A Brief History of The Mission City: 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. 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.

Few remnants of Santa Clara's agricultural past remain as it today sits in the heart of what is known world-wide as Silicon Valley. By harvesting the fruits of high technology, the Mission City has become a prosperous and progressive city with much to offer residents, businesses, and visitors alike.

 

Colors

Santa Clara’s official primary colors are terracotta, deep blue, and stone. The secondary palette includes bay blue, aqua, cypress green, and stucco.

Flag

Santa Clara’s City flag, displayed in Council Chambers, is half white (top half) and half red (bottom half). A stylized version of the ‘City seal’ is in the center of the flag. The words “Santa Clara” are in red lettering in the white field over the top of the seal. The seal is gold in color, with black around the outside and for the drawing of Mission Santa Clara within the seal. The sky in the seal is white, and the grass is green. The words “The Mission City” are in black ink in the grass area of the seal.

The flag was first unveiled and presented to the City in 1967 in honor of the 115th anniversary of the City. The Mayor at that time was Larry Marsalli. There was a brief article on the unveiling in the Santa Clara Journal newspaper, October 18, 1967, with a black and white photograph showing City dignitaries holding the new flag. It is interesting to note that the original flag, as shown in the photograph, had reverse fields of white and red, with the red on the top half and the white on the bottom half, and the words “Santa Clara” in the bottom half. This original flag appearance is described in City Council minutes. It is not known why or when the fields of red and white were switched. Minutes from the October 10, 1967 City Council meeting also state, “As another Special Order of Business and as part of the “City Government Week” activities, Mrs. Ari Kulpa, Local Chairman, presented the new official City Flag to the Mayor and Council for official unveiling.

The official presentation of Santa Clara’s new flag marked “City Government Week” at City Council chambers. Chairman of the event, Airi Kulpa, left, is all smiles with Mayor Larry Marsalli and Councilman William Wilson, Jr., Bill Kiely, Charles Kinnel, Lawrence Fargher and Matt Talia getting behind the city’s flag. Bearing the Mission City seal on a field of red and white, the flag, Santa Clara’s first, will be preserved as a historic artifact, marking 115 years of city government in Santa Clara. ("Santa Clara Journal" newspaper, October 18, 1967) 

Flower

The Peace Rose is Santa Clara’s official flower. It is a yellow color rose with pink edging. The idea to adopt an official City flower was conceived by Mrs. Luke Warburton, member of one of the oldest pioneer families in Santa Clara, and mother of former City Council Member Austen Warburton. The Peace Rose was recommended for selection by the Historical & Landmarks Commission, the Santa Clara Woman’s Club, and the City Parks & Recreation Department. After about one and a half years of work and discussion, the Peace Rose was approved as the official City flower by unanimous Council action on June 19, 1962. This rose has been planted in some City parks and around City buildings

American Settlement
The first American settlers arrived in the Santa Clara Valley in the early 1830s. With the opening of the California Trail in 1844, thousands of American immigrants made the long trek over mountains and plains in search of land and, later, gold. Some of these new immigrants were among those obtaining grants from Mission Santa Clara's lands. They brought a new culture that overwhelmed the Californio way of life. 

Santa Clara Takes Shape
Many American immigrants lived on and around Mission Santa Clara's grounds in the late 1840s. Some paid rent and others just "squatted." In October 1847, Father Suarez del Real of Mission Santa Clara hired William Campbell to survey the lots near the mission complex and draw up a town plat, the beginning of what is now Santa Clara. Each lot was 300 feet square.

Gold Rush & Statehood
Santa Clara experienced many significant changes in the mid 1800s. The war with Mexico ended in 1848 and California became an American possession. A few months later, gold was discovered in Coloma and thousands rushed to California in search of riches. Santa Clara's population decreased dramatically as residents joined the Gold Rush. On September 9, 1850, California entered the Union as the 31st state.

Santa Clara Incorporated
On July 5, 1852, Santa Clara was incorporated as a township with the approval of the California State Legislature. At that time, Santa Clara consisted of about 2,000 acres with a population of approximately 200 people. They lived in a cluster of adobes and simple frame houses that had grown up around the mission and its college. The square shape of the original town is still known as the Old Quad.

