Contra Costa County will continue its effort to rename part of Kirker Pass Road, but only in unincorporated parts of the county and the city of Pittsburg, county officials said Tuesday.
The county’s Board of Supervisors has sought since February to rename the winding road that connects Concord and Pittsburg after local officials learned that James Kirker allegedly killed hundreds of Apache men, women and children in the mid-1800s while working for the state of Chihuahua in Mexico.
That effort recently hit a snag, Supervisor Karen Mitchoff said during the board’s meeting Tuesday, because residents who live along the road within Concord’s city limits opposed having to change their home addresses once the road’s name is changed.
“I did not think there were that many residents whose property affronted Kirker Pass Road,” said Mitchoff, whose district included Clayton, Concord, Pleasant Hill and part of Walnut Creek.
Mitchoff added that she did not initially view the change of address as a significant burden and was “a little irritated” by that reasoning, but has since become more informed.
“It is quite inconvenient,” she said. “It is your driver’s license, it is your medical records, it is your voting records, it is your tax records, it is your property taxes, it’s your children’s school records. And that really would be a burden.”
The county will now seek only to change the name of Kirker Pass Road between the point it exits Concord’s city limits and its junction with Railroad Avenue in the city of Pittsburg, which has expressed an interest in renaming the road.
The city of Clayton has not indicated its support or opposition for the renaming effort, according to the county, but Mitchoff said the county will also abandon Kirker Pass renaming efforts that affect the city.
The roadway does not extend into Clayton, but some properties within the city’s limits do have Kirker Pass Road addresses that would be subject to the potential renaming.
The road is named for James Kirker, who settled in the area of Contra Costa County in 1850 and lived there only until his death in 1852 or 1853. The county officially named the road after Kirker in 1892.
County officials first started considering the name change after Daniel Kelly, a retired San Francisco social worker and a master’s student in Arizona State University’s history program, outlined Kirker’s history as a “homicidal racist.”
After calling on the county to change the road’s name in an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle, Kelly did the same during the board’s Feb. 8 meeting.
After working as a trapper in what was then northern Mexico and is now southern New Mexico, Kelly argued Kirker became a mercenary of the Mexican government, which was seeking to extract copper ore from the area.
When Apaches in the area attempted to prevent the mining effort and could not be beaten in battle, Kelly said the Mexican government issued bounties of “100 pesos for the scalp of an Apache man, 50 for a woman’s and 25 pesos for a child’s scalp.”
According to Kelly, Kirker and others seeking to claim the government’s bounties raided an Apache camp outside the town of Galeana in the state of Chihuahua in June 1846, bludgeoning between 130 and 170 Apache men, women and children and mounting their scalps on poles outside the camp.
An essay penned by local historian William Mero in the archives of the Contra Costa County Historical Society also portrays Kirker as a mercenary in northern Mexico that worked to defend Mexican mining efforts from raiding indigenous groups including Apaches.
Kirker was “accused by his enemies of leading a band of Apache raiders,” according to Mero, but there is no evidence Kirker personally took scalps.
“Kirker organized militias in many of the villages in Chihuahua State against growing Apache attacks,” Mero wrote. “Later James Kirker led a large band of Mexican, American, Delaware and Shawnee warriors. They fought the Apaches who were raiding deeper and deeper into northern Mexico. Kirker’s band was just one of many such mercenary gangs of American and Mexican Apache scalp hunters working for the State of Chihuahua.”
Supervisor John Gioia argued that the short-term inconvenience of the name change is outweighed by the moral imperative to change the name.
“I think we’re doing the right thing,” he said Tuesday. “And all I can say is I would continue to encourage the cities to make the same change and even over any short-term concern that residents or businesses may have because ultimately, name changes occur at streets all the time.”
A new name for Kirker Pass Road has yet to be proposed, Mitchoff said Tuesday, and will likely be finalized once county officials can hold a community meeting with local residents to take feedback.
Some local residents and county planning officials have also suggested extending the name of Ygnacio Valley Road, which becomes Kirker Pass Road at its intersection with Clayton Road, rather than determining an entirely new name.
photo credit: Ray Saint Germain
79 comments
Woke stupidity on steroids.
