“Nobody wanted to go at first. California was practically uninhabited except for the Indians. Those first residents had to be paid to go and there were few takers. The first years were hard and supplies scarce. Still, those early families managed to grow enough foodstuffs to plant a firm hold in the land. It was truly a cultural melding from the first — of Indian, Spanish and Mexican people and a few others. Then in 1848, California joined the United States. That move — and the lure of gold nearby — gave the city the boost it needed.” “Newcomers soon realized the land was good. Fruits and flowers were abundant and the climate mild. It was the kind of place men dreamed of — and many followed their dreams. They called it the Garden City. Like all cities, it had its problems. But its leaders were both dreamers and doers — they anticipated, prepared and planned. The growth from a struggling outpost to a complex cultural and economic society has been a major evolution — and a tribute to those who made their dreams — and the city of San Jose — come true.” San Jose: California’s First City California’s first city, San jose, represents a microcosm of the development of the Golden State’s urban centers. Over the last two centuries, the “Garden City” has occupied an important position as California’s first civilian settlement, first state capital, leading agricultural center and nucleus of the space-age electronics industry. As narrated by the distinguished historian Edwin A. Beilharz, San jose was founded as a planned civil settlement. In 1777, Governor Felipe de Neve established the pueblo in the lush Santa Clara Valley to provide a reliable food source for the growing yet isolated colony of Alta California. It soon emerged as a major producer of cereal grains, orchard fruit and cattle. During the Spanish and Mexican era, San Jose also served as a social center for the nearby ranchos and attracted such influential families as Peralta, Suriol, Castro and Vasquez. By the late 1830s and 1840s, foreign visitors eyed California with envy. Several saw the promise of the verdant valley. Political upheavals in Mexico made possible the easy assimilation of non-Mexican residents. With the conclusion of the Mexican War and the ‘Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, San _lose and California became a formal possession of the United States. Donald O. DeMers takes up the story with the establishment of American rule in California. The discovery of gold on the American River changed the entire complexion of California and quickly led to admission as a state in 1850. As the result of a strong lobbying effort, the newly formed state government selected San Jose as its first capital. Political infighting ensued, and the state Legislature moved the capital to Benecia after only one year. Despite this blow, the city on the Guadalupe River continued to expand, capitalizing on its mild climate, abundant water supply, proximity to San Francisco Bay and fertility of the Santa Clara Valley. Confusion over Mexican land grants also opened vast tracts of land for development. San Jose took prominence in wine production, fruit raising, silk culture, nurseries and agricultural experimentation. The advent of the railroad made possible the establishment of a packing and shipping economy. The pueblo was soon transformed from a collection of crude adobes to one of frame houses, brick business blocks, schools, churches, theaters and parks replete with horsecars traveling along tree-lined streets. After the 1906 earthquake, San Jose entered the twentieth century as a typical American city. It experienced the anxiety of World War 1, jubilation of the 1920s, subterfuge of prohibition and the Great Depression. During this time, too, sensational events rocked the city _ the tragic Hart kidnapping and the lynchings at St. _lames Park. World War ll shifted the socio-economic base from a land of gardens and orchards to that of a defense production center. The burgeoning population of defense workers, engineers and scientists created a new force for continued development. Excerpt From: Edwin A. Beilharz and Donald O. DeMers Jr. “San·Jose California’s First City.” iBooks.

San Jose is the "Capital of the Silicon Valley," the high-rise, economic engine of advanced technology. Yet it was once a verdant valley, inhabited by wildlife, waterfowl, and the native Ohlone people. The Spanish who founded California's first civilian settlement here in 1777 named it for Saint Joseph, the patron saint of the Spanish Expedition. Their farms fed the soldiers at the Monterey and San Francisco presidios, beginning an agricultural industry that thrived for nearly 200 years. Although serving briefly as California's first state capital, for many decades downtown was the somewhat sleepy commercial center of the Santa Clara Valley. A housing and population expansion that began in the 1950s exploded with San Jose's rebirth as a technological mecca.

This book is the first history of Silicon Valley from 1900 to the 2010s. It is a comprehensive study of the greatest creation of wealth in the history of the world, from the establishment of Stanford University to the age of social media. The underlying objective is to find the reason why it was Silicon Valley, and not some place on the East Coast or in Europe, that became the creative technological hub of the 21st century. Silicon Valley did not happen in a vacuum: the book also explores the surrounding social and cultural environment of the Bay Area. This "green" book follows the "red book" od 2012, which was the (sold out) first edition coauthored with Arun Rao, and the "blue book", which was Arun's proof-edited and expanded second edition of all chapters. The 600-page blue book is still available and contains both my old chapters and Arun's chapters. This 500-page green edition contains only my chapters (basically, the chronology) updated to 2015 and with many additions to early chapters and a new chapter on Asia.

