UC Berkeley and Strawberry Creek

Strawberry Creek is both the reason UC Berkeley stands here today and the reason it almost shut down. UC Berkeley began as the College of California, and was located in Oakland. It moved to Berkeley following an extensive search for a land with a water source that would be able to accommodate its expanding campus. A friend of Henry Durant, who lived in the area, suggested developing Strawberry Canyon to allow enough water to flow into the creek to fuel the student body and downtown. The College of California bought and developed land by Strawberry Creek and quickly realized that it would need to secure the land around the creek’s headwaters to ensure the longevity of campus. Without control of the upstream waters, the farmers who lived and operated out of Strawberry Canyon could decide to cut off the creek’s access to the college, so the college began efforts to raise enough money to cover the investment. Unfortunately, at the same time, liberal arts education became less popular than it had been. The college faced bankruptcy and was forced to beg for corporate bailouts from the governor of California. The Strawberry Creek is both the reason UC Berkeley stands here today and the reason it almost shut down. UC Berkeley began as the College of California, and was located in Oakland. It moved to Berkeley following an extensive search for a land with a water source that would be able to accommodate its expanding campus. A friend of Henry Durant, who lived in the area, suggested developing Strawberry Canyon to allow enough water to flow into the creek to fuel the student body and downtown. The College of California bought and developed land by Strawberry Creek and quickly realized that it would need to secure the land around the creek’s headwaters to ensure the longevity of campus. Without control of the upstream waters, the farmers who currently lived and operated out of Strawberry Canyon could decide to cut off the creek’s actress to their college, so the college began to raise enough money to cover the investment. Unfortunately, at the same time, liberal arts education became less popular than it had been. The college faced bankruptcy and was forced to beg for corporate bailouts from the governor of California. The public land grant system provided funding for an agricultural college so the state designated College of California that role and renamed it University of California in 1868.