More useless virtue signaling which does nothing productive. How about spending that time on stuff such as the exploding crime rate, infrastructure, & more?
The number one question though, will this also solve traffic congestion and make everyone forget/remember what has or hasn’t happened in the past? This country is in for a wild ride boys and girls
People stop wasting money dog!!!!!!!kicker pass rd.has been a long named road for yrs.quit!!! Just quit!!! Changing everything that has been around for years GROW UP! LEAVE THINGS ALONE WE HAVE BECOME A CITY OF SPINELESS PEOPLE! QUIT BEING COWARDS!
Oh geez get over the damn Indian crap! Just send em a shipload of liquor and that’ll make em happy.
No. Just, no.
Cultural Marxist zealotry is doing real harm to people today. Look at all the time wasted on this stupid idea. Nobody except a few activist loons cares about the history (especially if it is likely biased heresay) of the Kirker Pass namesake. The only history and opinion that matters is that of the people of Concord who have lived there over the decades. Send the loons back to their Soros hive in Oakland.
In ten years they’ll probably rename it Taco Bell Road or Obama Blvd or whatever is politically expedient after they’ve erased any trace of local history and milked cancel culture for every drop of political currency possible.
Karen “Bring the hammer down on small businesses” Mitchoff likes to downplay Kirker’s significance because he only lived in the area for several years.
What Karen won’t talk about was how Kirker had strong roots in the growing community of Contra Costa and how he was a notable friend to Kit Carson and served in the local government.
Why is Kirker being put on trial decades after his death? If Kirker goes, how long until John Muir and Mark Twain are cancelled too?
The Socialist Democrats are just ignoring the bad news about Muir…
He was a total racist.
Muir made alot of disparaging remarks about Blacks and Indians, it’s a fact.
The Sierra Club made a bunch of apologies about it back in 2020 but everyone was kinda distracted then by the pandemic.
Muir was just too important to persecute so we roll our eyes, whistle a tune & walk away…. BUT NOT ANYMORE!
We now have to change the name of everything named after Muir!
Get busy!
Dr J. You think Muir was bad, do a deep dive of Ghandi.
Ghandi was so racist, he found it an insult to even be associated with Africans. A prominent Indian – from the society that brought us the caste system – was a racist… go figure.
And let’s not start with Lincoln and Einstein.
I can’t find any roads named after Ghandi but if I do I’ll raise hell.
Dr. J,
according to not too reliable wiki, there a 6 in the U.S., and many more around the world.
“I did not think there were that many residents whose property affronted Kirker Pass Road,” said Mitchoff, whose district included Clayton, Concord, Pleasant Hill and part of Walnut Creek.
Mitchoff added that she did not initially view the change of address as a significant burden and was “a little irritated” by that reasoning, but has since become more informed.
Supervisor John Gioia argued that the short-term inconvenience of the name change is outweighed by the moral imperative to change the name.
Why do people keep supporting these imbeciles?
Mitchoff was “a little irritated?”
Those BOS idiots don’t have anything better to do? Kick their f***ing a$$e$ to the curb!
Btw – wasn’t mitchoff the one who was swearing a year or so ago on public access television? Wonder if the FCC did anything ?
By all means, do not irritate Queen of the Karens
Spend all this time and energy to appease a few butthurt liberals. Normal people could care less.
It’s the Democrat way…. anything that reflects badly upon us in history is to be hidden, forgotten, sweep it under the rug… alongside Monica’s blue dress and Hunter’s laptop.
Total waste of time! It’s always going to be known as Kirker Pass. Our leaders don’t have more important issues?
This BS needs to stop.
Her name is Karen that says it all about the woke issue. I wonder if she is even Indian? Why does she care?
These idiots all need to go away. So now all GPS systems in cars will still have it as Kirker pass, how’s that going to work out. There are a lot of things that have to change besides just the name on the street post. Wasted m9ney wasted time to appease so few. There so many other things this time could be spent on. Vote all of them out. It’s time for a house cleaning to get some real people and real ideas in
Just when I thought these people couldn’t get any dumber…..
