The Orchard Heritage of Santa Clara Valley

San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley became home to orchards starting as early as the 1850s. Pears could be found in the northern area of the Valley (Alviso) where flooding would happen and not damage the roots. Present day Willow Glen neighborhood was once called “The Cherries” as it was the first commercial cherry orchard location in California in 1868 by W.C. Geiger. The Eastern Hills (present-day East San Jose, Evergreen, and Milpitas Road) of the Santa Clara Valley in the 1880s would start to look, for many, a place ideal for orchards and vineyards. Apricots and prunes also laid a stake in the ground as prime orchards to own in the Gilroy area of the Valley. And, after much of the Valley was obtained by agricultural growth, Los Altos Hills would be one of the last areas to be converted into orchards. The orchards of Los Altos Hills would become known to grow the Blenheim and Royal apricots. 

View of two men admiring the Santa Clara Valley fruit trees in bloom. Courtesy of San Jose Public Library California Room.