Port Chicago was a town on the southern banks of Suisun Bay, in Contra Costa County, California.

[2] In 1931, as the Great Depression worsened, Walter Van Winkle, a business leader, proposed and succeeded in getting the name of the town changed from Bay Point to Port Chicago (after the Illinois city).

Munitions detonated while being loaded onto a cargo vessel bound for the Pacific Theater of Operations, killing 320 sailors and civilians and injuring 390 others.

[5] In 1968, all property was bought and buildings demolished by the federal government to form a safety zone around the adjacent Concord Naval Weapons Station loading docks.

The Port Chicago Highway, a route from the city of Concord through the site of the former town, still exists in Contra Costa County.