Qualla: Yerba Buena Island

Yerba Buena Island: Introduction

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Awinch1001, CC0. The Bay Bridge threads through the center of Yerba Buena Island via a tunnel that separates the western and eastern spans, and most of the millions of drivers who pass through each year never give the island a second thought. But Yerba Buena has lived more lives than almost any piece of land in the Bay Area. It was an Ohlone fishing village called Tuchayune. It was a refuge for goats during the Gold Rush. It was a Civil War-era fortress, a torpedo station, and a naval training base. Admiral Chester Nimitz died here in 1966. Now it is becoming an 8,000-unit residential neighborhood, the latest chapter in a story that stretches back centuries.

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Image: Awinch1001 | CC0

Yerba Buena Island: The Good Herb Island

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Chris6d, CC BY-SA 4.0. The island's name comes from yerba buena -- literally 'good herb' in Spanish -- referring to Clinopodium douglasii, a native mint-family plant that grew abundantly around the bay. The name first appeared on a 1775 chart by Ayala, though the island was initially labeled 'Isla de A...

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Image: Chris6d | CC BY-SA 4.0

Yerba Buena Island: Military Island

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Photographed by Paul Stokstad, August 2002., Public domain. Fear of Confederate raiders during the Civil War prompted plans for a military post on the island, though it was not completed until the 1870s. An octagonal lighthouse was built in 1875. In 1891, the Army Corps of Engineers constructed a torpedo station -- the 'torpedoes' being f...

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Image: Photographed by Paul Stokstad, August 2002. | Public domain

Yerba Buena Island: From Naval Base to Neighborhood

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Awinch1001, CC0. Treasure Island, built on the shoals of Yerba Buena Island as a WPA project in the 1930s, hosted the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition before the Navy commandeered it for World War II. After the war, the combined Yerba Buena-Treasure Island installation continued as a nav...

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Image: Awinch1001 | CC0