Pinole (Spanish for "cornmeal") is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States.

[8] In 1823, Ygnacio Martínez, commandant of the Presidio of San Francisco, received a land grant of Rancho El Pinole from the Mexican government.

During the 1850s, Bernardo Fernandez, a Portuguese immigrant, started a trading facility on the shores of San Pablo Bay.

He built Fernandez Mansion, a historic building that still stands today at the end of Tennent Avenue.

The settlement's growth was stimulated by construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1878 and the establishment of the California Powder Works in nearby Hercules.

[9] During the post-World War II boom, Pinole and the surrounding area grew rapidly.

Construction of Interstate 80 in 1958 stimulated developers to build new housing to satisfy demand, and the town evolved as a suburban bedroom community within the San Francisco/Oakland commuter belt.

The city's development agency is working to preserve this historic area as a tourist and community destination.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.6 square miles (35 km2).

The city of Pinole has habitat areas that support the endangered species Santa Cruz Tarweed on the California coastal prairie ecosystem.

A colony of this rare plant was discovered during preparation of an Environmental Impact Report for a proposed shopping center on the east side of I-80 in the late 1980s.

Subsequently, a plan was developed by the city to conduct replanting of this tarweed on the slopes within the right-of-way of Interstate Highway 80.