The lingering question regarding the origins of the funds used to construct veterans' halls across the county has been resolved. The source of these funds is significant in delineating their permissible usage and the subsequent properties in which they were invested.
Our pursuit of information led us to readily available resources indicating that a special tax played a pivotal role. The following two references provided insights:
"Counties were authorized by the U.S. and California State government to raise funds through a temporary sales tax to build Veteran Memorials. In 1922 the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors voted to approve this building program county-wide." (Joanne Rubio, El Cerrito Historical Society, January 2014)
"Following the end of World War I, government bodies and veterans’ groups across the nation began erecting memorials dedicated to those who served and to those who lost their lives. Using a federal initiative that authorized counties to raise funds through a temporary sales tax increase, Contra Costa County’s Board of Supervisors voted in 1922 to construct a memorial in every town that had an American Legion Post. Each hall would nominally be in the custody of the American Legion, but they were also to be made open to all veterans’ organizations." (Kimberly Butt AIA, Interactive Resource Inc., Historic Resources Evaluation, Memorial Hall, Crockett, CA May 2, 2012)
However, these references failed to specify the precise details of the Board of Supervisors' approval of the tax and its intended purpose. Delving into historical newspaper articles, we unearthed a reference to the tax's approval during the County Board of Supervisors meeting on March 20, 1922, as documented in the March 24, 1922, issue of the Byron Times.
"MONEY in the sum of $150,500 was voted last week by the Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County to provide memorial buildings in this county as memorials to our brave soldier lads.
According to American Legion officials, Contra Costa County is the first community in the United States to extend financial aid to the Legion for the purpose of constructing memorial buildings in honor of the dead soldiers of the World War. As a result of a final request presented by a delegation of American Legion officials from various posts of the organization throughout the country before the Board of Supervisors the board voted to include in the county budget a levy of 2 mills on the dollar to provide funds for the construction of American Legion memorial buildings.
As the result of the tax measure $150,500 will be raised in Contra Costa County, and distributed as follows to the posts of the Legion for memorial buildings in the various towns of the county: Richmond, $48,484; Crockett and Danville, $30,342; Martinez, $17,240; Walnut Creek, $14,382; Pittsburg, $16,869, and Antioch and Brentwood,
$29,192.
The delegation of American Legion members who called upon the Supervisors to urge the adoption of the taxation plan for raising memorial building funds included Ray Spencer of Walnut Creek, chairman of the American Legion county council; Rev. Carl Little of the Richmond Post and T. M. Carlson, commander of the Richmond Post.
Following are the County Supervisors who are proud of the honor of this splendid county that always leads -never follows: Zeb Knott of Richmond, J. P. Casy of Port Costa, C. H. Hayden of Martinez, W. J. Buchanan of Pittsburg and R, J. Trembath of Antioch." (Byron Times, March 24, 1922, page 1)
In our determination to uncover more, a visit to the County Clerk's office yielded the minutes from the March 20th, 1922 Board of Supervisors meeting.
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors Meeting Monday, March 20th, 1922.
In the Matter of Application of Members of American Legion for levy of tax for building of Memorial halls.
A delegation from American Legion Posts of Contra Costa County appears before the Board at this time, and certain members of said Committee, to wit: Ray Spencer. L. E. Mehaffey and T. M. Carlson address the Board on behalf of levying a tax for the purpose of building memorial Halls in Contra Costa County for use of American Legion Posts and ex-servicemen, as provided for in Section 404lf of the Political Code of the State of California.
After hearing argument of the respective parties, upon motion of Supervisor Knott, seconded by Supervisor Casey. It is by the Board Resolved that it is the intention of the Board of Supervisors at the proper time for levying taxes to levy a special tax of $.002 on each $1.00 of assessed valuation of all taxable property of the County of Contra Costa; said tax to be in addition to all other taxes provided for, and the fund so created to be expended for the purposes set forth in Section 4041f of the Political Code of the State of California.
The foregoing order is passed by the unanimous vote of the Board.
(Contra Costa County, Supervisor's Records Volume 23, covering January 15, 1922 to November 19, 1923, page 30)
As we continue our journey to piece together the historical puzzle, our next endeavor involves tracing down Section 404 1f (or 404 lf) of the Political Code of the State of California in 1922. This crucial step will shed further light on the specifics of the tax authorization and its intended usage during that significant period.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Roger Bonte, Bill Weber, and Don Hester for their invaluable contributions in unearthing these essential documents and the help from the Veterans Memorial Building of San Ramon Valley. Their dedication has paved the way for a clearer understanding of the origins and purpose behind the Veterans Halls' funding.
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