History

Computer History

Liza Loop showing me the first Apple computer that Wozniak personally gave to her. Yes, it is just a PC board, no case, but it still works when hooked up to a power supply, keyboard, and a monitor. It was kept in Milpitas for many years until the Sobrato Center kicked out the little museum. This photo was taken in Milpitas.

Apple II History
This project began as a description of how the Apple II evolved into a IIGS, and some of the standards that emerged along the way. It has grown into a history of Apple Computer, with an emphasis on the place of the Apple II in that history. By Steven Weyhrich.

Atari Games Museum
The following pictures were taken in May of 2003, when Midway decided to close their Milpitas facility. The Milpitas facility was the old ‘Atari Games’ building. I was able to get some pictures, before everything was moved out of the building.

Chief Yahoos: David Filo and Jerry Yang
“Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can postpone to the day after.” This parody of the old proverb could very well be the motto of Yahoo! Inc. co-founders David Filo and Jerry Yang. By following such a philosophy of procrastination, they not only created the world’s most popular (and most profitable) World Wide Web search engine; they also made themselves multimillionaires in the process. Well, sort of.

Computer History Museum
Timeline of computing history, browse by topic, or send them information about computing history. Located in Mt. View.

Don Hoefler
The journalist credited with coining the phrase: “Silicon Valley.”

Folklore
Andy Hertzfeld’s book in blog format. Read about the origins of Apple and the Macintosh computer.

GoMilpitas Way Back
This site has archived my home page and some internal pages since 1999. If you’d like to see news headlines and such, take a look here.

Apple I replica creation: back to the garage
By Tom Owad. A Google book preview.

History of Computing Industrial Era 1976 – 1979
The Third Generation of computers starts approximately in this era. These computers are characterized by mainly electronic models but now fully programmable. From The History of Computing Foundation.

Homebrew Computer Club
That summer in 1975 at the Homebrew Club the Intel 8080 formed the center of the universe. The Altair was built around the 8080 and its early popularity spawned a cottage industry of small companies that either made machines that would run programs written for the Altair or made attachments that would plug into the various kinds of micro computers. Be sure to check out the early newsletters.

History of IBM Watson Media
In 1890 the U.S. Census Bureau knew its traditional methods of counting would not be adequate for measuring the population, so it sponsored a contest to find a more efficient means of tabulating census data.

COBOL programming through the years! Open Mainframe Project Q2 webinar
A timeline that begins in 1885 with short articles about this history of this business machine company.

An Illustrated History of Computers
The first computers were people! That is, electronic computers (and the earlier mechanical computers) were given this name because they performed the work that had previously been assigned to people. By John Kopplin.

Intel Museum
So you have “Intel Inside.” What exactly DO you have inside your computer?

The Jargon Dictionary
A comprehensive compendium of hacker slang illuminating many aspects of hackish tradition, folklore, and humor. This file, jargon.txt, was maintained on MIT-AI for many years, before being published by Guy Steele and others as the Hacker’s Dictionary. Many years after the original book went out of print, Eric Raymond picked it up, updated it and republished it as the New Hacker’s Dictionary.

Lawrence Livermore Labs History
The single event that triggered the establishment of Lawrence Livermore was detonation of the first Russian atomic bomb in 1949.

Lo*op Center
Once located in the Sobrato Center in Milpitas, under the direction of Liza Loop, documents, artifacts, and stories were preserved to tell the history of educational computing.

National Semiconductor History 1959 1960’s
National Semiconductor started by making silicon mesa transistors for industrial and military uses. The company grew quickly after 1967 under CEO Charlie Sporck and new management, moving headquarters from Danbury, Connecticut, to Santa Clara, California in the heart of today’s Silicon Valley.

Pong Story
The video game history started in a strange and complicated way and it is important to avoid confusions with what happened in the 1950s and 1960s. The real video game history started with Ralph Baer as early as 1951.

The Promise: An Educator’s History of the Internet
An investigation into the history of the Internet and the promise for its use in the K-12 classroom.

Silicon Genesis
A unique collection of oral history interviews with pioneers of the semiconductor industry.

Steve Paul Jobs
Like the Bhagwan, driving around Rancho Rajneesh each day in another Rolls-Royce, Jobs kept his troops fascinated and productive. The joke going around said that Jobs had a ‘reality distortion field’ surrounding him. He’d say something, and the kids in the Macintosh division would find themselves replying ‘Drink poison Kool-Aid? Yeah, that makes sense’. – Robert X. Cringely, 1992.

Woz and Ann picking up new iPads April 3, 2010

Steve Wozniak, Still Fathering the Computer Revolution
He’s been called the Wizard of Woz. It was he who single-handedly designed an entire personal computer, the Apple I. It was he who designed the Apple II and wrote the software to make it run. Site has more good Woz sites, including Steve’s own website.

Pioneer Era – 1800s in Silicon Valley

In the 1800s the Mexicans, the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the Transcontental Railroad transformed the Bay Area from a bunch of sleepy cattle ranches to a booming economy.

Family Chronicles and Biographies of Milpitas Pioneer Families

History of Local Pioneers in the 1800s

Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum
Mining operations in New Almaden first began in 1845 under the claim of Mexican Cavalry Officer Captain Andres Castillero. Castillero discovered that the red rock used by the local Ohlone Indians to paint them and the walls of the Santa Clara Mission was cinnabar, an ore containing mercury. The valuable mercury was needed to process silver in Mexican silver mines.

Alum Rock Park History
California’s first and oldest park. The park which was founded in 1872, was simply referred to as the “reservation.” The name Alum Rock was derived from a huge rock that was believed to contain a high percentage of alum.

Alviso Adobe Park History
The first story of the Alviso Adobe, which is located near the intersection of Piedmont Road and Calaveras Road, was built some time in 1835 by José Maria de Jesus Alviso, who had been granted title to the land on which it stands by the governor of Alta California, José Castro, on September 23, 1835.