 

Valley & Bay Environment

Santa Clara Valley has always been one of the most naturally beautiful regions of the world. Its mild climate and fertile soil created an area rich in the resources needed to sustain life. Once, grasslands and oak groves dotted the valley floor and were home to deer, bear, elk, and antelope. Many small streams, edged by willows and sycamores, wound their way to the San Francisco Bay filled with fish and waterfowl.

The first human inhabitants arrived in Santa Clara Valley about 10,000 years ago. By 800-1100 A.D. these Native Americans evolved into the group of people we call the Ohlone. They lived in tribal communities comprised of one or more villages. Each village consisted of 50 to 100 people living in family houses with the chief living in the largest. The Santa Clara area was a tribal district that contained three large villages.

Ohlone Life

Ohlone homes were made of branches covered with a thatch of tule reeds. The Ohlone people were hunters and gatherers who used bows, snares and traps for hunting and reed boats for fishing. Acorns from abundant oak trees provided their staple food. The acorns and seeds they gathered were stored and cooked in baskets. They traded with other California tribal groups for stone tools and abalone shells.

German Immigration
Unrest in the German states in the 1800s brought a large migration of Germanic people to the United States. Many settled in Santa Clara Valley where they started businesses and became civic leaders. In the 1880s, Santa Clara had two breweries, both owned by German immigrants. Eberhard Tannery, the first manufacturing firm in Santa Clara, grew into a thriving business under the management of its German owner, Jacob Eberhard.

Portuguese Community
Immigrants from Portugal, the Azores and Medeira Islands came to California in the late 1890s. Some first lived in Hawaii where they worked in sugarcane and pineapple fields. Santa Clara had mild weather similar to their homeland and they became successful dairymen and farmers. In 1896, Portuguese immigrants founded the SES Hall as a center for their close-knit community. For many years, their annual parade and festival have attracted large crowds. 

Mexican Culture
Mexico ruled this area from 1822, when it took control from Spain, until the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848. Its culture has always had a significant impact on California life. The open border and the vigorous agriculture business attracted Mexican immigrants to the Valley. By 2002, one out of every 10 residents of Santa Clara was of Mexican descent. 

Asian Influences
Chinese immigrants came to California to help build the railroad and stayed to work first on farms and then in businesses. Japanese immigrants came into the valley to farm. Asian immigrants have continued to flow into Santa Clara to work in technology firms as engineers and skilled workers. In the 2000 census, about one-fourth of all Santa Clara residents were of Asian descent.

Pritchard Court is named for J.L. Pritchard who served as Mayor from 1926-1928 and then again in 1949-1950. Fargher Drive is named in honor of Lawrence Fargher who served as both a Mayor and a City Councilman in the mid-to-late 1960s. Another resident said that Lyle Court is named for Lyle Grigsby who was a surveyor and then Chief Public Works Inspector in the City of Santa Clara Engineering Department during the 1960s and 1970s.

Bracher School is named for Karl E. Bracher who was an early day Santa Clara orchardist. A native of Germany, he came with his parents to Santa Clara in 1885 when he was 8 years old. His family had extensive orchard properties and operated the Bracher Fruit Company. Their ranch home was on Kifer Road.

Buchser High School was named in honor of the Superintendent of Schools, Emil R. Buchser, who headed the school district when the building opened in 1958. His son, Emil R. Buchser Jr. was the first principal of the new high school. At the time Emil Buchser died in 1969, his obituary noted that "all but two of his nine brothers and sisters were teachers or administrators in Santa Clara County Schools as are his two sons".

Haman School was built in 1952 and named in honor of Carl W. Haman, who at the time was chairman of the Board of Education of Santa Clara schools. When he laid the cornerstone of the new elementary school, he was retired from Rosenberg Brothers and he and his wife still lived in the same house they had first moved into in Santa Clara in 1905. When Mr. Haman died in October 1957 he was widely hailed as Santa Clara's "Mr. Education."

