Historical trivia: Milpitas’ history as the constant butt of nationwide jokes

By Eric Shapiro, June 17, 2023, in The Milpitas Beat

The Milpitas Beat last Saturday caught up with Milpitas Historical Society President Bill Hare for a fun, quick chat about our city’s long yet forgotten history as the butt of endless jokes around the nation…

According to Hare, for about a century, a comparable cultural sentiment was in circulation about a “man from Milpitas…” No man in particular, just a general, fictional Milpitas resident…

The Milpitas Historical Society can trace the whole thing back to news articles from the 1860s. According to Hare, “In 1863, there was talk of California maybe leaving the union and becoming a slave state…There was enough Southern sympathy that there was talk of this. So there were various meetings going on [across the state]…”

At one such meeting, a pro-Union group from Milpitas brought in a banner (or, depending upon which accounts you believe, a kerosene wall projection powered by a lantern) that was visible to everyone there. Upon it were the words “As goes Milpitas, so goes the state.”

With a smile, Hare said, “People found this very amusing…” The attitude was, “You think a whole lot of yourself, don’t you, Milpitas?” Hare continued, “The Oakland Tribune was a big factor in this. They loved to make fun of Milpitas.”

Back in the late 1800s, the Oakland Tribune would sometimes run a serious article, then end it with a dose of mockery at Milpitas’ expense.