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How the city of Riverbank got its name

While many cities may find themselves along the river, only one city in the whole country is called Riverbank.

RIVERBANK, Calif. — Despite being founded along the Stanislaus River, Riverbank wasn't actually the community's first choice on its list of possible names. 

With the Santa Fe Railroad needing a name for the location, "Wilbur" was the original first-round pick, but it didn't stick.

"Fortunately or unfortunately, there was actually a town… that Santa Fe served that was named Wilbur on their line, so then the area became known as Riverbank,” Rich Holmer, Vice President of the Riverbank Historical Society, said.

While Riverbank became a city back in 1922, the history of the area dates back to around the Civil War. With no road or bridges around the area at the time, a man named Major James Burney made a ferry that took people across San Joaquin County and into Stanislaus County.

Burney founded a small community called Burneyville that would eventually become part of Riverbank's origins. Despite the role that the ferry and Burney had in Riverbank's history, Holmer said they weren't the main factors behind Riverbank's name and growth.

“What really triggered the name and the growth of Riverbank was the Santa Fe Railroad," Holmer said. "It had nothing to do with Burneyville or Major Burney or the Burneyville Ferry.”

After the railroad came through in the 1900s, it brought with it machine shops, road houses, and water towers. By the 40s and 50s, the train would even be bringing in major Country Western singers like Merle Haggard to perform at the local clubhouse, drawing in people from Modesto and other nearby areas for the shows.

Interestingly, even though many cities are near rivers of their own, Riverbank holds the distinction of being the only city named "Riverbank" in the country.

“One thing that’s sort of interesting is there’s a lot of cities built on rivers throughout the United States and… there is no other 'Riverbank' in the United States other than right here,” Holmer said.

The only other places nearby with the Riverbank name are in Canada, where the country has communities in New Brunswick and Ontario.

Why did people come to Riverbank

By around 1915, Riverbank had around 400 to 600 people, but, today, that population is nearly 30,000. 

The railroad was one of two major reasons that people came to Riverbank, because it helped the city act as a central hub for Stanislaus, San Joaquin, and Merced Counties.

However, Holmer added that the other reason people came was due to the town's cannery. He said around 1,500 to 2,000 people were employed there by 1921.

When it comes to the city's recent growth, Holmer, who also served as city manager for Riverbank from 1995 to 2011, cited lower housing costs in the area and the city eventually becoming a hub for businesses. 

In nearby cities like Oakdale, a major store like a Super K-Mart was a draw for people in the area. Those kinds of retailers were even draws to people in Riverbank who were looking for shopping opportunities. 

“One of the councilmembers [in 1995] said, ‘I can’t even buy underwear in Riverbank,’” Holmer recalled .

When Galaxy Theaters came to Riverbank, Holmer said it provided the only cinema service in a 10 mile radius to thousands of people. Other developments like Target, Kohl's, and other major retailers also gave new shopping opportunities for people in Riverbank and for the people in nearby towns that didn't have them. 

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