Peterson Middle School opened in 1965 and is named in honor of Marian A. Peterson. A native Santa Claran, Mrs. Peterson graduated from San Jose State and taught primary grades for many years in San Jose and Santa Clara schools. Mrs. Peterson retired from teaching after World War II but served more than 10 years as a board member of both the Santa Clara Elementary School and the Santa Clara High School districts in the late 1950s and early 1960s. These school districts unified with the old Jefferson School District and Alviso to form the Santa Clara Unified School District in 1966.

Wilcox High School was built in the early 1960s and was named for Adrian Wilcox who served as a member of the Santa Clara Union High School Board of Trustees for more than 30 years. Mr. Wilcox graduated from Santa Clara High School and the University of California. The pear rancher was a descendant of the Hon. Isaiah A. Wilcox, a pioneer Santa Clara pear, prune and strawberry horticulturist known throughout the State in the 1880s for his "Experimental Gardens."

Wilson High School, now used for Santa Clara Unified School District's Adult Education classes, originally served as an intermediate school when it opened in 1955 and was named in honor of local bakery owner William A. Wilson. The school board noted, in selecting his name for the new school, that he "spearheaded the drive for City swimming pool facilities, which resulted in construction in 1950 of three pools on school premises-a children's pool, a racing pool and a diving pool."

Contact Local History Librarian Mary Hanel at the Central Library, (408) 615-2909, or send her an email if you have other information or stories about the naming of schools or streets in Santa Clara.

Like most cities, Santa Clara has its share of streets named for birds, trees, colleges, U.S. presidents and 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 Avenue: 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 Street: 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 Avenue: Named for a farm family, the Bowers. Herbert A. Bowers purchased a 120 acre farm in 1918 on the El Camino Real. Part of what is now Bowers Avenue in Santa Clara was the eastern boundary of this farm. 

Eberhard Street: Jacob Eberhard was a German immigrant who purchased and enlarged a tannery which for many years was the largest business in Santa Clara.

Enright Avenue: John Enright's family came to Santa Clara Valley with the expedition that included Martin Murphy, a founder of Sunnyvale.

Fatjo Place: Antonio Fatjo came to Santa Clara in the Gold Rush era and established a store and bank here.

Franck Avenue: Frederick Christian Franck was the first Santa Claran to be elected a State Senator.

Halford Avenue: 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 Place: John A. Lovell was Santa Clara Town Marshall for most of the 1890s.

Morse Street: 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 Avenue: 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 (408) 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.

Historic Santa Clara Road is Community Millennium Trail

What historians believe was the "first true road" in California, The Alameda between Santa Clara and San Jose, was designated by the White House Millennium Council as one of the 50 Community Millennium Trails in California.

The Millennium Trails project is a public/private partnership with the goal of connecting every urban and rural community in America through a network of Millennium Trails. The program also seeks to help residents understand and celebrate the history and culture of the region, especially timely as the City of Santa Clara celebrates its Sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary in 2002.

Although El Camino Real is famous for its role as the connection among the mission of Spanish California, the four-mile-long Alameda corridor was considered a superior road to travel and is also historically significant. The Alameda was originally built in 1799 by Father Magin Catala and the neophyte Indians of the Mission Santa Clara de Asis. During the Gold Rush, stagecoaches ran on The Alameda between San Jose and Santa Clara, and in 1862 it became one of the first toll roads - 10 cents for buggies and $1 for stages.

When horse-drawn cars were introduced on a narrow-gauge railroad line in 1868, The Alameda became the West's first interurban horse car line. Another innovation occurred on The Alameda in 1888 when the first electric trolley line in California was added to that stretch of road.

The portion of The Alameda that bisected the Santa Clara University campus was closed to traffic in the 1980s and turned into a pedestrian mall. The remaining portion of The Alameda is still a highly-traveled thoroughfare between Santa Clara and San Jose.

The City of Santa Clara was selected as one of the Millennium Communities in the U.S. in 2000. The recognition of The Alameda as a Millennium Trail continues the City's interest in supporting the Millennium theme of "honoring the past . . . imaging the future." In addition to the White House Millennium Council, the Millennium Trails project is supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Park Service, and the American Hiking Society, among other federal agencies, national organizations and private companies.

