West Berkeley Shellmound facts for kids

The West Berkeley Shellmound is a very old and important place in West Berkeley, California. It's where some of the first people in the San Francisco Bay Area lived. A shellmound is like a big pile of shells, tools, and other things left by people long ago. This one was used for burials and special ceremonies. It also held special objects.

For a few years, plans to build new buildings on the site were stopped. This was thanks to the City of Berkeley and local Native American groups. A leader named Corrina Gould was very active. However, a court decided in April 2021 that the delays were not allowed. The court also said there was no proof of an old building that would be harmed. This meant the building project could go forward.

A Look Back in Time

The shellmound is on the land of the Chochenyo people. They are part of the Ohlone people, who are Native Americans. Scientists used carbon dating to find out how old the shellmound is. They found that people started adding to it around 3,700 B.C.E. People kept adding to it from a village nearby until about 800 C.E.

After that, the village moved to a different spot. But the mound was still used for special ceremonies. It was also a burial site. The parts of the mound that were above ground were very large. They were said to be 300 feet long and 30 feet high. Between 1853 and 1910, settlers removed these parts. They used the materials to build roads and for other business.

Today, there are no parts of the old village left. But a parking lot at 1900 Fourth Street is inside the special landmark area. There was a plan to turn this parking lot into a park and a memorial. In 2000, the Berkeley City Council made this three-block area an historic landmark. In September 2020, a group called "The National Trust for Historic Preservation" named it. They said it was one of the 11 "most endangered historic places" in the United States.

During construction at 1919 Fourth Street, two sets of ancient human remains were found. These remains were just outside the known shellmound area. This discovery has led to calls to change the shellmound's official boundaries.

Protecting the Site

A company wanted to build a large apartment complex. It would have 260 apartments, with 130 of them for low-income families. The City of Berkeley delayed this project from 2018 to 2021. This was partly because of local activists. These included Corrina Gould, a leader from the Lisjan Ohlone people. Groups like the Coalition to Save the West Berkeley Shellmound also helped.

On April 20, 2021, a court made an important decision. After many years of looking into the site, the court said there was "no evidence" that the Shellmound was still there as a building. They also said there were no parts left that looked like a building. So, the court decided that the building project would not damage an existing structure. Even though some people said the parking lot was a burial place, there was no proof of this.

The City of Berkeley and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan asked the California Supreme Court to review this decision. But only one judge, not the four needed, thought the case should be looked at again. So, the earlier court decision, which allowed the building to go ahead, became the law.