Marty de Laveaga Stewart at a reception for the Orinda Chamber of Commerce at the de Laveaga residence in 2008 Photo Andy Scheck

"These are images of Orinda when there were very few buildings," says Connie de Laveaga Stoops as she describes newly discovered photographs taken by her grandfather, Orinda pioneer E.I. de Laveaga. Stoops' sister Marty recently found the box of approximately forty glass negatives taken by their grandfather in the early 1900's at the de Laveaga estate in Orinda where they both reside.

Stoops had the negatives developed at a photo lab in Berkeley, and she and her siblings, Marty and brothers David and Peter, were excited to find several images of early Orinda, five or six photos taken of San Francisco following the fire after the 1906 earthquake, and five photographs of the de Laveaga family. The glass negatives were each housed in tattered brown sleeves labeled in E.I. de Laveaga's own script with some descriptive information and the year.

There will be a PowerPoint presentation of the photographs by Connie de Laveaga Stoops at the Orinda Community Church on Wednesday March 10th at 7:00 p.m. The presentation is free and the public is invited to attend.

There are few landmarks to orient the photographs of early Orinda, explains Stoops. "There are some power poles, and there is a beautiful orchard. We are hoping that we can really pinpoint where the photos were taken in Orinda," she adds. Stoops and members of the Orinda Historical Society believe that there may be some longtime residents of Orinda's north side who will recognize some of the views portrayed in the photographs and be able to help identify the locations.

New Images of Old Orinda Newly discovered photographs taken by Orinda

pioneer E.I. de Laveaga from post-earthquake San Francisco and Orinda, 1906-1909 will be presented by Connie de Laveaga Stoops and the Orinda Historical Society on Wednesday, March 10th at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of the Orinda Community Church.

The event is free and open to the public.