St. Clare Statue/Civic Center Park

• 1515 El Camino Real

The Olympics represent the spirit that is our community, our state, and our nation. We are proud to look back through the City of Santa Clara's history and find strong ties to the Olympics Games and the perseverance, honor and good sportsmanship that they embody. The Santa Clara Swim Club, with more athletes inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame than any club in the world, has developed 46 Olympians, 34 of them medalists. They have earned 51 Olympic gold medals, 17 Olympic silver medals and 11 Olympic bronze medals. These Olympians include Mark Spitz, Pablo Morales, Claudia Kolb, Don Schollander, Keena Rothhammer, Tom Wilkens and many more outstanding swimmers. A complete list of our Olympians is found below. Santa Clara is also proud to have played a role in the bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics in the San Francisco Bay area. Our International Swim Center was a proposed Olympic venue for swimming and diving.

The George F. Haines International Swim Center, considered by many to be the ‘crown jewel’ of our city, remains a premier swim meet location. Each year scores of elite athletes from all over the world converge on Santa Clara to participate in world-class competition, often posting record breaking times as swimmers head toward the Olympic Games. 16-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps set a world record here on June 29th, 2003 at the 36th Annual International Invitational Grand Prix Meet, with a time of 1:57.94 in the 200m Individual Medley. Since then, he has gone on to break both Meet Records and American Records at our facility almost every year. The International Swim Center is also the home of the world renowned Santa Clara Aquamaids, the most decorated synchronized swim team in the world. The Aquamaids have produced more than 58% of all the Olympic Synchronized Swimmers representing the USA since it became an Olympic sport back in 1952. In addition, the Santa Clara Diving Club, with its rich history of developing national caliber divers, continues to train athletes at our swim center.

Olympians with Santa Clara Affiliations

Year	Olympian(s)
1928	Margaret Jenkins; Track & Field
1932	Margaret Jenkins; Track & Field
1960	George F. Haines, Head Coach Women’s Team Christine Von Saltza; Swimming Lynn Burke; Swimming Steve Clark; Swimming Paul Hait; Swimming George Harrison; Swimming Anne Warner; Swimming Donna de Varona; Swimming
1964	George Haines, Assistant Men’s Coach Don Schollander; Swimming Sharon Finneran; Swimming Dick Roth; Swimming Gary Illman; Swimming Ed Townsend; Swimming Mike Wall; Swimming Terri Stickles; Swimming Lilian Pokey Watson; Swimming Steve Clark; Swimming Donna de Varona; Swimming Claudia Kolb; Swimming Wayne Anderson; Swimming Judy Reeder; Swimming
1968	George F. Haines, Head Coach Men’s Team Claudia Kolb; Swimming Don Schollander; Swimming Mark Spitz; Swimming Brian Job; Swimming Greg Buckingham; Swimming Mitch Ivey; Swimming Mike Wall; Swimming Linda Gustavson; Swimming Jan Henne; Swimming Jane Swaggarty; Swimming Lynn Vidali; Swimming Pokey Watson; Swimming Cathy Jamison; Swimming Brent Berk; Swimming Ray Rivero; Swimming Suzy Jones; Swimming
1972	George F. Haines, Assistant Women’s Coach Mark Spitz; Swimming John Hencken; Swimming Mitch Ivey; Swimming Tom Bruce; Swimming Keena Rothhammer; Swimming Karen Moe; Swimming Lynn Vidali; Swimming Jenny Bartz; Swimmng Jenny Wylie; Swimming Brian Job; Swimming
1976	George F. Haines, Assistant Men’s Coach John Hencken; Swimming Joe Bottom; Swimming Linda Jezek; Swimming Karen Moe; Swimming
1980	Olympic Team (United States boycott) George F. Haines selected to be Head Coach of both the Men’s and Women’s teams. John Hencken; Swimming  Mike Bottom; Swimming  Linda Jezek; Swimming
1984	George F. Haines, Men’s Assistant Coach Pablo Morales; Swimming Tom Jager; Swimming
1992	Pablo Morales; Swimming Tom Jager; Swimming
1996	Brandi Chastain; Soccer Suzannah Bianco; Synchronized Swimming Becky Dyroen-Lancer; Synchronized Swimming Heather Simmons-Carrasco; Synchronized Swimming Jill Sudduth; Synchronized Swimming Kurt Grote; Swimming
2000	Tom Wilkens; Swimming
2004	Alison Bartosik; Women's Duet Synchronized Swimming, and Synchronized Swimming Team Anna Kozlova; Women's Duet Synchronized Swimming, and Synchronized Swimming Team Tamara Crow; Synchronized Swimming Team Erin Dobratz; Synchronized Swimming Team Sara Lowe; Synchronized Swimming Team Lauren McFall; Synchronized Swimming Team Kendra Zanotto; Synchronized Swimming Team Chris Carver, Coach; Synchronized Swimming Team

