Trevarno, California
Encyclopedia
Trevarno, California is a section of Livermore
, Alameda County
, California
, built by a Cornish
company, based in Trevarno
, near Helston
, manufacturing safety fuse
s. It is between First Street and the railroad. It lies at an elevation of 535 feet (163 m).
Officials of Coast Manufacturing and Supply Company in Livermore named the area after George Bickford's home in Cornwall
. The company made safety fuses invented by William Bickford, George's father.
Trevarno is Cornish
and means "farm/settlement of Varno." For more information, see Cornish surnames
.
Coast Manufacturing build its own street and constructed a two-story brick building for its headquarters with 13 homes for its officers. Most of them were modest bungalow-style Craftsman houses, but one - occupied the company's president - is a larger Mission Revival home which still stands at the corner of First Street and Trevarno Road. It was reported to be the largest home in the Livermore Vally when it was built. In 1976, the houses were sold to a local developer, renamed Trevarno Estates, and resold to individual homeowners.
"The firm of Bickford, Smith and Davey expanded to the US in 1832-39 with the firm Bacon, Bickford, Bales and Company. In 1839 Joseph Toy was sent to expand the market further.
Toy’s son-in-law, in 1867, expanded the business further by starting another company, Coast Manufacturing and Supply Company, which much later in 1913-1914 moved its operations to Livermore, California
. Here the company built houses for its workforce and named them Trevarno Road after the [home of the] creator of the safety fuse.
In 1968 the coast company (now manufacturing fibreglass products) merged with the Hexcel Corporation. The fuse business was sold to Apache Powder Company in Benson, Arizona
and the houses on Trevarno Road were sold."
-- From "There is a Trevarno in California", www.trevarno.co.uk
Livermore, California
Livermore is a city in Alameda County. The population as of 2010 was 80,968. Livermore is located on the eastern edge of California's San Francisco Bay Area....
, Alameda County
Alameda County, California
Alameda County is a county in the U.S. state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,510,271, making it the 7th most populous county in the state...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, built by a Cornish
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
company, based in Trevarno
Trevarno, Cornwall
Trevarno is a country estate in south-west, Cornwall, United Kingdom , once the seat of the Bickford-Smith family. It is situated near the village of Crowntown, two miles north-east of Helston....
, near Helston
Helston
Helston is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately 12 miles east of Penzance and nine miles southwest of Falmouth. Helston is the most southerly town in the UK and is around further south than...
, manufacturing safety fuse
Safety fuse
The safety fuse is a type of fuse invented and patented by William Bickford in 1831. Originally it consisted of a "tube" of gunpowder surrounded by a water-proofed varnished jute "rope". It replaced earlier and less reliable methods of igniting gunpowder blasting charges which had caused many...
s. It is between First Street and the railroad. It lies at an elevation of 535 feet (163 m).
Officials of Coast Manufacturing and Supply Company in Livermore named the area after George Bickford's home in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. The company made safety fuses invented by William Bickford, George's father.
Trevarno is Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
and means "farm/settlement of Varno." For more information, see Cornish surnames
Cornish surnames
Cornish surnames are surnames used by Cornish people and often derived from the Cornish language. Such surnames for the common people emerged in the Middle Ages, although the nobility probably had surnames much earlier on. Not until the later Middle Ages did it become necessary for a common man to...
.
Coast Manufacturing build its own street and constructed a two-story brick building for its headquarters with 13 homes for its officers. Most of them were modest bungalow-style Craftsman houses, but one - occupied the company's president - is a larger Mission Revival home which still stands at the corner of First Street and Trevarno Road. It was reported to be the largest home in the Livermore Vally when it was built. In 1976, the houses were sold to a local developer, renamed Trevarno Estates, and resold to individual homeowners.
"The firm of Bickford, Smith and Davey expanded to the US in 1832-39 with the firm Bacon, Bickford, Bales and Company. In 1839 Joseph Toy was sent to expand the market further.
Toy’s son-in-law, in 1867, expanded the business further by starting another company, Coast Manufacturing and Supply Company, which much later in 1913-1914 moved its operations to Livermore, California
Livermore, California
Livermore is a city in Alameda County. The population as of 2010 was 80,968. Livermore is located on the eastern edge of California's San Francisco Bay Area....
. Here the company built houses for its workforce and named them Trevarno Road after the [home of the] creator of the safety fuse.
In 1968 the coast company (now manufacturing fibreglass products) merged with the Hexcel Corporation. The fuse business was sold to Apache Powder Company in Benson, Arizona
Benson, Arizona
-Transportation:Benson Airport is located 3 miles north west of the city.Benson is served by Interstate 10 to the north, which travels directly to downtown Tucson....
and the houses on Trevarno Road were sold."
-- From "There is a Trevarno in California", www.trevarno.co.uk