Seal of the City of Santa Clara

On behalf of the 15 communities that comprise Santa Clara County, I welcome you to one of the most beautiful, diverse, and historically rich regions of California. We are proud of our valley - its past, present and future - and we are eager to share with you some of its fun and interesting destinations.

The City of Santa Clara shares its name with the County of Santa Clara. Our region, also referred to as Silicon Valley, is internationally known for its technology achievements. Our residents enjoy an outstanding quality of life including excellent schools, beautiful parks and open spaces, cultural arts, and a broad range of recreational activities. Visitors are happy to explore the many assets our communities have to offer and to enjoy our enviable weather - more than 300 days of sunshine and mild temperatures a year!

Santa Clara, the city, celebrates its Sesquicentennial in 2002 - 150 years of history and growth. Our history mirrors that of many of the communities that surround us in what has been called the "valley of heart's delight." The Ohlone people are thought to have settled in this valley as early as 4000 B.C., but it was first discovered by a European explorer, Jose Francisco Oretga, in 1769. Santa Clara and San Jose both grew out of the missions established a few years later by Francisco padres. Early American settlers came west to our valley in the first half of the 1800s, but a much larger influx accompanied the discovery of gold in California in 1849. By the time California became the 31st of the United States in 1850, the fertile land of our valley began to draw families whose farms and orchards created a national reputation for Santa Clara County as a thriving center of agriculture.

Populations in our communities grew slowly and steadily until after World War II when thousands of veterans and their families poured into Santa Clara County to buy homes and experience suburban living at its finest. The City of Santa Clara's population alone jumped from 6,650 in 1940 to 58,880 in 1960. Today the City of Santa Clara has more than 104,000 residents and Santa Clara County is home to more than 1.6 million.

Many of our residents are new, not just to this region, but to the United States. They have come from all parts of the globe to work in high tech and to live in a community that has much to offer. But whether we have lived here just a few months, or whether our great grandparents were some of the early settlers in the Valley, the people of Santa Clara Valley are proud of our history and heritage. We hope you will join us, either virtually through this website or in person, to experience and enjoy our region. We cordially welcome you to our home.

For more information about the City of Santa Clara, visit our website at www.ci.santa-clara.ca.us www.ci.santa-clara.ca.us.

Sincerely,

Patricia M. Mahan, Mayor
Santa Clara, California