Ardenwood Farm
In 1849 George Washington Patterson joined the stream of young men leaving the Midwest for California’s gold fields. His dreams left little room for failure, but after a year and a half of mining he was ill and broke. And so he turned to work he knew well — farming.

The Bear Flag Revolt
With Fremont’s “army” nearby, and belief in the rumor that Castro was gathering forces to expel the Americans, the local settlers became emboldened enough to steal some horses meant for Castro’s army, then to storm Vallejo’s “fort” at Sonoma June 14, 1846.

California As We Saw It
Exploring the California Gold Rush. By Gary F. Kurutz, Curator of Special Collections, California State Library.

California during the Civil War: 10 Facts
While no battles took place on Californian soil, the state has a rich Civil War history. Learn more about the state of California during the Civil War with these ten facts.

Discovery of Gold in California
It was in the first part of January, 1848, when the gold was discovered at Coloma, where John Sutter was then building a saw-mill. A first-hand account.

Fallon House
Restored to how homes looked during the Civil War era in California, you can easily see this home and the Peralta Adobe next door in one trip.

Frémont in the Conquest of California
In the autumn of 1845 Frémont came on his second exploring expedition to California.

Gold Rush – American Experience on PBS
See if you have what it takes to strike it rich in the gold rush! Choose a character and try to strike it rich in our online role-playing game.

Gold Rush Chronicles
Here before you, in a leather-bound book on an old wooden table, is a history of the great California Gold Rush. Discover the colorful stories that lie unfurled on these pages and unlock a taste of that famous era. Learn how the Gold Rush affected the world not so long ago.

Guadalupe River Park
Local historians have always been aware that a settlement known as the Woolen Mills Chinatown was located near Taylor Street between 1887 and 1902.

History of the Donner Party – C. F. McGlashan
The far-famed Donner Party were, in a peculiar sense, pioneer martyrs of California. Before the discovery of gold, before the highway across the continent was fairly marked out, while untold dangers lurked by the wayside, and unnumbered foes awaited the emigrants, the Donner Party started for California.

Felton Homes and History
Felton had its start in 1843 when Isaac Graham transferred his limber mill from the Zayante land grant to the San Lorenzo River at Fall Creek. Local Felton wiki.

Historic Niles
The community of Niles is rich in history and has gained recognition as a truly unique spot in the San Francisco Bay Area.

History of the University of California
The University of California became a “public trust” in 1879 as part of a larger revision of California’s Constitution approved by California voters. Download full text.

History in the Vines: Fremont’s Wine Legacy
From the Spanish-Mission era up to Prohibition, south Fremont (then called the Washington Township), had once been one of the first and most productive wine regions in California.

The Houghton Donner House
156 E. St. John Street, San Jose, and right in the way of the Civic Center expansion, is a late -Victorian Italianate style and was home to two historically important San Joseans, early mayor Sherman Houghton and his wife, Donner Party survivor Eliza Donner Houghton. “Suspicious” fire burns historic Donner Houghton house to the ground in July 2007. More on the Donner Blog./P>

How California Came to be Admitted
The first Legislature assembled on December 15th for temporary organization in San Jose, the new seat of government. Of more significance, doubtless, was the fact that on the following Thursday, December 20, 1849, the State government of California was formally established. By Rockwell D. Hunt, Ph. D

Joseph D. Grant County Park
In 1839, a 15,000-acre Mexican Land Grant was awarded to Jose de Jesus Bernal and was named Rancho Canada de Pala. Jose de Jesus and his two brothers built adobes around a spring-fed pond on a ridge overlooking the Santa Clara Valley.

Juana Briones
A long-living ranchera acquired a large spread in Santa Clara Valley and shared it with others.

Lighthouses of the United States: Northern California
These early lights, like the Point Pinos Light and the Battery Point Light were built in a what was then a typical New England style. Ironically, there are no examples of this style surviving in New England, so the only place to see these traditional New England lighthouses is in California.Laguna Schoolhouse, Milpitas, CA (1865-1943)

Mexican California
Under Mexican rule governors were encouraged to make more grants for individual ranchos, and these grants were to be outright.

Mexican Years: 1822 to 1846
The early 19th century saw growing discontent in New Spain’s society. Revolts started in 1810 and extended through 1821, when a revolution led to formation of the Mexican Republic.

Mt. View History
In 1851, the Castro family built their first home and, later, donated land to the railroad, creating Mountain View’s first flag stop.

Peralta Family and the Rancho San Antonio
The Peralta Family had a huge rancho that encompassed most of the East Bay from present day El Cerrito down to San Leandro.

Santa Clara Valley Mill & Lumber Company – 1870’s
The demand for firewood and building lumber by the citizens and towns of the Santa Clara Valley produced a road over the summit from Saratoga to the San Lorenzo Valley in 1870.

A short history on wine making in California
The story of wine in California begins with the story of the Spanish in California. Vineyard planting in the state began with the Spanish Franciscan Missionaries starting with California’s first mission: Mission San Diego de Alcalá in 1769. Just as palm trees were planted so there would be palm fronds for Palm Sunday, vineyards were planted so there would be wine for communion. That first variety, planted by Father Junípero Serra, became so ubiquitous that it became known as the Mission grape and was the preeminent variety until 1880.

Stanford History
The first parcel, bought in 1876, was 650 acres along San Francisquito Creek. Purchase of adjoining parcels ran the total to 8,180 acres, the whole of which was given to the University in the 1885 Grant of Endowment with the stipulation that it never be sold.

William T. Sherman and Early California History
Sherman arrives in California and describes the Monterey area in 1847. Additional links tell of his experiences during the Gold Rush.

The Winchester Mystery House Story
Not long after Sarah returned to her family and home, another tragedy struck. William, now heir to the Winchester empire, was struck down with pulmonary tuberculosis. He died on March 7, 1881. As a result of his death, Sarah inherited over $20 million dollars, an incredible sum, especially in those days. She also received 48.9 percent of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company and an income of about $1000 per day, which was not taxable until 1913.

