As stewards of the Fountain at The Circle and Fountain Walk, Friends of the Fountain and Walk is dedicated to preserving these neighborhood landmarks that go back more than a century.
We also recognize that the history we help preserve represents merely a moment of time in the full story of the area now known as Northbrae.
For thousands of years before developers turned the hills of what is now North Berkeley into an exclusive subdivision, the Northbrae area was a central locus of the indigenous Ohlone people, who inhabited villages all around San Francisco Bay. The neighborhood’s stone outcroppings we know as Indian Rock and Mortar Rock were important gathering places and remain sacred spiritual sites to the Ohlone.
Descendants of this community, like the ancient volcanic rocks, remain a steadfast part of the living fabric of Berkeley and the Bay Area. Their story over the millennia has been one of resilience, persistence and preservation. Today, the Ohlone are working to reclaim and renew what was taken from them over the past 250 years of colonization and development: land, history, culture, natural resources and core principles.
In early 2024, a decades-long effort by the Ohlone people and their allies resulted in a decision by the City of Berkeley to purchase the last unbuilt parcel on the site of a sacred shellmound in West Berkeley and return it to the Ohlone’s Sogorea Te Land Trust. This action placed Berkeley among the first cities in the country to return land to indigenous people.
In Northbrae, the proximity of Indian Rock and Mortar Rock, just blocks from the Fountain at The Circle, reminds us of the interrelatedness of all people and things. And of the value of remembering and honoring our collective past, learning from those who came before us, and thanking those who remain a presence today.
Just as we urge that the fountain and walk be treated with respect and care, Friends of the Fountain and Walk asks our community’s same consideration for these ancient and sacred sites intrinsic to Ohlone history and culture.
You can learn more about the history of Indian Rock and Mortar Rock in this in-depth series of articles from Berkeleyside.
https://www.berkeleyside.org/2023/12/06/indian-rock-mortar-rock-berkeley-ohlone-indigenous-history
https://www.berkeleyside.org/2023/12/07/rock-climbing-indian-rock-mortar-rock