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  NO. 339 NEW ALMADEN MINE - The Indians used pigment from this cinnabar hill for paint. Mercury was mined as early as 1845. The gold discovery made mercury indispensable, and the mine, the most productive in America, became world famous. It sold for $1,700,700 in 1864.
Location:  On N-bound old Hwy 101 (P.M. 27.5) (Monterey Rd), 1/2 mi S of Ford Rd, San Jose
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  SANTA CRUZ

   NO. 416 EDWIN MARKHAM HOME - Markham was born at Oregon City April 23, 1852 and later moved to a cattle ranch near Suisun. Later he and his mother moved to San Jose, and Markham entered the State Normal School, from which he graduated in 1872. Markham lived and taught school in many places but made this home his main residence, and it was here that he wrote The Man with the Hoe.
Location:  432 S 8th St, San Jose
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  SAN JOSE 15

  NO. 417 FIRST NORMAL SCHOOL IN CALIFORNIA (SAN JOSE STATE COLLEGE) - Originally founded as a private institution, 'Minns' Evening Normal School,' in 1857, the school became a public institution by act of the State Legislature on May 2, 1862. In 1868 the board of trustees took up the matter of permanent location, and Washington Square in San Jose was chosen. Destroyed by fire February 11, 1880 and heavily damaged by the 1906 earthquake, the school was rebuilt after each disaster.
Location:  San Jose State University, located on Tower Hall in Washington Square, NE corner of San Carlos and 4th Sts, San Jose

   NO. 433 FIRST SITE OF EL PUEBLO DE SAN JOSÉ DE GUADALUPE - Within a year after the opening of the first overland route from Mexico to Alta California, Governor Felipe de Neve authorized establishment of California's first civil settlement. Lieutenant José Joaquín Moraga arrived in the Santa Clara Valley with 14 settlers and their families on November 29, 1777 to found El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe near the present civic center.
Location:  Front parking lot planter, City Hall, 151 W Mission St, San Jose

   NO. 434 SITE OF CITY GARDENS - NURSERY OF LOUIS PELLIER - Pellier, native of Saint-Hippolyte, France and founder of California's prune industry, came to California in 1849. In October 1850 he established a nursery called City Gardens. Here, aided by his brothers Pierre and Jean, who came over from France at a later date, he introduced the French prune-la petite prune d'Agen-into California during the winter of 1856-57.
Location:  100 block of W St James St, San Jose

   NO. 447 GUBSERVILLE - Named after Frank Gubser, a German immigrant and barber, Gubserville was an important stage, mail, and teamster stop on the road between San Jose and Saratoga. Gubser served as the village's first and only postmaster, beginning July 5, 1882. Gubserville ceased to exist officially when the post office was discontinued on April 15, 1897.
Location:  1481 Saratoga Ave, San Jose

NO. 461 SITE OF CALIFORNIA'S FIRST STATE CAPITOL - Directly opposite this tablet was located the first State Capitol Building, in which California's first Legislature assembled in December 1849. San Jose was the seat of government from 1849 to 1851.
Location:  City Park Plaza, 100 block, S Market St, San Jose

   NO. 489 MORELAND SCHOOL - Established in 1851 as a subscription school meeting in private homes, this is the oldest rural school district in California. Its first teacher, Charles LaFollette, 1851, taught for three months, the second teacher, Abraham H. Featherman, stayed six months. Through efforts of Samuel Curtis Rogers, its third teacher, who taught from 1852 to 1854, the first public school building, formerly the home of Zechariah Moreland, was obtained in 1852. In 1853 Rogers secured organization of the school as Santa Clara Township School District No. 2, the school was renamed in Moreland's honor in 1862.
Location:  4335 Payne Ave at Saratoga, San Jose

  NO. 505 ALMADEN VINEYARDS - On this site, in 1852, Charles LeFranc made the first commercial planting of fine European wine grapes in Santa Clara County to found Almaden Vineyards. LeFranc imported cuttings from vines in the celebrated wine districts of his native France, shipping them by sailing ship around the Horn.
Location:  1530 Blossom Hill Rd, San Jose
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  SAN JOSE WEST

  NO. 800 ARROYO DE SAN JOSEPH CUPERTINO - This arroyo honoring San Joseph, patron saint of flight and students, was first discovered and traversed by Spanish explorers in 1769. On March 25-26, 1776, Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza made it his encampment No. 93, as mapped by his cartographer, Padre Pedro Font, on his journey to the San Francisco Bay area where he initiated a colony, a mission, and a presidio.
Location:  Monta Vista High School W parking lot, 21840 McClellan Rd, Cupertino

