This history of the neighborhood plays a vital part in the identity of its residents. If you have lived in the neighborhood for many years, the neighborhood history is a heartfelt reminder of days gone by. If you have just come to call the neighborhood home, it is a way to learn more about the new community you have joined. We would love nothing more than to be able to share the history of neighborhood name with all who reside there. If you are interested in writing a brief history of the neighborhood to share with the community, please contact me! |
- A Brief History of Santa Clara (courtesy of the City of Santa Clara)In 1769, Jose Francisco Ortega, scouting for the Portola-Serra party, became the first European to visit the fertile valley that later became known as the Santa Clara Valley. The area was inhabited by Indians who were named Los Costanos (the coast people) by the Spanish, and later were called the Ohlone. Spain began colonizing California by establishing a string of 21 churches, called missions, that eventually stretched 600 miles along the California Coast from San Diego to Sonoma. The Franciscan padres (priests) selected the fertile valley discovered by Ortega to establish the eighth mission, Mission Santa Clara, named for Saint Clare. The mission was founded January 12, 1777.
In 1821, the Mexicans achieved independence from Spain, but the change of rulers created no changes in the way the missions operated. The Ohlone were still brought to the mission for compulsory baptism and conversion to Christianity. Records show that by December, 1828, there had been 8,279 baptisms, 2,376 marriages, and 6,408 deaths at Mission Santa Clara.
In 1836, control of Mission Santa Clara was taken from the padres and turned over to civil commissioners who were supposed to oversee the 'return of the land to the native population.' This did not happen and squatters took over the church buildings and land. Disorder and decay set in and by 1839, there were only 300 Indians remaining in the vicinity of Mission Santa Clara. About this time, the Mexican governor began issuing land grants to various favored people. The land was used for vast ranchos (ranches); large numbers of cattle were raised and roamed at will over the land. Hides and tallow from the livestock eventually comprised the first commercial export product and industry in the area.
By the 1840's, the American frontier had expanded to California and new settlers began arriving in the area. The raising of the American flag over Monterey in July of 1846 was a symbol of the fact that the lands of California had passed from the hands of Mexico to the United States. California became a state in 1850.
When promises of great wealth failed to materialize during the Gold Rush of 1849, many of the gold seekers turned to the 'gold' that was the fertile land of the Santa Clara Valley and began to settle in Santa Clara.
In the 1850's the hamlet of Santa Clara began to take shape as a recognizable small town. The town site was surveyed by William Campbell into lots one hundred yards square, and one lot was given to each citizen with the understanding that he was to build a house on it within three months or lose the property. A schoolhouse and a church were built, several hotels erected, mercantile businesses established, and 23 houses were imported from Boston to be set up in the town.
In 1851, Santa Clara College was established on the old mission site and became a prominent feature of the developing town. Santa Clara incorporated as a town on July 5, 1852, and became a state-chartered city in 1862. By this time the city encompassed an area two miles long and one and a half miles wide. Outside city limits, small family farms and orchards developed and thrived in testimony of the area's fertile soil and mild climate.
As the town grew, it was supported by a variety of manufacturing, seed, and fruit industries. One of the earliest manufacturing businesses in Santa Clara was Wampach Tannery, established in 1849. In 1866, the business was taken over by Jacob Eberhard. Eberhard Tannery provided employment for the area for many years until torn down in 1953. Its fine leather products were sent to the Eastern U.S. states as well as Europe.
Another major employer was Pacific Manufacturing Company. Established in 1874, it became the largest wood products supplier on the Pacific Coast. It supplied quality lumber, mill work, sashes and doors, and moldings as well as coffins and caskets. The business closed in 1960.
The immediate vicinity around Santa Clara became famous for its acre-upon-acre of flower and vegetable seed farms. J. M. Kimberlin and Co. was the first seed company to establish in Santa Clara in 1875, and it eventually became the largest seed grower on the Pacific Coast.
