James Stevenson Publisher's Bookstore

“As one of the oldest cities in the state, Benicia’s story begins much earlier than the date we officially became California’s third city, on May 19, 1847.... Benicia boomed during the Gold Rush era as spectators and adventurers were drawn to the area, creating a lusty port village that Dr. Edward Ely considered...the fairest city of the Pacific Territory.”

“Historians consider Dillon’s Great Expectations the definitive work on Benicia and the immediate area. From the indigenous peoples, to the earliest explorers and pioneers, to the military leaders, statesmen, politicians and educators, indeed, this work is a window into a proud history….”

Benicia Mayor Steve Messina, July 2002

The most famous of the military assigned to the Benicia Arsenal was a young Lieutenant named Ulysses S. Grant.