Stockton is 175 years old. Here are 5 fun facts about the 'All American City'

The "All American City" celebrated its 175 birthday on Tuesday, July 23.

Stockton is located California's Central Valley and was founded by German immigrant Charles M. Weber. The city was founded in 1849 and officially incorporated on July 23, 1850.

In 1851, it became a charter from the state of California.

Where did Stockton get its name?

Known by several nicknames like "Mudville," "Tuleburg" and "Gas City," the city was named after Commodore Robert F. Stockton.

Stockton was a naval officer born on August 20, 1795, in Princeton, New Jersey, according to Visit Stockton.

At the age of 16, Stockton was appointed as a midshipman in the U.S. Navy and served at sea and ashore during the War of 1812, The Naval History and Heritage Command website states. He resumed active naval service in 1838 as a captain for two years before he took leave for political work, the website states.

He resigned from the Navy in May 1950, following business and political endeavors.

Stockton was the U.S. Senator from New Jersey in 1851 to 1853.

In 1863, Stockton was appointed to command the New Jersey militia when the Confederate Army invaded Pennsylvania, the Naval History and Heritage Command website states.

Stockton died at 71 in his hometown of Princeton where he was born.

Fun facts about Stockton that you may or may not already know about.

First Ghirardelli general store opened in Stockton

Ghirardelli has become synonymous with San Francisco, but did you know the first Ghirardelli general store opened in Stockton before going to the Bay Area.

According to the Ghirardelli website , Italian Domenico Ghirardelli from Rapallo, Italy sailed to America in 1849 after changing his name to Domingo, just two years before. He opened a general store in Stockton where he offered "supplies and confections to miners."

He then opened a second store which would be his first San Francisco establishment on the corner of Broadway and Battery in San Francisco, the website states.

In 2008 the Ghirardelli Chocolate Outlet & Ice Cream Shop opened in Lathrop.

No. 14 Best Places to Live in California

Stockton made it to a new list this year with the U.S. News & World Report ranking Stockton among the best places to live in California on its 2024-2025 report .

It charted No. 14, while Salinas made No. 11, Los Angeles No. 9, Visalia No. 5, and San Francisco No. 1.

"Home to a diverse community of more than 320,000 people, Stockton, California, offers access to everything from Japanese grocery stores to the first Sikh temple in the U.S.," the report stated. "Stockton is surrounded by vineyards and farms that help put local organic produce on dinner tables."

Movies filmed in Stockton

There is a long list of movies filmed in Stockton and San Joaquin County. Paul Newman, Harrison Ford, and a young Marilyn Monroe have starred in movies filmed in the area.

"All the King’s Men" is a drama directed by Robert Rossen. The film stars John Ireland as "Jack Burden," Joanne Dru as "Anne Stanton," John Derek as "Tom Stark" and Mercedes McCambridge's big screen debut as "Sadie Burke."

The film was shot at several different Stockton locations, including the then Hotel Stockton, now Hotel Stockton Apartments, which makes a special appearance when Willie Stark becomes the governor and does his victory speech from the balcony of the hotel at 133 East Weber Avenue, The Record previously reported.

The Record previously reported the now-demolished old San Joaquin County courthouse also appeared in the movie. Stark's last screen moments are filmed at Stockton City Hall at 425 N El Dorado St., where he is assassinated.

"Cool Hand Luke" is a 1967 movie where Paul Newman, who plays Lucas "Luke" Jackson, is a prisoner who continually escapes and is recaptured. The Southern chain gang member refuses to conform .

The movie was directed by Stuart Rosenberg and filmed in the Stockton area, its surroundings, and along the San Joaquin River Delta.

An Oct. 1, 1966, Stockton Record newspaper clip reported the start of the Warner Bros. movie filming in town.

"Filming of the Warner Bros. movie 'Cool Hand Luke' will begin on location just north of Stockton Monday morning... 40 actors from Hollywood will work in the Stockton area five weeks," the newspaper clipping stated.

The 1970 drama comedy film "Strawberry Statement" stars Bruce Davison as "Simon." A film directed by Stuart Hagmannas.

The film is about how a college student joins campus protesters as a way to meet girls, but their causes involve him in a violent confrontation with law enforcement.

“Strawberry Statement was filmed at the Memorial Auditorium downtown. But they used a lot of UOP students as extras,” Mike Wurtz, head of the University of the Pacific Holt-Atherton special collections and archives told The Record in 2023.

"Fat City" is a small film directed by John Huston in 1972. It was filmed in Stockton and dives into the life of two boxers, one who is just getting started and one whose career is going downhill.

Stacy Keach stars as "Tully," Jeff Bridges as "Ernie," and Susan Tyrrell as "Oma."

Nine years ago, The Record reported that Yaqui Lopez’s Fat City Boxing Club is the old stomping grounds of the Fat City characters .

If you have watched " Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark ," directed by Steven Spielberg, and paid close attention, you will notice that the Faye Spanos Concert Hall.

“'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' they were on campus during the winter session in 1981, and George Lucas’s crew, whether or not George Lucas was here, I think not, I don’t know ... but his crew came here ... they shot video of the outside of Knoles Hall and of the conservatory, and that's it,” Wurtz said last years. “You know, I think they had a couple of extras walk around in front of the conservatory. And then, of course, how that manifests itself in the film is about three to five seconds. It's just that one shot of the conservatory.”

The school is known as Marshall College in the film.

In 1997, Flubber a comedy film stars Robin Williams as "Professor Philip Brainard," an absent-minded professor eager to develop an invention that could save Medfield College from closing.