Our politicians need to worry about crime, homelessness and real issues instead of pandering to the noisy little Karen’s of the world. Your job should be to take care of the community. How will renaming a street help with that? Before Karen had her tantrum, how many people actually knew about Kirker and who really cares today? I don’t!
FDR appointed a known KKK member onto the US Supreme Court, and ordered the internment of Japanese residents during WWII. Has his name been erased from streets and schools? Asking for Doctor Irony.
Just when I thought these people couldn’t get any dumber…..
Stop wasting our tax dollars on this stupid s@#%. Nobody cares about your feelings so get over it and grow up!!!
Fix our roads and clean up our streets. Stop wasting time and money with renaming Kirker.
Keep supporting these clowns.
Of course there is no mention of the hundreds of lives that may have been saved by Kirker’s actions… or don’t Mexican lives matter?
The Apache were an exceptionally cruel people. I will not go into detail about the ways they tortured and killed their enemies but you can do a search & see for yourselves if you have the stomach for it.
Liberals…. they’re such children.
The Apache were known for their brutality, especially towards women and children. They would oftentimes rape the women of other tribes, and leave them disfigured. They would kill young boys, so they wouldn’t grow up to be warriors, and kidnap young girls to take for future wives. Apache is a Zuni word meaning “enemy.” Just about everybody has heard of Geronimo, he was the most ruthless Apache.
Perhaps they should rename it the “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” which become a nightmare as you travel east.
They tore down statues, and now it’s change street and road names. What’s next?
Renaming state capitals, Jefferson City, Jackson, Lincoln, due to some slight or recently unacceptable opinion or thought held by these Presidents, Sacramento, Santa Fe, Providence, etc. for the religious connotations that a small group seem to fight against. Anything to remove/revise history.
America,
The names of U.S. military bases are next.
That is so stupid, a waste of time. The Apache were such fierce warriors that might have been grossly exaggerated. The women and children too–all were trained to be fierce. It is history. We learn by history, some things need to be repeated, some don’t.
Before the Board made a formal proposal, they should have done surveys. Their staff should of found out how many people had “Kirker Pass” addresses. Second, their staff should have done a survey to ask those people their thoughts about the address change! Now this is obvious to everyone here in Claycord. But now after all the time spent on this name change suggestion, finally Mitchoff realizes that having data before making the decision would have been good idea. I am just shaking my head at her quote, “I did not think there were that many residents whose property affronted Kirker Pass Road” !
Go do something important please. This is just a stupid waste of time & money.
.
” Kirker allegedly….”.
.
Where is the proof?
.
Proof is no longer needed .. just some allegation from a Karen is all that is required.
It is no longer innocent till proven guilty, especially if you are a white male. The white male is guilty of all crimes, they just are not charged with them yet. We now instead memorialize people like George Floyd, who served numerous jail terms for drugs, assault and more. People like to say ‘he was not going to drive a car the day he was killed’ but he was sitting in the drivers seat. Sorry, but a reasonable assumption is allowed for people like Floyd, but not for a white male like James Kirker.
As usual, the government, at all levels, demonstrates their absolute out of touch fecklessness. Meanwhile, infrastructure crumbles, crime wildly grows, childrens education crashes, taxes skyrocket….
How can one person start this BS. Oh!, by the way if you plan on driving to the Monterey Bay aquarium the road is blocked because there is a car battery storage area on fire on hiway one. Hazardous waste fire. Very toxic.
My bet is Kirker was a better person than Karen.
+1
Then again, just about everyone is…
Please go to the CCC historical society website and read the essay. It is not long. The name of the essay is Myths, Legends and Facts, the Final Days of James Kirker. The essay these morons are citing as reason to change the name states the following, “There is no historic evidence that Kirker was considered a “bad man” by his contemporaries. Based the history of the area, it is unlikely that the old man’s father ever knew James Kirker. But there is documented evidence from the archives of the Contra Costa County Historical archives that James Kirker was considered to be a law biding, responsible member of the community.” This is how dumb these people are. But just keep voting the same garbage into office and soon there will be nothing left of this county.
