Special Feature
Spanish Immigration to Mtn . View
The area of Mountain View just north of the railroad tracks along Washington Street was once a neighborhood populated by Spanish immigrants to Mountain View .
By David P . Salinero MVHA Member
In the early 1900s , a community of Spaniards grew in the Washington Street neighborhood of Mountain View . These were not the descendants of conquistadores , but the result of Spanish emigration to the Americas due to economic distress in Europe . In the 350 years before 1850 , the number who left Spain can be counted in the 100s of thousands . Between 1850 and 1930 , it is estimated that about four million Spaniards left Spain for the Americas .
As a result of the 1898 Spanish-American war , Spain lost control of the Philippines and Cuba . Conditions in Spain were dire in the years following . Most of the Spaniards who left emigrated to Spanish-speaking countries . However , some arrived in the United States for various reasons . Some settled in Florida in order to work in the cigar industry which had moved from Cuba . Some worked in mines in the Eastern and Central U . S ., and some made their way to California to work in agriculture . This diaspora was not unique to Spain . Citizens from countries like Italy , Portugal , and Yugoslavia also needed to leave their homes in search of work . Many of these emigrants also settled in Mountain View .
If you examine the 1930 U . S . Census , the areas around Washington Street of Mountain View had many residents who were born in Italy , Mexico , and Spain . In 1930 , about 550 people lived in this neighborhood , and 70 % had roots in Spain . Either they themselves or their parents were born in Spain . You ’ ll find many Spanish surnames like Bautista , Hernandez , Herrero , Luis , and Sanchez .
But look closely and you ’ ll find that many of the children were born in Hawaii . Why Hawaii ? The Hawaiian Sugar Planter ’ s Association actively recruited in Spain to bring contract workers from Spain to Hawaii . Between 1907 and 1913 , there were six main voyages carrying about 9,000 Spaniards to Honolulu to work on plantations throughout the Hawaiian Islands . With the promise of a better life in exchange for work , these voyages were “ free ” to the Spanish families . Entire families ( about half of the passengers were children ) made the 50 day voyage . However , conditions were not as good as promised and some families left after only a few months or a few years on the islands .
The Bautista Family ( c . 1926 ) L-R : Emiliano , Antonio , Paula , Juanita , Gabriel , Mariano . The Bautistas were one of many families to immigrate to Mountain View from Spain . They were first strawberry sharecroppers in Mayfield , CA ( now south Palo Alto ) and then settled in Mountain View ’ s Spanish neighborhood , La Charca de La Rana (“ The Frog Pond ”).
Most moved to Northern California to work in the fruit industry . Here they would find work picking prunes , cutting apricots , and canning fruit . Opportunities for laborers included the Vidovich farm at Calderon and Front ( Evelyn ) Street . This farm would hire workers to cut apricots and lay them on trays for drying . Trays would be the size of a kitchen table and workers would be paid a few cents per tray .
The “ Pickle Works ” plant at Franklin and Villa hired workers to cure pickles or process tomatoes . Work was also found at the Clark Cannery on Stierlin Road or the Bayside Cannery in Palo Alto . Some Spaniards also found work for the Southern Pacific Railroad .
Other Spaniards came to California by way of Ellis Island or Havana . Those who first got to California sent letters to family back in Spain telling them of their experiences and sponsoring them to come to California . A community grew up in the Washington Street neighborhood called “ La Charca de La Rana ” ( The Frog Pond ).
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