Medfield College is the University of the Pacific Knoles Hall.

“' Flubber ' was filmed on campus. From the best that I can tell, Robin Williams was never on campus either for that,” Wurtz said previusly. “They have a stunt double who rides his motor scooter into a hedge right out here in front of Knoles Hall, but that's it. You know, I don't think Robin Williams was ever on campus.”

In February, the streets of downtown Stockton were buzzing one Monday morning as a new Warner Bros. movie was rumored to be filming at Main and San Joaquin streets, The Record reported then.

Around 10 a.m., people who work in downtown Stockton shared photos and videos of an arrest scene being filmed near the iconic Bob Hope Theatre. Several Stockton Police Department vehicles were spotted next to production crews , The Record reported.

According to the report, actors were also spotted filming at the former San Joaquin County Courthouse downtown.

Online speculation stated that it was Paul Thomas Anderson's latest movie, "BC Project." It is reportedly based on the Thomas Pynchon novel “Vineland,” set in California in 1984.

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn, Regina Hall of "Girls Trip" fame, and singer-songwriter and actress Teyana Taylor.

Read more: Hollywood in Stockton? Here are 6 movies made in our backyard. How many have you seen?

Stockton celebrities

From Hollywood actresses to labor leaders and civil rights activists to former NASA Astronauts. American actress Janet Leigh born Jeanette Helen Morrison, in Merced grew up in Stockton.

According to The Record clips, Leigh left Stockton to become "Hollywood's biggest film stars" in 1946.

Leigh attended the University of the Pacific from the fall of 1943 through the spring of 1946 however she left school for her film career. The University awarded her an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts in May 2004.

Throughout her life the actress returned readily to Stockton to raise money and increase public awareness for everything from the Community Blind Center to the Stockton Arts Commission, The Record reported in 2004.

"She never left us in spirit," said Marian Jacobs then, who met Leigh at Weber Elementary School and was instrumental in arranging many of her visits, The Record reported then.

She died at her Beverly Hills home, leaving close friends in Stockton among millions mourning her passing, The Record reported in 2004.

Labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta just like others was not born in Stockton. While she was born in New Mexico, Huerta like many well-known names in the area was raised in Stockton.

Huerta considers Stockton to be her home and has even returned for birthday celebrations.

“It’s where I got my values, my political identity,” Huerta said during a recent stop in Stockton in 2015 between a day in Sacramento to support the Death with Dignity bill (it passed the California Assembly) and a meeting the next day with members of the Dolores Huerta Foundation.

Huerta was a 25-year-old school teacher in Stockton when she started community organizing in 1955 and it led to moving to Delano where she and Cesar Chavez organized the United Farm Workers and the successful table grape boycott. With Huerta serving as legislative advocate, the union got laws passed to secure benefits for migrant workers such as disability insurance and access to public assistance, The Record previously reported.

In October 2022, Huerta visited the University of the Pacific for a talk with the students.

Former NASA astronaut José M. Hernández was born in French Camp to migrant parents, Salvador Hernández and Julia Hernández from Ticuitaco, Michoacán.

He grew up in San Joaquin County and is one of Stockton's most recognized names.

Hernández served as the mission specialist on the STS-128 mission on the Space Shuttle Discovery 15 years ago on a mission to deliver equipment to the International Space Station.

Last September Amazon Prime released "A Million Miles Away” a movie based on Hernández's life, his dream to reach the stars, and how he did just that.

It highlights his 11 failed attempts to get into the NASA program and how at his 12 attempt, everything changed.

Other Stockton celebrities:

• American mixed martial artist and professional boxer Nate Diaz and brother Nick Diaz
• Greg Bishop, former NFL offensive tackle (New York Giants and the Atlanta Falcons)
• Brandin Cooks, NFL wide receiver (Dallas Cowboys)
• Chris Isaak, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• Brandon Leake, poet and educator, winner of the fifteenth season of America's Got Talent
• Frederick Feary, boxer and U.S. Amateur champion and Olympic bronze medalist in 1932
• Dean Spanos, businessman and owner of San Diego/ Los Angeles Chargers

Stockton owns 3 world records

Did you know that Stockton has three world records?

More than a decade ago, Stockton broke records with the tallest married couple in the world by Guinness World Records, with a combined height of 13 feet and 4.4 inches.

Wayne Hallquist and Laurie Hallquist, who the organization called the "colossal couple," received their award in 2010 during a Guinness World Records announcement at its museum in Hollywood, The Record reported.

The Stockton couple met at a singles gathering hosted by Quail Lakes Baptist Church in Stockton.

San Jose native Joey Chestnut won his eighth asparagus eating title 10 years ago and set a new world record when he ate 12 pounds and 8.75 ounces of deep-fried asparagus at the 2014 Deep-Fried Asparagus Eating Competition in Stockton, The Record reported then.

“All the other eaters know it: When they come to Stockton, it’s my crowd,” Chestnut said in 2011. “They’re here for me, they’re yelling and they were not going to let me slow down. They wanted a record, and I was able to deliver for them.”

In 2013, Matt Thomas cooked California's largest cheeseburge r at 369 pounds at Victory Grill in Stockton. With 36-inch diameter buns made at Genova Bakery.

Record reporter Hannah Workman contributed to this report.

Record reporter Angelaydet Rocha covers community news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at arocha@recordnet.com or on Twitter @ AngelaydetRocha . To support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow .

This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton is 175 years old. Here are 5 fun facts about the 'All American City'