El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe (The Town of Saint Joseph of Guadalupe) was founded by José Joaquín Moraga on November 29, 1777, the first pueblo-town not associated with a mission or a military post (presidio) in upper Las Californias. (Mission Santa Clara, the closest mission, was founded earlier in 1777, three miles from the original pueblo site in neighboring Santa Clara. Mission San José was not founded until 1797, about 20 miles north of San Jose in what is now Fremont.) The town was founded by the colonists led to California by de Anza, as a farming community to provide food for the presidios of San Francisco and Monterey. In 1778, the pueblo had a population of 68. In 1797, the pueblo was moved from its original location, near the present-day intersection of Guadalupe Parkway and Taylor Street, to a location in what is now Downtown San Jose, surrounding Pueblo Plaza (now Plaza de César Chávez).
In the ensuing years a number of Mexican Rancho Land Grants Land Grants were confirmed within the lands now considered San Jose.
Alum Rock was named after a rock formerly thought to be composed of alum in Alum Rock Park. The park, founded in 1872, was the first municipal park in the U.S. state of California. Located in a valley in the Diablo Range foothills on the east side of San Jose, the 720 acre park offers 13 miles of trails, varying from fairly level along Penitencia Creek to sharp switchbacks climbing to the ridges to the South Rim Trail and the North Rim Trail.
If you would like to write an article about Alum Rock History to please email neighbor(at)alumrockvillage.org
Once a separate town, for nearly two centuries Alum Rock was a farming community which produced a significant amount of fruits and vegetables until the 1960s. Prunes, grapes, and apricots were some of the major crops. In the 19th & 20th century because Santa Clara Valley was filled with beautiful fruits and vegetables it was nickednamed The Valley of Heart's Delight.
During the 1940s and 1950s, developers began building residential housing and formed the community of Alum Rock. During that time, Alum Rock Avenue and a passenger railroad passed through the town on the way to Alum Rock Park.
If you would like to write an article about Alum Rock History to please email neighbor(at)alumrockvillage.org
