Walnut Creek, was first known as "The Corners," where two roads leading from Pacheco and Lafayette met.
This Corner is now known as the Mt. Diablo Boulevard and North Main Street intersection. The first
settler of the area was William Slusher, who built a dwelling on the bank of Walnut Creek, which
was then known as "Nuts Creek" in 1849. Today, Walnut Creek has been routed underneath downtown
through a series of tunnels starting at the southwest end of Macy's and ending just southwest of
The Cantina Restaurant. Slusher's dwelling was built in the area of modern-day Liberty Bell Plaza.
Milo Hough of Lafayette built the hotel named "Walnut Creek House" in the corners in 1855.
A blacksmith shop and a store sprouted up, and a year later, Hiram Penniman (who built Shadelands Ranch
laid out the town site and realigned today's Main Street.
The downtown street patterns laid out by pioneer Homer Shuey in 1871-1872 are still present today.
Much controversy had erupted over the tunnels. The tunnels were originally kept secret from the public.
It wasn't discovered until a few students who attended high school in Concord, CA compared different
maps. The older versions had the Walnut Creek running differently underneath the city.
The Walnut Creek was rerouted in the 1970s by the US Navy. Many believe that the Navy used this
secret tunnel to traffic nuclear weapons from Lawrence Livermore Labs to the Naval Weapons Depot in
Concord.
The Walnut Creek was rerouted in the 1970s by the US Navy. Many believe that the Navy used this
secret tunnel to traffic nuclear weapons from Lawrence Livermore Labs to the Naval Weapons Depot in
Concord.