   NO. 813 MONTGOMERY HILL - Three-quarters of a mile northeast is Montgomery Hill, site of the 55 successful flights of John Joseph Montgomery's 'aeroplane' that demonstrated aerodynamic developments still indispensable to modern aircraft. Montgomery combined his engineering skill with the basic principles of aerodynamics that he discovered to produce a heavier-than-air flying machine which had complete control: cambered wing, rear stabilizer, flexible wingtips, and wing-warping aileron.
Location:  Entrance to Evergreen College, 0.5 mi E of intersection of San Felipe and Yerba Buena Rds, San Jose

 NO. 854 OLD POST OFFICE - Constructed by the United States government in 1892, this was the first federal building in San Jose. It served as U.S. Post Office from 1892 to 1933. Designed by Willoughby Edbrooke and constructed of locally quarried sandstone, this Romanesque-style structure is the last of its kind on the West Coast.
Location:  110 S Market St, San Jose
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  SAN JOSE 15

   NO. 857 JOHN ADAMS SQUIRE HOUSE - Designed by T. Paterson Ross and constructed in 1904 by builder George W. Mosher, this house is a notable example of California's interpretation of the Greco-Roman Classic Revival movement in America.
Location:  900 University Ave, Palo Alto
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  PALO ALTO

   NO. 866 LUÍS MARÍA PERALTA ADOBE - The last vestige of El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe. This simple adobe was rehabilitated in the mid-19th century. It is believed to have been built before 1800 by Manuel Gonzalez, an Apache, who was one of the Pueblo Pobladores founders. It was later owned and occupied by Sgt. Peralta, pueblo comisionado from 1807 to 1822, who also came to California with the Anza expedition in 1775-76.
Location:  184 W St John St, San Jose
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  SAN JOSE 15

   NO. 868 WINCHESTER HOUSE - Built by Sarah Winchester, widow of rifle manufacturer William Winchester, this unique structure includes many outstanding elements of Victorian architecture and fine craftsmanship. Construction began in 1884 and continued without interruption until Mrs. Winchester's death in 1922. The continual building and remodeling created a 160-room house covering an area of six acres.
Location:  525 S Winchester Blvd, San Jose
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  SAN JOSE 15

   NO. 888 HAYES MANSION - Jay Orley and Everis A. Hayes built this Mission Revival style mansion, designed by George W. Page in 1904. The Hayes brothers were early San Jose Mercury publishers, prominent valley politicians, and were actively involved in establishing the Santa Clara Valley fruit industry. The mansion consists of 62 rooms, 11 fireplaces, and was paneled in over a dozen different woods.
Location:  200 Edenvale Ave, San Jose
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  SAN JOSE 15

   NO. 898 ROBERTO-SUÑOL ADOBE - This historic adobe was built in 1836 by a native Californian, Roberto Balermino, on Rancho de los Coches, which was officially granted to him by Governor Micheltorena in 1844. The one-story dwelling was enlarged in 1847 by the new owner, Antonio Suñol, the second story and balcony were added in 1853 by Captain Stefano Splivalo.
Location:  770 Lincoln Ave, San Jose
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  SAN JOSE 15

   NO. 902 FIRST UNITARIAN CHURCH OF SAN JOSE - This church's architectural character is generally described as Richardsonian Romanesque, it is one of the few churches in America patterned after the traditional Unitarian churches of Transylvania. Designed by architect G. W. Page and erected in 1891-92, the building has served its congregation continuously since construction.
Location:  160 N 3rd St, San Jose
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  SAN JOSE 15

   NO. 910 ST. JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC CHURCH - Established in 1803, St. Joseph's was the first non-mission church in a Spanish California settlement. The present edifice, designed in Italian baroque style by noted architect Bryan C. Clinch, is the fourth to be built at the original site. Its cornerstone was laid March 19, 1876, and it was dedicated April 22,1877.
Location:  90 S Market St at San Fernando St, San Jose
USGS Quadrangle Sheet Name:  SAN JOSE 15 

   NO. 945 FIRST SUCCESSFUL INTRODUCTION OF THE HONEYBEE TO CALIFORNIA - Here, on the 1,939-acre Rancho Potrero de Santa Clara, Christopher A. Shelton in early March 1853 introduced the honeybee to California. In Aspinwall, Panama, Shelton purchased 12 beehives from a New Yorker and transported them by rail, 'bongo,' pack mule, and steamship to San Francisco. Only enough bees survived to fill one hive, but these quickly propagated, laying the foundation for California's modern bee-keeping industry.
Location:  San Jose Municipal Airport, 1661 Airport Blvd, San Jose

   NO. 952 SITE OF WORLD'S FIRST BROADCASTING STATION - On this corner stood the Garden City Bank Building, where Charles D. Herrold established Station FN, the first radio broadcasting station in the world. As a pioneer in wireless telephony (radio), Herrold established the first station in 1909 to transmit radio programs of music and news to a listening audience on a regular basis.
Location:  SW corner of First and San Fernando Sts, San Jose

See all Santa Clara County Landmarks