C. C. Morse and Company seed farms started in the seed growing business after Kimberlin and grew to be the largest seed producer in the world. At harvest time, the company employed 500 people. Morse's main warehouse was located in Santa Clara near the railroad station.
The abundant fruit crop Santa Clara orchards produced was either shipped fresh, dried, or canned. Levi A. Gould, a Santa Clara orchardist, shipped the state's first carload of fresh fruit east in 1869, shortly after the transcontinental railroad was completed. A. Block Fruit Packing Company, established in 1878 on Gould's orchard land, became renown for the pears and cherries it packed and shipped to the east coast.
Pratt-Low Preserving Company, established in 1905, sent canned apricots, pears, peaches, cherries, and plums to all parts of the United States, England, and the Orient. During harvest season, 300 to 400 women and men were employed in the handling, sorting and canning process.
The California Cured Fruit Association was formed in 1900 to handle distribution of the dried fruit. In 1901, the Association built a large dried fruit warehouse near Santa Clara's railroad station. The Cured Fruit Association disbanded in 1903. In 1916, Rosenberg Brothers took over the warehouse for its dried prune and apricot operation.
As the 19th century came to a close, more and more people arrived seeking the mild climate and job opportunities of the Santa Clara area. By 1906, the population of the city had grown to nearly 5,000. The population remained fairly stable and did not increase greatly until after World War II when the city outgrew its 19th century boundaries and expanded to open lands north and west of the original city limits. The farms and orchards began to accommodate the burgeoning population.
A new product, the semiconductor chip, was developed in the 1950's. The resulting electronics industry, based on the silicon chip, gobbled up the remaining orchard land and changed the agricultural nature of Santa Clara and Santa Clara Valley forever. By 1990, the city covered 19.3 square miles and had a population of more than 93,000.
- Santa Clara Street Names Reflect its History (courtesy of City of Santa Clara)Like most cities, Santa Clara has its share of streets named for birds, trees, colleges, U.S. presidentsand other prominent Americans. However, Santa Clara can also boast of many street names that directly reflect on the City's history, memorializing its pioneers, elected officials, and other once prominent residents.
Following are some of the street names that commemorate people from the City's past:
Mayors: Santa Clara has several streets named for former mayors including Barcells Avenue, Concannon Court, Gillmor Street, Kiely
Boulevard, Kohner Court, Rebeiro Avenue, Talia Avenue, and Viso Court.
Developers: Some of Santa Clara's streets are named for the developers who built subdivisions and industrial parks in Santa Clara. These include Bohannon Drive, Di Guilio Avenue (plus Di Guilio named Avila Street for his daughter), and Pasetta Drive.
Priests: A number of Santa Clara's streets are named for the priests who were connected either to Mission Santa Clara or the early days of Santa Clara University. These include Catala Court, De La Pena Avenue, Murguia Street, Nobili Avenue, and Viader Court. Los Padres Boulevard itself includes the Spanish word for priests.
Historians: Arbuckle Court and Rambo Court are named for Clyde Arbuckle and Ralph Rambo who both wrote may articles and books about Santa Clara Valley history.
Santa Clara is especially rich in streets named in honor of 19th century pioneers. These include:
Arguello Place: Luis Arguello was the first Mexican governor of California. His son Don Jose Ramon Arguello built one of the finest mansions in early Santa Clara.
Arques Ave.: Nellie Arques was one of Martin Murphy Jr.'s daughters. A founder of Sunnyvale, Murphy deeded Nellie a large plot of land in Santa Clara.
Bellomy St.: George Washington Bellomy established the first tannery in Santa Clara and operated a saloon here in the gold rush era. His wife was a Bernal family member.
Block Drive: Abram Block was a prominent grower, packer and shipper of green fruit.
Bowers Ave.: J.L. Bowers was a Santa Clara pear and prune orchardist who patented a method of preserving French prunes and was a trustee of the Town's Jefferson Elementary School District.