California History Overview

Milpitas once had an encampment of Ohlone Indians. Two adobe rancheros still stand from the early days of the Spanish. An early motto was “As goes Milpitas, so goes the State!” For centuries, Milpitas has often taken the lead in new ways of living and governance. If you want to live in the City of the Future, with a lively part in California history, too, come live in Milpitas.

About Milpitas

The Milpitas Historical Society
General meeting is the second Wednesday of each month, 7 PM, in the assembly room of the Milpitas Community Library.

A History of Main Street: A Trip Through Historic Milpitas
A live presentation with Host: Bill Hare, President and Speaker: Joseph Ehardt, Research Docent, Educational Outreach Program. This special presentation was held on Saturday, December 19, 2020, on Facebook and Zoom.

Milpitas: A look back
Outline of Milpitas History from the Mercury News story published on Aug. 27, 2006.

Portuguese Pioneers in Milpitas
Settlers from the Azores, a group of islands west of Portugal, began coming to California in Gold Rush times, and later for the economic opportunities. As they encouraged families and friends to join them, they became an important element in California and in the Santa Clara Valley as hard-working farmers and land owners.

About California

California History and Culture – State Symbols
Here’s where you find all that information for that state report, like state bird or flower.

California History
A major collection of documents from and about California’s rich history. The documents range from books, maps, newspapers, and periodicals, to pictorial materials (including daguerreotypes, lithographs, stereographs, and paintings) and ephemera (such as posters, programs, pamphlets, and sheet music).

California History Online
Lovely California Historical Society website includes geographic information, California natives, early explorers, to modern times.

California as I Saw It: First-Person Narratives of California’s Early Years, 1849 to 1900
The collection covers the dramatic decades between the Gold Rush and the turn of the twentieth century. It captures the pioneer experience; encounters between Anglo-Americans and the diverse peoples who had preceded them; the transformation of the land by mining, ranching, agriculture, and urban development; the often-turbulent growth of communities and cities; and California’s emergence as both a state and a place of uniquely American dreams.

Heyday Books
Publishing books about California history, culture, and literature.

Mark Hylkema: California during the Spanish and Mexican Colonial Periods
Mark begins with the first Spanish explorers conquering the Aztecs, and tells about the Portolá expedition in 1769, when California suddenly went from prehistory to history, like “the flip of a switch.”

Santa Clara County Historical Landmarks
My mother used to call these hunks of stone with metal plaques “Hysterical Landmarks” because so often there is nothing left at the site but the stone! But you’ll find one at the garage where H-P got started and where Noyce invented his first semiconductor. None in Milpitas…hmmmm.

Historical Figures in Early California

Cabrillo
On June 27, 1542, an explorer under Spanish command, named Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, left the port of Navidad on the Pacific Coast of what is now Mexico and headed north.

Juan Bautista de Anza
Juan Bautista de Anza was the first European to establish an overland route from Mexico, through the Sonoran Desert, to the Pacific coast of California. New World Spanish explorers had been seeking such a route through the Desert Southwest for more than two centuries.

Governors of California
A tribute to the individuals who have served as chief executive of the State of California from 1849 to present.

Notable People of Milpitas
The “Notable People” project adds to our knowledge about the history of Milpitas. For more information, please click on a link located on the right sidebar of the Historical Society’s page.

History of Russian America
So moved was Rezanov by the misery of the colonists that he purchased a vessel from Americans in Alaska and sailed to San Francisco Bay early in 1806 to purchase grain and, if possible, to establish trade relations with the Spanish in Upper California on a continuing basis.

Sir Francis Drake
The British explorer, Sir Francis Drake, sailed up the coast of California in 1579. Could he have discovered Milpitas?

History of Milpitas – 1900s

The Milpitas Monster was filmed in 1975 and 1976 and released to market in 1980, 80 Minutes, Color, Rated PG. Starring: Douglas A. Hagdohl, John “Pop” Kennedy, Scot A. Henderson, Daniel G. Birkhead, Scott Parker, Priscilla House, and William C. Guest. Screenplay by David E. Boston. Music by Robert R. Berry, Jr. Produced and Directed by Robert L. Burrill. Based on a story by David R. Kottas and Robert L. Burrill. Watch the trailer.

On January 26, 1954, Milpitas residents incorporated as a city, including the Ford Factory. See what else happened in the 1900s.

Milpitas in the 1900s

On January 26, 1954, faced with getting swallowed up by a rapidly expanding San Jose, Milpitas residents incorporated as a city that included the recently built Ford Auto Assembly plant. When San Jose attempted to annex Milpitas barely seven years later, the “Milpitas Minutemen” were quickly organized to oppose annexation and keep Milpitas independent. An overwhelming majority of Milpitas registered voters voted “No” to annexation in the 1961 election as a result of a vigorous anti-annexation campaign.

The Milpitas Historical Society December 19, 2020

1:31:54 hours long. Presentation on the history of Main Street in Milpitas from the 1850s through 2020.

‘54 How Milpitas came to ban red lining in its charter.

Calaveras Overpass
The Calaveras Overpass is built to meet the present and growing traffic loads of a progressive city. [They thought!]

The IT Law Wiki – United States v. Thomas, 74 F.3d 701 (6th Cir. 1996)(full-text).
July 1994. Robert and Carleen Thomas, operators of Amateur Action BBS in Milpitas, California, were tried and convicted of sending “pornography” across state lines by a Memphis jury.

The Great Mall holds a great Ford secret
The huge 1.4 million square-foot facility often served as Ford’s outpost to produce the most popular models for distribution along the west coast. By 1962, the busy factory churned out 135,963 vehicles annually. Over the years it was home to Falcons, Escorts, Rancheros, F-Series pickups, Pintos, many Mercury vehicles, and of course, Mustangs. But as competition increased throughout the 1970s and 80s, this boomtown went bust.

History 1957-1982 by Wayne E. Briggs
The purpose of this history is to preserve the record of events in the building of the Sunnyhills United Methodist Church and of the persons behind those events before it becomes unalterably destroyed by imperfect memories.

