, and a Yardbirds/Home Depot Home Improvement store. The Iron Horse Trail, which runs from Pleasanton to Walnut Creek, runs through West Alamo, giving residents a perfect paved path for exercise and recreation. Downtown Walnut Creek, with its office buildings, restaurants, and vibrant Broadway Plaza shopping center is only a couple of exits up I-680 from Alamo.
In terms of schools, Alamo is served by the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, which is highly regarded and considered to contain some of the best schools in the Bay Area.
Housing in Alamo mainly consists of older, ranch style homes on generous lots, and larger custom homes and estates, many with spectacular views of Mt. Diablo and the valley. Home prices are expensive in Alamo, reflecting its pastoral setting, large lot sizes, and exclusive nature.
Alamo remains one of the most sought after addresses in the Bay Area, and the residents of this charming community are fiercely protective of its small town charms and rural setting.