 

Tom Wilkens was a Bronze medalist in the 200 Individual Medley at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Tom was also the U.S. Swim Team Co-Captain at those Olympics. Tom was a Santa Clara resident, a graduate of Stanford University in 1998, and a four-year member of the Santa Clara Swim Club when he won his Olympic medal.

Tom was also a 12 time National Swim Champion and a 5 time NCAA Champion. Previously, he won Gold Medals at the Pan Pacific Games and the World University Games.

 

 

 

All these titles can be found at Santa Clara City Library.

"A Place of Promise" - City of Santa Clara 1852-2002

In words and pictures, this book focuses on the town of Santa Clara and the people that shaped it over 150 years. The book’s authors are Lorie Garcia, George Giacomini and Geoffrey Goodfellow. The book is for sale at the Santa Cara Chamber of Commerce, 1850 Warburton Avenue; at City Hall, 1500 Warburton Avenue, at other City facilities; and at the Triton Museum of Art, 1505 Warburton Avenue.

Images of America - Cemeteries of Santa Clara

This book, part of Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series, chronicles the architectural treasures, thoughtful or cryptic verses carved in stone, and monuments found everywhere in Santa Cara cemeteries that resist and challenge the waves of time and change. Santa Clara Mission Cemetery and Mission City Memorial Park were both founded before the City itself. Santa Clara Mission Cemetery was established by the Jesuit fathers along with Santa Clara College in 1851. Many pioneers are interred here, and beneath the Varsi Chapel floor lies what may be the oldest mausoleum in the valley. Mission City Memorial Park, known simply as the graveyard when it was founded in 1850, once doubled as a dump and a refuge for stray farm animals. It is now a beautifully landscaped, 25.5-acre cemetery and City park, memorializing valley residents of the past 150 years. This book was authored by regional historian and preservationist Bea Lichtenstein, and is available for sale at the Triton Museum of Art, 1505 Warburton Ave.

Images of America - Santa Clara 

This book, also part of Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series, details in photographs and captions, the early history of the Town of Santa Clara, town construction and early settlers, the development of business and industry, educational institutions, growth and change that have made the City of Santa Clara what it is today. The book was authored by regional historian and preservationist Bea Lichtenstein, and is available at the Triton Museum of Art, 1505 Warburton Ave. 

Santa Clara Sagas 

Austen Den Warburton (1917-1995), an attorney and history buff, wrote a series of historical articles about families in Santa Clara’s history which appeared in the “Santa Clara American” during the 1970’s and 1980’s. They have been compiled here along with over 90 photographs. Historical essays about the City of Santa Clara, added by editor Mary Jo Ignoffo, complement the family sagas. This book is available for purchase the California History Center in the historic “Le Petit Trianon” building near the Flint Center at De Anza College. 

Telling the Santa Clara Story - Sesquicentennial Voices

Edited by Russell K. Skowronek, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Santa Clara University, this book contains “stories” about yesterday, today, and tomorrow, told by “eyewitnesses” or constructed through a combination of archaeology, documentary and oral history research. The book was published as a cooperative effort by the City of Santa Clara and Santa Clara University in honor of the sesquicentennial celebration of Santa Clara in 2002. The book is available from the Santa Clara University bookstore.

Books on Renovating & Preserving Historic Homes

The new Heritage Home Collection, containing approximately 70 books on historic architecture styles, renovating, decorating, and preserving historic houses, has been added to the Mission Library Family Reading Center. The books, along with issues of Old House Journal, are displayed near the main desk.