Looking back at the Ford Motor Company plant in Milpitas
To honor the company that played a role in accelerating Milpitas’ early growth, we’re sharing some photos that have never been seen before, mostly of Ford’s very last day of operations. We also had the opportunity to interview two former Ford employees. By Rhoda Shapiro, The Milpitas Beat

Milpitas Historical Site Inventory
A map showing historically significant locations in the city of Milpitas.

Milpitas’ top stories over a 60-year span
Overview of stories posted in the Milpitas Post since 1955. “Milpitas received a look at its new community newspaper. The Milpitas Post was born with a 2,000 press run with most of the copies distributed to workers at the gates of the new Ford plant, where the assembly lines were due to roll Feb. 21.”

Police Department History
The City’s first Police Chief was Thomas Letcher. Letcher had just one fulltime Sergeant under his command, while patrol duties were handled by Auxiliary Police Officers working on a part-time basis.

River’s Edge
In 1981 a Milpitas High School student killed his girlfriend, then brought his buddies to see the body. No one told the cops. We’d prefer to forget this crime, but it was made into a movie in 1987. Our “river” here being but a small creek, the film was made up on the American River.

River’s Edge – About the Actor
Daniel Roebuck used flash to try to win the role, dike the flow of “ridiculous sitcom ‘fat guy’ parts,” and scrub away the taint of “Cave Girl.” He entered the audition room with a Tollette-like getup – fatigue jacket, slicked hair, beer can in hand. He downed a brew in his character’s style: full gulp, nerveless, apathetic. Site includes comments about the film versus what really happened.

Sunnyhills Neighborhood History
Sunnyhills was the first planned racially-integrated community in the United States in 1956, arranged by a Union co-op of the United Auto Workers. Today, Sunnyhills still has one of the highest levels of integration of any neighborhood.

Youths’ Silent on Murder Victim Leaves a California Town Baffled
By Wayne King, Special To the New York Times
Dec. 14, 1981. What has shocked this fast-growing community of 38,000 are reports by police investigators, acknowledged by students and school administrators, that the defendant boasted of the crime, then loaded other young people into his white pickup truck and drove them into the hills to view the body. Others, hearing of ”the body in the hills,” went on their own to look.

Silicon Valley

Bernal-Gulnac-Joice Ranch
A visit to the Bernal-Gulnac-Joice Ranch in the Santa Teresa County Park Historic Area immerses you in the realities of living and working on a family ranch more than 100 years ago. A self-guided walk around the park takes you back in time, through a historic ranch house, gardens and barn, all restored and equipped with furnishings and tools typical of California farm life in the early 1900’s.

Disturbing Facts About The 1933 Bay Area Kidnap And Murder Of Brooke Hart
Brooke Hart was the young, good-looking, and athletic heir to his family’s department store fortune. Which is what made him a prime target in the depression of 1933. In November of that year, Hart was kidnapped and murdered and his captors were publicly lynched in California’s last ever public lynching. The Brooke Hart kidnapping shook the nation and is a horrifying glimpse of justice gone wrong in American history. The escape route of the kidnappers went along Piedmont and Evans Road in Milpitas.

Campbell Historical Museum and Ainsley House
The Ainsley House is the 1926 home of canning pioneer John Colpitts Ainsley. It showcases life in Santa Clara Valley during the 1920’s and 1930’s.

Vintage Photos Of Silicon Valley Before It Became A Giant Tech Hub
Silicon Valley is generally considered the center of the tech universe today. But before Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and a host of other major tech companies set up shop there, the Santa Clara Valley was the center of a different industry altogether.

Frontier Village
Frontier Village, San Jose, California, old postcards, photos and other historic images, provide a great visual look back at Frontier Village’s history. The western themed amusement park was located at Monterey Road and Baranham Lane in San Jose, California.

Palo Alto Historical Association
We present programs the first Sunday of the month October through December and February through May. The programs are free and open to the public. Held at the Lucie Stern Community Center, they feature a speaker or speakers on subjects of local interest. Our annual banquet, with a speaker, is held in early June.

Sunnyvale Historic Images
A record of the evolution of our community, past and present.

Swift Justice: Murder and Vengeance in a California Town
by Harry FarrellIn 1933, a couple of losers kidnapped and killed the son of a department store owner in San Jose, California. Little did they know of the fury they would unleash. The men were captured, and then, just hours after the victim’s body was found, a mob stormed the city jail and held “a necktie party” (lynching) in a nearby park. Harry Farrell is a superb writer who researched this case so thoroughly that he has the details to produce an unnerving degree of suspense.

Thomas Foon Chew: Founder of the Bayside Cannery
In 1906, Thomas Foon Chew took over his father’s Precita Canning Company, renaming it The Bayside Canning Company, and turning it into the third largest cannery in the world. Using a technique to can asparagus while retaining crispness and freshness, Chen became known as the Asparagus King.

Valley of the Heart’s Delight
Asks new questions about San Jose’s crime of the century – and whether a lynch mob murdered two innocent men in St. James Park. Hart’s abandoned Studebaker was found in Milpitas.

Velma Lucille Bernal Mendoza
An obit with lots of history both of the 1900’s and earlier eras. Born in San Jose, California on December 13, 1901, she is a direct descendant of Juan Francisco Bernal who came to Northern California with the de Anza expedition of 1776.

Victorian Preservation Association of Santa Clara Valley
A non-profit organization for those who share an interest in the older buildings of our community, especially turn-of-the-century homes.

Bay Area

The October 17, 1989, Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake-Selected Photographs
This publication contains 103 digitized color 35-mm images from Open-File Report 90-547 (Nakata and others, 1990). Our photographic coverage reflects the time and resources available immediately after the event and is not intended to portray the full extent of earthquake damage. USGS photos.

Neal Cassady
‘The bus came by and I got on, that’s when it all began; There was Cowboy Neal at the wheel of the bus to Nevereverland’ -Cassady, the genius behind the Beat Generation, settled in Los Gatos.