Hailed in a starred Kirkus Review as "one of the most riveting, revealing, and intensely readable true crimers to appear in a long time", Swift Justice is Harry Farrell's unforgettable story of the mob violence that paralyzed the town of San Jose in 1933. Farrell reconstructs the kidnapping and murder of Brooke Hart and the lynching of his accused murderers days later. 8 pages of photos.

A Stanford University Three Books Selection for 2019 “Essential.… A conflicted and complex portrait of a city starving for solutions.” —Brandon Yu, San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco is changing at warp speed. Famously home to artists and activists, and known as the birthplace of the Beats, the Black Panthers, and the LGBTQ movement, the Bay Area has been reshaped by Silicon Valley. The richer the region gets, the more unequal and less diverse it becomes, and cracks in the city’s facade—rapid gentrification, an epidemic of evictions, rising crime, atrophied public institutions—are growing wider. Inspired by Studs Terkel’s classic works of oral history, Cary McClelland spent years interviewing people at the epicenter of recent change, from venture capitalists and coders to politicians and protesters, capturing San Francisco as never before.

Frances Fuller Victor, Henry Lebbeus Oak, Hubert Howe Bancroft, and William Nemos's History of California is a definitive account of the state's early years. This in-depth study covers all aspects of life in California, from politics and culture to economics and social issues. An indispensable resource for anyone seeking to understand the history of the Golden State. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The old port town of Alviso, nestled in the southernmost point of San Francisco Bay, was busy long before the gold rush. It began in the 1700s as a landing for Mission Santa Clara, where Californios drove oxcarts heavy with cowhides and tallow to load aboard ships bound for New England and Europe. Later immigrants disembarked from paddle-wheel steamers to establish farms and businesses throughout the South Bay. Quicksilver from the New Almaden mines, lumber from the Santa Cruz Mountains, and grains and produce of the Santa Clara Valley all passed over these weathered docks. Several prominent entrepreneurs, including James Lick, got a foothold here, and its yacht harbor, now echoing only the slap of wasteblackened marsh water on mud-bound boats, once drew the likes of Jack London to its colorful saloons, gambling dens, and bordellos. The old port town of Alviso, nestled in the southernmost point of San Francisco Bay, was busy long before the gold rush. It began in the 1700s as a landing for Mission Santa Clara, where Californios drove oxcarts heavy with cowhides and tallow to load aboard ships bound for New England and Europe. Later immigrants disembarked from paddle-wheel steamers to establish farms and businesses throughout the South Bay. Quicksilver from the New Almaden mines, lumber from the Santa Cruz Mountains, and grains and produce of the Santa Clara Valley all passed over these weathered docks. Several prominent entrepreneurs, including James Lick, got a foothold here, and its yacht harbor, now echoing only the slap of wasteblackened marsh water on mud-bound boats, once drew the likes of Jack London to its colorful saloons, gambling dens, and bordellos.

The fertile Santa Clara Valley--once called the Valley of Heart's Delight and later Silicon Valley--has long been home to a substantial Chinese population. Like other immigrants, they arrived seeking opportunity and armed with survival instincts and the ability to persevere, but the struggles they faced were unique. From 1866 to 1931, five distinct Chinatowns existed in San Jose, each one devastated by mysterious fires or stifled by unjust laws. Early Chinese in the region labored relentlessly, building railroads and levees and toiling as laundrymen, grocers, cooks, servants, field hands, and factory workers. In the 20th century, new industries replaced agriculture, and an influx of Chinese invigorated the valley with innovative ideas, helping it emerge as a leader in technology.

Starting in the 1800's, German-speaking explorers and immigrants made their way to California. Settling in Santa Clara Valley, they made enormous contributions to the development of the area, founding the San Jose library, helping create the fire department, designing a modern sewer system, and building over 500 of San Jose's major business and civic structures. The City Hall, the Hall of Records, Lick Observatory and the old Agnew's Hospital were all created by German pioneers.For years, local historian Maria Brand has been searching through local libraries and archives to compile the stories of local German-speaking immigrants. With the help of many local curators and the support of the Sourisseau Academy at the History Department of San Jose State, this fascinating story has finally been published. This 325-page treasure with dozens of colorful photographs is an important local history and will change local perception of the development of San Jose.