How about fixing some potholes instead?
Fix the damn Potholes
Kirker Pass Rd. has been repaved and a needed 3rd. lane added to get quarry trucks over the summit.
It is a pleasure to drive now!
… another stupid idea by those of power that don’t have enough real work to do or is too difficult for them to tackle. Vote term out, more woke and cancel culture alive here
The history buff calls Kirker a “homicidal racist”. The county leaders react to the history buff without talking to the citizens.
Does the below prove that Kirker was a “homicidal racist”?
When Apaches in the area attempted to prevent the mining effort…. So Kirker was under attack.
An essay penned by local historian William Mero in the archives of the Contra Costa County Historical Society also portrays Kirker as a mercenary in northern Mexico that worked to defend Mexican mining efforts from raiding indigenous groups including Apaches…. Kirker Defended mining efforts.
“Later James Kirker led a large band of Mexican, American, Delaware and Shawnee warriors. They fought the Apaches who were raiding deeper and deeper into northern Mexico… Kirker defended mining.
The government of Mexico put out bounties, not Kirker.
Meanwhile CA has the largest homeless population in the US but this is the outrage and focus.
Changing the name won’t change what this person did back in the 1800s so lets put that money towards the now and fix our roads instead.
Right on, “parent” posting!
Gioia needs to move to Berkely as he and Arraquin match-up!
I do not have an address fronting Kirker Pass but I know what it is like when not only when you move but if these kind of idiots are allowed to change names of long term sites it is a burden for families. Have these low information dupes explain to your kids why this taking place! As it is these same low information types are seeking to turn you kids into non-binary and sex less IDs.
It is not just this County but the whole state is a “SANCTUARY STATE”.
Enough with removing history or changing it suit the woke crowd. We are doomed if we destroy history as it is sure to repeat itself.
I am for the residents stop doing this crap. It just goes to show that the officials always pander to those stupid issues instead of doing what is correct and justified for the rest of us who continue to be gouged to pay for their loser issues to stay in office.
Clean house is what I say and we should with the coming up election and everyone thereafter.
The people’s voice is not being heard as it is being droned out by the leftist media.
All my life in Concord I have never know the history of the name Kirker pass road, never card to know and not once in 50 years heard anyone complain. This is just stupid to spend this much time , money and inconvenience to everyone for a few people.
Ridiculous! History does not change and furthermore many tribes killed other tribes. Does that mean they are racists too? How many Natives were killed by the Mexican Army. Wars have been going on since day one. People are too sensitive and these atrocities should not be forgotten and are a painful reminder of our past. But, to change a name does not erase the good and bad the pioneers attempted or committed. We are not the only country that has a history in this regard.
As a women , we were not allowed to vote , work or drive. We rape and murdered, it was considered excitable to beat your wife if she disobeyed. We should also change all streets that have men’s names.
@Hill….You’ve come a long way…..
https://youtu.be/VpgYWcddXpM
OK nytemuvr! That last Asian babe sold me! Where do I sign up?!
Changing the name of the road will not change the history of the 1800’s – this is a ridiculous waste of time and money. Move on
Ok so who will benefit from changing the name of the road? Anybody out there saying, “Whew, finally a name change. This is really going to improve my life!” No? Didn’t think so. It’s the same as changing the names of professional sports teams. Who benefited from that? Probably the teams because they sold thousand more jerseys because fans had to replace their “racist” ones. Probably the manufacturers of those jerseys. Most of which – I assume – are overseas. Maybe a few local companies that make signs or something…. But did it change history? No. Did it improve the lives of anyone? No. Did it accomplish anything at all? NO. Maybe these BOS idiots should consider doing something useful to benefit the county now and in the future instead of wasting time and money on stupid things like this.
“Those who do not learn from the past are bound to repeat it.”