Story of an Eyewitness
May 5, 1906. Jack London went to the scene of the San Francisco Fire & Earthquake and wrote the following dramatic description of the tragic events he witnessed in the burning city.

Who’s Who of the Haight-Ashbury Era
This is a list of short (thumbnail size) biographies of people who were somehow involved with this event.

Mission/Rancho Era – 1700s

Milpitas was along the route taken by the De Anza Expedition, and between Mission San Jose and Mission Santa Clara. There is a sign posted near the intersection of Calaveras and Milpitas Blvd., near City Hall, showing where the expedition passed through.

Alviso Adobe Park
The adobe’s history can be traced back to 1834, when its original owner, José Maria de Jesus Alviso, penned a petition describing what he had built: “two walled houses,” outside of which were 600 cattle, a 600-vine vineyard, and an orchard bearing 60 fruit trees. The function of the petition was for Alviso to gain formal ownership of the property, which he cited as “the place named Milpitas.” Tours are offered at 1PM, 2PM, and 3PM on the second Saturday of every month. You can RSVP here. If you have the app AdventureLab on your smart phone, there are 5 clues outside at this location. There is also 1 geocache.
2087 Alviso Adobe Ct.

A demonstration of the 20-foot-long wrap the women on the De Anza Expedition wore to carry their babies and supplies.

Adobe Peralta House
The Peralta Adobe is San José’s oldest address. Built in 1797, the Peralta Adobe is the last remaining structure from El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe.

California Missions Interactive Internet Field Trip
In May of 1995, some bicyclists road along the El Camino (King’s Highway) between 12 of the California Missions. They kept up an internet dialog with 4th grade students in Palo Alto.

The California missions school project is becoming a thing of the past. Here’s why
Building missions from sugar cubes or popsicle sticks does not help students understand the period and is offensive to many,” the new History-Social Science Framework adopted last year says. “Missions were sites of conflict, conquest, and forced labor. Students should consider cultural differences, such as gender roles and religious beliefs, in order to better understand the dynamics of Native and Spanish interaction.”

California Missions Resource Center
Your comprehensive guide to discovering the history behind the California missions and the people who founded and shaped the character of California.

El Camino de San Jose
El Camino nominally links the missions, but Mission San José in Fremont is nowhere near today’s El Camino Real. So what route did early Californians take from Mission Santa Clara to Mission San José? It goes along Main Street and Milpitas Boulevard in Milpitas!

A History of Mexican Americans in California
Hispanic settlement of what is now California began in 1769 when the Presidio and Catholic mission of San Diego were established.

Juan Bautista De Anza
National Historic Trail. In 1775-76 he led a contingent of 30 soldiers and their families to found a presidio and mission on the San Francisco Bay. Here is a map showing where he came to Milpitas. Translation of diaries of De Anza, Font and Eixarch.

Milpitas
Images of America
by Robert Burrill
$21.95 or $25 with author signature.
Call 408-263-5468 to order.
Robert L. Burrill, Milpitas filmmaker and photography teacher for more than 35 years, has combed the archives of the Milpitas Historical Society, private local collections, and his own works to find more than 200 vintage photographs chronicling the heritage, enterprise, and wit of Milpitas from the 1700s to the present day.

The Missions
The Franciscans came to California not merely to convert the tribes to Christianity but to train them for life in a European colonial society. Conversion was seldom an entirely voluntary process.

Model Behavior
The agony of the tradition of 4th grade Mission model building. The author wonders: What does this really teach? By David Templeton

Peralta Adobe
A 200-year old adobe home in the heart of downtown San Jose. This page tells you about its history.

Photo Gallery of California Missions & Other Hispanic Sites
A good site to begin your research into historic Spanish California. Contact information for dozens of historic places of this era.

Harry Wu: His Legacy

Releasing Wu was a major embarrassment to the PRC government. And, where in the world did Wu live? You guessed it: Milpitas. In fact, a very big deal was made to welcome Harry Wu home to Milpitas when he returned to the United States.

Dateline: 3/19/98, Updated 6/18/2023/

From his inauspicious Milpitas tract home, Harry Wu has been operating a center for international intrigue. Once again, the controversial Chinese human rights crusader has made his blow for the fate of imprisoned dissidents in China, and put Milpitas on the front page of papers around the world.

Harry’s target this time: China’s practice of reselling the organs of executed prisoners for transplant purposes here in the United States, in China, and in other countries.

This particular battle began when Harry received a phone call in his home office, crammed with computers and file cabinets. The caller had been contacted by a Mr. Wang Cheng Yong about helping him to sell human organs smuggled in from China. Knowing this was illegal, the caller had first contacted the Laogai Research Foundation, which tracks prison camps in China. He was given Harry’s number here in Milpitas.

After hearing the caller’s tale, Harry, posing as a director of a kidney dialysis clinic, contacted Wang, and made arrangements to meet him in Manhattan on February 13.

Wang eagerly offered kidneys, corneas, livers and lungs, “Whatever you want, I can give it to you.” Harry remembered thinking he felt like he was in some gruesome butcher shop.

Harry contacted the FBI immediately afterwards. They arranged for Wu’s original contact, Harry, and an FBI undercover agent to meet with Wang again on February 20.

Wang offered even pancreases and skin this time. He was accompanied by a Chinese citizen, Xingqui Fu, who lives in Flushing, New York. They were ready to deal. The exact details will come out in the men’s trial, as the FBI arrested the two on charges of conspiring to violate the federal law against selling human organs for profit.

China may have an “official” position, banning the sale of prisoners’ organs, but the trade flourishes with little restraint from the Chinese government. China has more than 65 capital offenses, executing an estimated 4,300 prisoners a year. With the demand for organs increasing as the risk in transplant operations decreases, the danger of unscrupulous sales of human organs rises.

Harry Wu knows firsthand the atrocious conditions of the Laogai. In 1960, Wu was imprisoned at the age of 23 for criticizing the Communist Party, and subsequently spent 19 years toiling in the factories, mines, and fields of the Laogai.

