The area's first inhabitants were indigenous people who settled along Strawberry Creek around 3700 BC. They built one of the largest – and possibly the first – of the 425 shell mounds around San Francisco Bay. Archaeologists estimate that native people lived on or near the West Berkeley Shellmound for 4,500 years, until the Medieval Warm Period. They abandoned the West Berkeley Shellmound around 800 AD. However, where the people went is still a mystery. They may have associated with other mound dwellers or left the area entirely. The extant Ohlone tribe may be their descendants. In 2020, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the Shellmound as one of America's most endangered historic places.