The Smith brothers, William and Joseph, founded Smith’s Landing in December 1849.  Smith’s Landing was eventually renamed Antioch and it became a significant gateway settlement, maintaining regular trade in surplus produce and hay with San Francisco.  From its early beginnings, Antioch has been a place of successful commercial activity.  Trade with San Francisco was established early and the discovery of mineral resources including coal in the hills south of Antioch (1859) and copper ore (1863) added to the city’s importance as an early industrial center.

In the early 1900s, beaches and bootlegging were important aspects of Antioch’s early identity and ties to the Delta.  In 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the manufacturing, sale and distribution of liquor.  Italians and other groups who had a tradition of winemaking built stills in their basements and barns and began producing and distributing illicit alcoholic beverages throughout the Delta.