News Chronolgy

The Saga of Harry Wu – June 19, 1995
Shortly before noon on June 19, 1995, began an extraordinary ordeal for Harry Wu, whose outcome remained very much in doubt until the Chinese government expelled him 66 days later, on Aug. 24.

Aug 23, 1995
China finds Harry Wu guilty of spying, says it will expel him.

Aug 24, 1995
China’s swift sentencing of activist Harry Wu could be the key to unlock an immediate impasse in troubled U.S. ties.

Aug 25, 1995
Harry Wu returned home to a hero’s welcome.

March 8, 1996
Harry Wu recipient of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review’s 1996 Award for Leadership in Human Rights.

April 1, 1997
An exclusive interview with Robert R. Reilly.

April 19, 1998
Former Chinese political prisoner Harry Wu to speak at Earlham.

The trouble with Harry Wu. Maria Chan Morgan, professor of Politics, Earlham U., Harry Wu is an anticommunist demagogue.

China debate shifts. John White, senior History major, Earlham U., When the issue is taking jobs away from American labor and replacing them with Chinese labor who may be forced against their will to complete products, then there is a problem.

May 9, 1996
The Cargo Letter reminds shippers that it is illegal to import goods made by prison labor.

June 18, 1997
Committee on Foreign Affairs, Security and Defense Policy Subcommittee on Human Rights. Public Hearing: “The Social Clause: Human Rights Promotion or Protectionism?” The Abuse of Prison Labor, Harry Wu.

September 18, 1997
Testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, by Harry Wu, Executive Director, The Laogai Research Foundation
Research Fellow, Hoover Institute

November 6, 1998
Activist Wu addresses students, tells them what they can do.

October 1999
Harry Wu announces he is looking for an apartment in Virginia to better manage the Laogai Research Foundation. His parents will continue to live in his home in Milpitas.

February 22-24, 2000
Internationally renowned human rights advocate and Chinese dissident Harry Wu visited Charlotte as the guest speaker for The Echo Foundation’s first annual Benefit Award Dinner.

April 5, 2001
Harry Wu on the real China: WND interviews former political prisoner, human-rights champion.

June 22, 2005
Testimony of Harry Wu Executive Director, Laogai Research Foundation Before the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Of the United States Senate.

April 26, 2016
Harry Wu (Wu Hongda), victim and exposer of China’s gulag, died on April 26th, aged 79, in Honduras where he was vacationing.

Oct 10, 2018
You buy a purse at Walmart. There’s a note inside from a “Chinese prisoner.” Now what?

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.

Sunnyhills Neighborhood History

Please join Executive Producers Donnie Eiland and David Mosqueda for a special virtual viewing of…

54: The Story Of The First Planned Integrated Community In The Country

History of the Sunnyhills Neighborhood Association
Sunnyhills was the first planned racially-integrated community in the United States in 1956, arranged by a Union co-op of the United Auto Workers. Today, Sunnyhills still has one of the highest levels of integration of any neighborhood. More detailed version.

Sunnyhills Neighborhood Association June 2022 Breakfast Meeting

K’Meyer related the story of how the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker social action organization, and the United Auto Workers union cooperated in the early 1950s to build Sunnyhills, an intentionally integrated community, to provide housing for the Black and white workers at the Milpitas Ford factory—one of the first interracial housing developments in the nation. Copies of her book are available from the Neighborhood Association and The Milpitas Historical Society.

The Untold Stories of Sunnyhills, Where History Was Made
By Rhoda Shapiro
February 14, 2019
Story how Milpitas resident Donnie Eiland came up with the idea to film a history of Sunnyhills, the neighborhood he grew up in. Back in January, 2019, Eiland flew Ben Gross’ son, Benjamin Gross, Jr., out from Minnesota to take part in the documentary. During his stay, Benjamin spoke at a couple of community events to share fascinating stories about his father, who passed away in 2012, and what it was like to grow up in Sunnyhills.

Sunnyhills…and The Soviet Union?

After the Kitchen Debate, Ben Gross (senior) had been in constant contact with Walter Reuther (President of the UAW), and asked that Reuther extend an invitation to Khrushchev to visit Sunnyhills. Gross wanted the Soviet leader to see an integrated community with his own eyes.

Khrushchev accepted and, once in Milpitas, made a special stop.

The Grosses threw a barbecue in the backyard to welcome the Premier. Khrushchev, his son, and five other officials came out to their Sunnyhills home. A visit to five different homes in the neighborhood was also set up, so that Khrushchev could witness the integrated neighborhood in action.

The event was not disclosed to the media. In fact, Russian security officials confiscated Benjamin’s camera, which is why no photos of the Premier’s visit exist.

I <3 Ol’ School Milpitas!
For those who grew up in, went to school in, spent time in, or love somebody from Milpitas. Please keep ALL posts about memories of people and events from Milpitas.

History of Milpitas: the 1900s
On January 26, 1954, Milpitas residents incorporated as a city that included the recently built Ford Auto Assembly plant.

Sunnyhills United Methodist Church History 1957-1982
Sunnyhills United Methodist Church was officially dedicated in January of 1959. Sunnyhills has been blessed with excellent and varied styles of leadership.

Ethnic History & Culture

“This [country] will in a few years become a…colony; instead of [their] learning our language, we must learn theirs, or live as in a foreign country.”
– Advice to German immigrants from Benjamin Franklin, publisher of die Philadelphische Zeitung, the first German newspaper in America, 1751.

Immigrants speaking other languages have been arriving in Santa Clara County for about 2 centuries contributing to our diverse ethnic history. Eventually they learn English, and begin to call themselves hyphenated-Americans, and become part of this wonderful melting pot. But is being a hyphenated-American a good thing? Does it imply not being 100% American?

Our Ethnic Heritage

Knowledge of Immigrant Nationalities of Santa Clara County
Unless we all start from the premise that we are innocently ignorant of the background and conditions of the rich cultures in our midst, and are challenged to rise to new levels of human understanding and humane relations, we suffer the possibility of engaging in insensitive or even discriminatory behaviors.

