History of San Jose/Santa Clara County thread... (Oakland, Fremont: condos, new house)

[AllenSJC]

I thought it would be interesting to hear some stories and experiences of living in San Jose/Santa Clara County in general, and how it has changed throughout the decades.

Since I actually didn't move to Santa Clara County until the 1990s, I'm particularly interested in what long-time residents of the area have to say.

A good place to start, IMO, is to talk about the area's agricultural heritage. Lots of small farming villages, surrounded by orchards, from what I understand. Who were the initial immigrants who came to Santa Clara County?

[mstnghu2]

Well, I don't go too far back (I'm only 32), but I have lived here my whole life and my parents grew up here as well (Dad his whole life and mom moved here in 1963).

My mom moved into a brand new house in Almaden Valley in 1964 and my grandparents paid $27,000 for the house with every additional custom option. The house is now worth about $900,000 in its original condition (grandparents have never remodeled anything!) My mom says that Almaden Expwy. used to be a two lane country road that would become flooded constantly during the rainy season.

Growing up in Milpitas, I remember the Great Mall being the abandoned Ford factory for years just sitting empty and unused. I remember when most of the neighborhoods south of Milpitas High School were just orchards.

I remember when highways 85 and 87 didn't exist. It would take over 45 minutes to get to my grandparents house in Almaden Valley from Milpitas during non-commute times.

I remember when almost none of the houses existed that are now in southeastern Evergreen today in San Jose. Silver Creek Valley Country Club was acres of empty land. One of my old high school teacher's family owned a farm off Quimby that they eventually sold to developers where Evergreen Valley High School now sits.

I remember when there were still quite a few orchards and fruit stands around the valley where my parents would take my brother and I to buy fruit/berries. For years, we'd get cherries from a stand off Berryessa Rd./I-680.

Those are some things I can think of off-hand. I'm sure there are other longtimers here who have experience from farther back than I do.

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by AllenSJC

Who were the initial immigrants who came to Santa Clara County?

Some of the first white settlers in Santa Clara Valley were members of the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party. This was the first wagon train to cross over the Sierras in 1844 and they barely made it before the snow started falling.

Martin Murphy eventually founded the city of Sunnyvale and Elisha Stephens settled in west San Jose and Stevens Creek is named after him.

Dennis Martin settled in west Menlo Park/Stanford University area. He donated a small piece of land for St. Denis Catholic Church and cemetery which is now occupied by the Stanford Linear Accelerator. He was involved with redwood lumbering in the hills west of Menlo Park.

Moses Schallenberger settled in north San Jose along Coyote Creek. Dr. John Townsend also had a farm in north San Jose (near Milpitas) along Coyote Creek.

James Reed and his family were survivors of the Donner Party (1846-1847) and settled in San Jose. Eliza Donner was a 3 year old when her parents died in the Donner Party, but she eventually ended up living in downtown San Jose, married to someone named Houghton and died in San Jose in the 1930's. William Eddy, also a survivor of the Donner Party, settled in Gilroy.

Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Some of these people are buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in San Jose.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

I grew up in the City / on the Peninsula / in the South Bay (a progression from a starter home, etc).

My South Bay time frame was late 70s and early 80s.

I saw the last of the orchards and can remember when there was no such thing as "De Anza Blvd." It was Sunnyvale-Saratoga Rd all the way down to about Bollinger and Saratoga-Sunnyvale Rd south of that. The part of that road from 280 S was signed Hwy 85 since the West Valley Freeway had not been built yet.

237 was a normal 4 lane street (albeit with only a few intersections and lights) from 101 to Milpitas. The Nimitz Fwy was signed Hwy 17 all the way to The Maze - what is now 580 from the Maze to San Rafael was also still signed Hwy 17. Driving to Oakland you could still see cattle grazing and wheat fields in Southern Alameda County. There was a drag strip in Fremont called Fremont Raceway.

CalTrain had not started yet, it was a privately owned service run by (now defunct - bought out be Santa Fe) Southern Pacific. They used normal freight hauling locos, not the purpose designed ones seen today. Early on there were no double decker cars, they were more the old "Pullman" style.

The Dumbarton Bridge was an earlier steel span with a lift span in the center, the road bed was two lanes, no shoulder. During storms the waves would spray the road.

EPA was no go (supposedly) - nonetheless Whiskey Gulch would sometimes sell to minors (if you dared).

San Jose Municipal Airport had no jet ways, it was all old fashioned walk across the tarmac and climb the stairs.

People only went to Downtown SJ if they had to, unless they were soliciting or otherwise up to no good.

[DMenscha]

My parents moved to Sunnyvale in 1958 when Lockheed opened it's doors.

Lots of orchards back then, including across the street from our house. My first elementary school is no longer and the high school I graduated from didn't exist back then. Mariani had a fruit packing building where Apple now has it's headquarters.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by DMenscha

My parents moved to Sunnyvale in 1958 when Lockheed opened it's doors.

Lots of orchards back then, including across the street from our house. My first elementary school is no longer and the high school I graduated from didn't exist back then. Mariani had a fruit packing building where Apple now has it's headquarters.

Actually the Mariani plant was where there are now densepack condos wedged between 280 and Homestead. Where Apple is now, between 280 and Stevens Creek, used to be the Four Phase Systems campus (which Apple demolished after hazardous waste remediation) and prior to that was an apricot orchard.

[Steven Blomquist]

If you have the time and are interested in hearing the history of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors from the 1960's through today, straight from the supervisors themselves, check out [url=http://www.sccgov.org/sites/ceo/County%20Archives/County-Supervisors-Archives/Pages/default.aspx]The County of Santa Clara - County Supervisors Archive Project[/url]

Learn who spearheaded the construction of Highways 85 and 87, how the County's parks system was created, and much more.