Crockett California Selby Smelting Lead Works 1915 Postcard Posted

Posted in 1915, this California industrial postcard depicts the Selby Smelting and Lead Company works near Crockett along the Carquinez Strait waterfront.

Heavy industry transformed portions of the northern San Francisco Bay shoreline during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with smelting operations becoming closely tied to mining output from California, Nevada, and the broader American West. The Selby complex developed into one of the region’s major metallurgical facilities, processing lead and related industrial materials through an extensive waterfront plant connected to shipping and rail infrastructure. Long timber piers, smokestacks, ore-handling structures, storage buildings, and clustered industrial sheds dominate the shoreline landscape in a composition that emphasizes both the scale and logistical complexity of early Bay Area manufacturing.

The postcard features a divided-back format with a Selby June 11, 1915 postmark and a red two-cent George Washington stamp at upper right. Printed caption text identifies the site as a section of the Selby Smelting and Lead Company works near Crockett, California, while the image preserves substantial detail across the industrial waterfront, including elevated trestles, processing buildings, and hillside worker housing visible in the background. The handwritten correspondence adds additional period context tied to local travel and communication.

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