Silicon Valley Cultures Project
A fifteen year ethnographic study of the cultures living and working in the hi-tech communities of Silicon Valley.

Black Heritage

Black History Community Resources
KQED has long list of resources in the Bay Area to assist you in studying Black History.

A History of Black Americans in California
Although Afro-American people were comparatively few in number before World War II, they were settled throughout the state and made significant contributions to its development and growth. National Park Service.

Two Years a Slave in the Santa Clara Valley: Sampson Gleaves and Plim Jackson
The manumission papers of Sampson Gleaves and Plim Jackson, preserved today at History San Jose, are rare in California, and provide clear evidence of African-American slavery in the Gold Rush state.

Chinese

Angel Island: Immigrant Journeys of Chinese-Americans
Between 1910 and 1940, there were as many as 175,000 Chinese immigrants detained and processed at Angel Island, San Francisco Bay, California. Unlike Ellis Island in New York’s harbor, Angel Island is a visible reminder of a shameful period in U.S. immigration history.

Asian-Nation
Your one-stop information source on the historical, political, demographic, and cultural issues that make up today’s diverse Asian American community. You can almost think of Asian-Nation as an online version of “Asian Americans 101.”

Pacific Link: The KQED Asian Education Initiative
A complete study of the role of Asian immigrants in the history of California. From KQED.

Chinese Historical & Cultural Project
Based in Santa Clara County, California, it was founded in 1987 as a non-profit organization to promote and preserve Chinese American and Chinese history and culture through community outreach activities.

A History of Chinese Americans in California
Amid the increased numbers of Chinese immigrants in recent years, it should be remembered that not all Chinese Americans are recent arrivals.

Filipino

The colonial context of Filipino American immigrants’ psychological experiences
In Santa Clara County, 60% of randomly surveyed Filipinos cited economic problems as the main reason they left the Philippines. Fifty three percent also reported a desire to reunite with family. Similarly, 65% of public benefits recipients cited family reunification as the main reason they left their home country. The Filipino community is scattered in the suburbs of San Jose, Milpitas, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale. While most speak English, many do not consider it their first nor most frequently used language.

Germans & Swiss

Die Deutschen in Kalifornien: Germans in Urban California, 1850-1860
A scholarly thesis by Carole Cosgrove Terry. The society that the European and American newcomers created in urban California was a combination of individual, ethnically-centered but unstructured cultural communities where the German-Californians were an influential and important segment of the citizenry.

Johann August Sutter
General Sutter, as he was generally known, was forced to flee his creditors in Switzerland at the age of 30. Ten years later, in California, he was the “ruler of the Saccramento Valley, founder of New Helvetia, a small sovereign.” After the discovery of gold on his land, he lost everything.

The WWI Home Front: War Hysteria & the Persecution of German-Americans
Anglo-Saxons had their own definition of what was “American”, and anything that did not conform was an undesirable deviation, perhaps even dangerous. And they were having trouble understanding why German-Americans would not willingly give up their German culture.

Hispanic

Early History of Santa Clara County
Although Mexico broke with the Spanish crown in 1821, it was not until May 10, 1825, that San Jose acknowledged Mexican rule. On May 13, 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico. Captain Thomas Fallon, leading 19 men, entered San Jose on July 14, 1846, and raised the United States flag over the town hall.

A History of Mexican Americans in California
The roots of the Chicano experience stretched back some three centuries to 1519 when Spaniards and their Indian allies carried out the conquest of the Aztec Empire in central Mexico and established what they called “New Spain.” National Park Service.

Irish

California and Bay Area Irish History: The Murphy Family
Martin and his family, Irish immigrants whose search for religious and educational freedom led them to California, were the first English speaking family to settle in Santa Clara Valley in 1849. From his home, Martin introduced the area’s first orchards and modern farm equipment and helped to establish the state’s first schools. In Milpitas we have a park named “Murphy.” The Shaughessy-Murphy Milk Shed still exists at the sewage pump facility near Coyote Creek.

The Irish in California
It is fashionable today, in some circles, to ignore, or at least minimize, the contributions of anyone from Europe. My intent is to point out, in a small way, how important the Irish were to the development of this state.

Japanese

History of Japantown, San Jose
Japanese, new to the country, eventually chose to build their wooden buildings next to Chinatown. Because the Chinese had already settled there, the environment was more familiar to them.

A History of Japanese Americans in California
How the National Park Service selects sites to show the history and contributions of Japanese in our state. A site both to find history and directions to historical sites.

Japanese American Museum of San Jose
Step into the past and help us honor our community’s stories of sacrifice, hardship and resilience. We invite you to come and engage with the firsthand experiences of Japanese Americans who experienced the racial tension and hysteria of WWII.

Japantown, San Jose
San Jose’s Japantown (Nihonmachi) developed from where the immigrant Japanese first settled in Santa Clara Valley. More than a century following its humble beginnings, it remains one of the last three historical Japantowns in the United States.

Native Americans

Indigenous People (Indians) of Silicon Valley
History of the Ohlone Indians who inhabited the south San Francisco Bay region of California.

Indigenous People (Ohlone Indians) of Silicon Valley

History of the Ohlone Indians, the indigenous people who inhabited the south San Francisco Bay region of California.

Bloody Island Massacre
To this day, the US Army, State of California, or County of Lake, have made no attempt to apologize for nearly annihilating the innocent Pomo people of Bodanapotti.

California Powwow Calendar
Check here for powwows of indigenous people being held in California.

California Cultures: Native Americans
At the time of Spanish colonization in the late 1700s, California was home to more than 300,000 indigenous people in more than 200 tribes. Their centuries-old way of life was brought to an end relatively quickly: native Californians soon established regular trading relationships with the Spanish, increasing coastal groups’ power and prestige, giving them greater leverage in dealings with inland groups.

