Pictured: The camel barn is part of the old Benicia Arsenal. In 1855 then Secretary of War Jefferson Davis implemented the camel corps, an idea that had been suggested as early as 1836. Partially due to the outbreak of the Civil War, the program was abandoned in 1863 and the camels were brought to the Benicia Arsenal to be housed and auctioned off.
Raymond William Stacey Burr (1917 - 1993), the famous actor who portrayed "Perry Mason" and "Ironsides" on television, moved to Vallejo with his mother from his native British Columbia in 1923 when he was six years old. Raymond continued to live in Vallejo until he moved to Hollywood to begin his acting career. Photo courtesy of Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum.