Who Built California’s East Bay Walls?

The East Bay Walls, also known as the Berkeley Mystery Walls, stand as enigmatic structures nestled within the rolling hills surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area of California. These crude walls and rock lines have intrigued historians, archaeologists, and locals alike for over a century, their origins shrouded in mystery and their purpose remaining elusive.

A Tapestry of Stone

The East Bay Walls are not monolithic structures, but rather a collection of stacked stones, meticulously placed without the aid of mortar. These walls vary in height, ranging from a modest foot to a more substantial three feet, and extend for hundreds of miles, reaching as far as Chico and Red Bluff in California.

The width of these walls typically measures around three feet, and they are constructed in sections that vary in length from a few feet to over half a mile. The stones used in their construction are equally diverse, ranging from manageable basketball-sized rocks to massive sandstone boulders weighing a ton or more.

The walls themselves exhibit a variety of forms. Some are built in long, straight lines, while others form angles, rectangular shapes, or circular constructions. Elongated formations of large stones, some stacked and some not, can be found throughout the area. In some sections, the walls are carefully constructed, while in others, they appear to be nothing more than haphazard piles of rocks.

Some sections consist of simple rows of stones, forming lines that are sometimes spaced apart. Over time, some walls have sunk into the earth and become overgrown with vegetation, further obscuring their original form and purpose.

In the Oakland hills, the walls extend inland toward Mt. Diablo, where stone circles of up to 30 feet in diameter can be observed. In other locations, the walls form a 200-foot circle around a large boulder, adding to the mystique surrounding these structures.

A Timeless Enigma

The exact age of the East Bay Walls remains unknown, adding to their allure and mystery. According to historical accounts, the first Spanish settlers in the area, as well as the Ohlone Indians, reported that the walls were already present when they arrived. This suggests that the walls may predate European colonization, making them potentially centuries old.

For over a century, the people of the Bay Area have pondered the origins of these walls, questioning who built them, how old they are, and what purpose they served. Despite numerous theories and investigations, definitive answers have remained elusive.

The walls are too low to have served as defensive structures, and the multiple discontinuous sections suggest that they were not utilized as fences. This has led to a variety of alternative explanations, ranging from the mundane to the fantastical.

Historical Theories and Speculations

In 1904, Dr. John Fryer, a professor of Oriental languages at U.C. Berkeley, proposed that the walls were built by Mongolians, suggesting that the Chinese would naturally wall themselves in, as they do in their towns in China.

In the same year, the San Francisco Chronicle dramatically announced an amazing find unearthed by a University of California chemistry professor named Henry Coffinberry Myers. The article claimed that Myers had discovered "stone age relics" in the Berkeley Hills, including a five-faced stone image from a cave, a prehistoric ax, and two pieces of pottery.

The article went on to say that when Dr. Myers excavated in a cave in a cliff, he found a piece of rhyolite stone that displaced five faces carved upon its five sides, proving that chiseling was done anywhere from 1000 to 10,000 years ago. One face in it some Indian characteristics; the other four are unmistakably Mongolian. Dr. Myers also found a stone ax, a large flat stone table, a fireplace filled with bones, and an earthenware jug.

Theories regarding the building of these walls range from the mundane, such as settlers placing the stones to help guide and corral livestock, to navigational aids utilized by extraterrestrials. Others theorize that the walls were built by a vanished tribe of "superior" Native Americans, by ancient voyagers, or by other Indian tribes for mystical or ceremonial purposes. Some suggest that the Ohlone Indians built the walls; however, the tribe denies this, and they were hunter-gatherers who were not known to have built permanent structures.

What remains unexplained is how some of the very heavy boulders could have been moved for whatever purpose. No written documentation exists to identify when they were built, by whom, or why. The oldest published mention of the "mystery" appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle in March 1896.

Scientific Investigations and Preservation Efforts

Forensic geologist Scott Wolter theorized that the wall is only 200-300 years old based on testing on the limestone rock. Other testing of the lichen on the stones suggests that they were probably built between 1850 and 1880.

Since 2016, archaeologist Jeffrey Fentress has been measuring and mapping the walls, hoping to eventually gain protection from development or other destruction. His work aims to document the extent and nature of the walls, providing a foundation for future research and preservation efforts.

Visiting the East Bay Walls

The East Bay Walls are accessible in several area parks, including Ed R. Levin County Park in Santa Clara County, the Mission Peak Regional Preserve in Alameda County, and many other parks. These parks offer visitors the opportunity to explore the walls firsthand and ponder their origins and purpose.

As visitors wander among these ancient stones, they are invited to contemplate the mysteries of the past and consider the possibilities of who built these walls and why. The East Bay Walls stand as a testament to the enduring power of the unknown, inviting us to question, explore, and appreciate the rich and complex history of the California landscape.

The East Bay Walls remain an enigma, their purpose and origins shrouded in mystery. Whether they were built by ancient voyagers, Native American tribes, or early settlers, these walls stand as a testament to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of those who came before us. As we continue to explore and study these structures, we may one day unravel the secrets they hold and gain a deeper understanding of the history of the San Francisco Bay Area.