California Indian Heritage Center
After a long search for an appropriate site, the California Indian Heritage Center Task Force and California State Parks secured a new location along the Sacramento River in West Sacramento.

California Indian Pre-Contact Tribal Territories
Nicely labeled map graphic showing where each California Indian tribe lived in early California. Perfect for illustrating a 4th grade report.

Chitactac-Adams Heritage County Park
The park features the beautiful Uvas Creek and a wealth of cultural artifacts including bedrock mortars and petroglyphs left by the Ohlone Indians. Visit the park.

Coyote Hills Knap-in and the Gathering of Ohlone Peoples
At the Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont, California. Photos.

Federally Recognized California Tribes
The BIA only give the tribe’s legal name — often that of its little rancheria — so I added the tribe or tribes included for each. I’ve grouped the rancherias by tribe, and arranged the groups roughly from north to south.

First Californians
What happened to the first Californians? Before 1769, over 300,000 Native Californians lived in the state. This population was made up of over 100 tribes that practiced diverse cultural and linguistic traditions. In 1870, 22 years after the discovery of gold in California, less than 30,000 were left.

A History of American Indians in California
Unlike the present population of California, the Indians lived well within the capacity of their environment. They developed religious systems and social norms, and they traded with their neighbors for goods or services not available in their own communities. National Park Service.

California Slaughter: The State-Sanctioned Genocide of Native Americans
One has to wonder – if traditional life in the pre-contact Indian villages on the Monterey Peninsula was so great, and the game so plentiful, and their spiritual life so satisfying, what in the world possessed these contented Indians to voluntarily, sometimes it seems, even eagerly, enter a Catholic mission in the first place?

In the Land of My Ancestors – Kanyon “Coyote Woman” Sayers-Roods and POST
The film is about the life and work of the mother of Kanyon “Coyote Woman” Sayers-Roods, Anne Marie Sayers, and her work stewarding Indian Canyon, the only Federally recognized Indigenous land in the Bay Area, located just south of Hollister. Kanyon will share more about her story, the film, and other issues related to Indigenous communities of the Bay Area.

Indian Canyon
The free, non commercial, Indian Created and Managed information site on Costanoan/Ohlone and California indigenous people.

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Indigenous History in the Bay Area, Part 1: Overview – Mark Hylkema and POST
Before the Spanish arrived here and before California became a part of the United States, the Bay Area was one of the most densely populated and linguistically diverse areas in North America. This session provides a broad overview of historic Indigenous communities in our area based on what we know of archaeological studies and oral histories. Participants will learn a basic framework for understanding the complex and varied native communities of the Peninsula and the South Bay.
Session 2 and Session 3.

Indigenous Populations in the Bay Area
It is critical to recognize the Bay Area’s Indigenous populations, past and present. Despite the atrocities of colonization and genocide, Native communities persist today and are active in efforts to preserve and revive the culture. According to the U.S. Census, the Indigenous population in the Bay Area is 18,500 strong and is projected to grow over the next few decades.

Ishi Collection
Ishi, born probably about 1860, spent most of his life in hiding with his family, avoiding the assaults of white settlers moving into Yahi territory. Finally, on 29 August 1911, Ishi walked into the nearby town of Oroville, CA. Apparently, all the members of his family, along with the rest of the Yahi, had perished

Linda Yamane’s Apprenticeship Blog
Ohlone feathered baskets involve a labor-intensive three-rod coiling technique. In addition to the delicate work of incorporating fine mallard duck feathers throughout the outer basket wall, the baskets are adorned with quail topknot feathers and abalone shell dangles.

Living on Ohlone Land
The agreement with Planting Justice is a first step in a far more ambitious effort to repatriate East Bay land to Ohlone people. The Sogorea Te Land Trust intends to acquire dozens or even hundreds of parcels in a patchwork throughout the East Bay, partly using funds generated by the “Shummi Land Tax” — a voluntary way for non-indigenous Bay Area residents to acknowledge the theft of Ohlone land and work toward its healing.

Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area
Over ten thousand years ago, before the waters of the Pacific Ocean passed through the gap now spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge and filled the interior valley-basins, the ancestors of the present-day Muwekma Ohlone along with the neighboring tribal groups had established their homes within this changing landscape.

Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation
Presently Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation represents over 600 enrolled tribal members of both Esselen and Carmeleno descent from at least 19 villages from a contiguous region surrounding Monterey Bay.

The Ohlone People
Ancestors of the Ohlone people wandered into this land of great abundance several thousand years ago.

An Overview of Ohlone Culture
In the 16th century, (prior to the arrival of the Spaniards), over 10,000 Indians lived in the central California coastal areas between Big Sur and the Golden Gate of San Francisco Bay. This group of Indians consisted of approximately forty different tribelets ranging in size from 100-250 members, and was scattered throughout the various ecological regions of the greater Bay Area.

Early California: pre-1769–1840s: Native California
Beginning in the 1840s, leaders and politicians used the phrase, “Manifest Destiny” to justify American expansionism and make it seem preordained. Instead of waiting for the organic, though inevitable expansion of the U.S. population to the West, the federal government took actions to both accelerate and control westward expansion. The goal of “settling” the country from ocean to ocean had a profound impact on the Native Americans, who had no place in this vision of the nation’s destiny.

Shapes and Uses of California Indian Basketry
A basket was worked, and formed of grasses, twigs and fibers into a piece of artistic design–sometimes only to be admired for its artistry, but usually created to serve a further purpose. Baskets were made to serve all the container needs of the early California peoples who had no pottery.

Short Overview of California Indian History
Few contemporary Americans know of the widespread armed revolts precipitated by Mission Indians against colonial authorities. By Professor Edward D. Castillo

Song for the Ohlone
by Martha Robrahn: We have walked these hills and valleys long before your time, When the waters ran clear, the forests stood tall, The earth gave us all we could ever need, And we lived our lives in dignity.

Those Who Came Before
Long before the Stanfords built their farm, the Muwekma-Ohlone called this land their own. Now the University is striving to preserve 5,000 years of history.