Residents interested in the preservation and restoration of historic homes will find this collection useful. To find the titles of these books in the library's online catalog, and search for "heritage home collection." These materials may be borrowed for three weeks by anyone with a Santa Clara City library card.

 

Silicon Valley Power - Proudly serving Santa Clara for 125 years

Download a PDF version of the timeline.

It all began on July 23, 1896, when the creation of a municipal electric utility was authorized by order of the Santa Clara Board of Town Trustees. The Town of Santa Clara went to work creating a lighting plant consisting of forty-six 2,000-candlepower direct current lamps and a small dynamo (or electric generator). At the end of October 1896, the electric utility formally entered into service.

By 1903, the Town was outgrowing its system and invested $5,000 to convert from direct current to alternating current—today's industry standard. This switch led to the abandonment of the small generation plant. Instead, wholesale power was purchased from the United Gas and Electric Company of San Jose and, for the next sixty-two years, the utility purchased all its electric power from privately-owned utilities.

In 1965, Silicon Valley began its launch into the high-tech era. After receiving an allocation of power from the Federal Central Valley Project, the utility began to diversify its resources. The City of Santa Clara became a charter member of the newly formed Northern California Power Agency (NCPA) on June 12, 1968.

Throughout the following years, Santa Clara and the NCPA worked on behalf of several municipal electric utilities in Northern California. Together they gained access to wholesale transmission markets and jointly developed cost-effective electric generation resources to meet the growing demand for electricity.

Things changed once again in 1980 when Santa Clara launched its 6-megawatt (MW), Cogen No. 1 power plant, making it a generating utility for the first time in seventy-three years. In 1983, the 110-megawatt NCPA Geothermal Project entered into service with Santa Clara as a lead partner, holding a 55% participation share. Santa Clara, through NCPA, was among the first municipalities in the United States to own and operate a plant of this nature. Today, the City of Santa Clara's municipal electric utility owns, operates and participates in more than 831 MW of electric generating resources and serves a peak load of approximately 470 MW.

The name Silicon Valley Power (SVP) came into being in March 1998. The name change was in recognition of the vital role the utility plays in serving a growing community of innovation and technology, as SVP powers some of the world's largest world-class high-tech companies.

SVP currently provides over 40 percent of Santa Clara’s electricity from carbon free renewable resources. In addition to using green energy from large-scale wind, solar, geothermal and hydroelectric projects outside of the area, SVP employs innovative ways to locally produce electricity by capturing and burning methane gas from a closed city landfill and using power from solar generating systems on city-owned garages and vacant, unusable land.

With growing demand for clean, efficient, and affordable energy, SVP launched the Santa Clara Green Power Program in 2007 to provide customers the option for using 100 percent renewable energy for their homes and businesses.

In March 2013, SVP became the first electric utility in the U.S. to provide free citywide outdoor Internet access for all inhabitants and visitors. The service was made possible by adding a free, separate public Wi-Fi access channel to the SVP MeterConnect® wireless network that will carry highly encrypted utility data to the utility when advanced meters are installed starting in 2014. In just six months, the SVP MeterConnect network was serving over 6,000 daily Wi-Fi users.

In 2017, SVP divested its ownership in the San Juan Coal Plant and in 2018 delivers 100% clean energy to residents and continues its commitment to renewable energy.

In 2020, SVP launched an electric vehicle public and fleet infrastructure investment. 

In 2021, SVP celebrates its 125th year of services for Santa Clara residents. 

Today, as the City looks toward the future, SVP continually prepares for the new and ever changing competitive electricity market by further streamlining its operation. SVP participates in new technologies such as fiber optic networks, citywide Wi-Fi, advanced metering, digital substation controls, fuel cells, and server virtualization, working to enhance the value our customers receive from municipal ownership of their electric utility.

 

---

 

An electric trolley car passes under an electric arc lamp at the intersection of Franklin and Main streets in Santa Clara. This photograph, taken circa 1900, and has been reproduced from a “penny post card.” (Photograph from the City of Santa Clara historical collection.)

John J. Montgomery (on right), pioneer aviator and member of the Santa Clara College faculty, conducts electric experiments in the school's science laboratory with Fr. Richard Bell, SJ, circa 1903. (Photograph courtesy of archives, Santa Clara University.)