Eberhard St.: Jacob Eberhard was a German immigrant who purchased and enlarged a tannery which for many years was the largest business in Santa Clara.
Enright Ave.: John Enright's family came to Santa Clara Valley with the expedition that included Martin Murphy, a founder of Sunnyvale.
Fatjo Pl.: Antonio Fatjo came to Santa Clara in the Gold Rush era and established a store and bank here.
Franck Ave.: Frederick Christian Franck was the first Santa Claran to be elected a State Senator.
Halford Ave.: The Halford family built a house near El Camino and Lawrence in the 1880s. Although the family moved to San Jose after the 1906 earthquake, the house in Santa Clara remained until it was torn down to make way for a gas station in 1957.
Lawrence Expwy.: Alfred Chester Lawrence, a cabinet maker who came to California during the Gold Rush, placed a squatter's claim to land just west of old Santa Clara. He became a farmer, helped lay out Lawrence Road and became station agent when a railroad station was built near his property.
Lovell Pl.: John A. Lovell was Santa Clara Town Marshall for most of the 1890s.
Morse St.: C.C. Morse was founder of Ferry-Morse Seed Company and a pioneer in the state's seed industry.
Montague Expwy.: W.W. Montague was a rancher and a San Francisco postmaster who also manufactured coal and wood-burning stoves.
Pomeroy Ave.: Irwin Pomeroy was an orchardist who worked for the consolidation of the Town's Milikin School with its Jefferson School District.
Roll Street: The Roll family, early Santa Clara settlers, ran a prominent laundry business and various members of the family were elected Town Trustees or City Councilmen.
Roth Pl.: Henry Roth served as both a Town Trustee and as editor of the Town newspaper, the Santa Clara News in the 1910s.
Scott Blvd.: Henry Scott was a Danish-born cattleman who homesteaded in Santa Clara.
Woodhams Road Named After City Pioneers
If you are turning right onto Homestead Avenue as you leave the Central Library, the first cross street you come to is Kiely Boulevard. After you cross Kiely, the next cross street off Homestead is Woodhams Road, which extends from Homestead south until it ends at Stevens Creek Boulevard. This street bears the surname of a prominent pioneer family that was attracted to San Francisco and then Santa Clara during the Gold Rush. Joseph Woodhams was born in England, October 23, 1803. In 1827, he emigrated and settled in New York. One of his sons, Alfred Roe Woodhams was born in New York May 30, 1832. In 1843, Joseph Woodhams, a millwright, ventured to Chile, South America, to become manager of the flouring mills of Burdon & Co. The rest of his family, including Alfred, joined him in Chile in 1844. In December 1848, having caught gold rush fever, 17 year-old Alfred left Chile for the goldfields of California, landing in San Francisco in 1849. Among other places, he worked in the mines near Hawkins' Bar on the Tuolomne River. By 1850, his father Joseph and the rest of the family immigrated to California, arriving in Santa Clara in the fall. Joseph set to work farming, and by 1852 had begun erecting a flourmill. The products of the mill were sold throughout Santa Clara Valley. In late 1850, Alfred joined his family in Santa Clara on their farm, which was 'located on the Homestead Road, in the Milliken District.' Joseph died at age 84 on July 1, 1887. Alfred became the proprietor of the family property, 'Roble Alto Farm,' which grew to include 143 acres bounded by what is now the intersection of Homestead Road and Lawrence Expressway. Alfred became quite prominent in business and civic affairs. By 1900, his name and picture show up in the papers of the Santa Clara County Pioneer Society, an organization in which he served as the first Vice President.
If any residents have information on streets named for their family or know interesting details about street names in their neighborhood, local history Librarian Mary Hanel would like to hear the stories. Call her at the Central Library at 615-2909. Additional background about street names throughout Santa Clara Valley is contained in two books available at the library, Signposts and Signposts II, both of which were written by former San Jose Mercury News reporter Pat Loomis.
