Unattended Death and Biohazard Cleanup in Rodeo, CA

Rodeo is an unincorporated census-designated place in Contra Costa County, on the eastern shore of San Pablo Bay in the East Bay, about 25 miles northeast of San Francisco.

Rodeo takes its name from the cattle roundups, or rodeos, of the late 19th century, when herds from the surrounding hills were driven through the old town to a loading dock on San Pablo Bay for shipment to slaughterhouses.

Rodeo's development was driven by brothers John and Patrick Tormey, who bought Rancho El Pinole land in 1865 and 1867 and, with the Union Stockyard Company in 1890, tried to make the area the meatpacking and canning center of the Pacific Coast.

A large oil refinery built in 1896 stands adjacent to Rodeo at Oleum and is currently operated by Phillips 66.

Rodeo was devastated by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which wrecked much of the young town.

Rodeo had a population of 9,653 at the 2020 census, up from 8,679 at the 2010 census, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Rodeo has about 3,015 households averaging 2.97 persons per household, and the median value of an owner-occupied home there is about $663,200, according to Census Bureau QuickFacts.

Rodeo is the hometown of Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt; Armstrong attended Hillcrest Elementary School in Rodeo and recorded his first song there at age five.

Rodeo was also the hometown of Lefty Gomez, the Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher who starred for the New York Yankees from 1930 to 1943.

Rodeo lost its railroad passenger stop in the 1950s, and the community is served today by the Rodeo Library, part of the Contra Costa County Library system.