I think it is a ridiculous waste of time money to even consider changing the name. You can’t “sanitize” history and people need to know about the atrocities that went before. While what Kirker did was horrific, it was sanctioned by the government and Kirker was paid for his part in it. It stands in the annals of history as a dark day for mankind … and a constant warning that such policies may be adopted unless we are vigilant to see that they aren’t. It stands not as a tribute to Kirker, but as a warning for the rest of us.
Right?
They can try to change the name to anything they want, I don’t care. It is and always will be Kirker Pass Rd, the Concord High School Minutemen, the Ygnacio Valley High School Warriors, the Washington Redskins, the Washington Bullets, and the Cleveland Indians. Full stop.
Agree. I wonder if the Karens and Kens out there will reject their paychecks. Last time I checked, money has the photos of all those racist white supremacists on the front.
What would be the benefit of having the name changed? There has to be something going on that we are not aware of. What money’s or favor is being done. Something is real fishy. This is not what it seems.
Someone get Mitchoff a trainer and diet plan. I saw her at an opening and her back rolls were hanging off the chair!
Why just a partial name change? Does not make sense. Someone is getting paid for renaming or partially renaming the road.
The answer to statues you don’t like is not to take them down, the answer is to put up more statues, and tell more of the story. As examples, if you don’t like a statue of a Confederate soldier, don’t take it down, put up a statue of a Union soldier, if you don’t like a statue of General Robert E. Lee, don’t take it down, put up a statue of General Ulysses S. “Sam” Grant, and if you don’t like a statue of President Jefferson Davis, don’t take it down, put up a statue of President Abraham Lincoln.
If you don’t like the name of a planet, state, county, city, town, district, mountain, hill, valley, island, park, plaza, lake, river, creek, fountain, highway, ROAD, boulevard, avenue, street, way, court, intersection, subdivision, neighborhood, building, or anything else, the answer is not to rename them, the answer is to name more things around them.
In the case of Kirker Pass Road the name change doesn’t appear to be warranted!!! The people of today need to stop judging the people of the past based on their individual subjective and modern interpretations of ethics, morals, rights, and wrongs, while applying them to people they didn’t know, a time they haven’t lived, and a time and people they don’t understand!!!
For more on this same theme, go to youtube and search for Bill Maher’s recent video on “presentism.”
So Kirker was a bad guy but they are only going to change the name of just part of Kirker Pass Rd. That is very strange. Who is getting what for doing this? We need to look into this. because it is shady.
Why don’t they just rename the entire highway “the mona lisa”. That would satisfy everyone’s concerns.
No way ON DA………….Why does it have to be a white woman?
Well if name does get changed, to avoid confusing people could have new name painted on road surface.
Use some of the left over paint from ‘woke follow the leader’ (black lives matter) street painting, two years ago, in downtown Martinez.
“Moral imperative” in a post-Modern society? Today, everybody is allowed their own truth, but only if one leans left. All others are bigots.
Why don’t we all get together and demand these representatives are removed from office?
An effort to recall Karen Mitchoff from her position as a county supervisor in Contra Costa County, California, was launched on April 30, 2015. The effort was abandoned by a large contingent of backers at the end of May 2015. Maybe it’s time to re-think the recall and get her out!
Black Tie By Night,
Contra Costa County Supervisor Karen Mitchoff is retiring at the end of her term this year, so there’s no need to recall her. The bad news is that she’s more than likely to be replaced by Pleasant Hill City Councilmember Ken Carlson who has always believed he deserves the seat because his grandfather was on the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors in the 1970’s. He’s also well known for saying he’s tired of being labeled as “the first openly gay” Pleasant Hill City Councilmember and Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors candidate, yet he runs as “the first openly gay” Pleasant Hill City Councilmember and Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors candidate.
is that all they have to worry about! so stupid!
So are we going to research and the change the names of Denkinger, Pacheco, Grant, Salvio, etc… presentism.
Don’t forget Ygnacio Valley Rd. It’s namesake hired the guys who killed Dr. John Marsh because Marsh won a lawsuit between them.
Marsh was a real nasty fellow tho and nobody was really crying over his murder… I guess we better rename Marsh Creek Rd. too.
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