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by Glenn Allen Ditman (Author), The Riverbank Historical Society (Author)
In the 1850s, the Riverbank area was little more than a ferry site along the Stanislaus River. A small town grew up there until the Union Pacific Railroad built a line farther east, causing the first attempt at settlement to soon die out. In 1895, however, the Santa Fe Railway crossed the river close to the original site of the ferry, and the town of Riverbank was born. Riverbank's history is a study in change. Its various influences--from the railway and agriculture to its Army ammunitions plant to its days as a country-western music mecca--earned it the motto "The City of Action." It has been built by different cultures, including Irish and German immigrants and modern-day Hispanic arrivals. Its founders, movers, and shakers are as diverse, rich, and interesting as its colorful past.