President ’ s Message
News & Notes
This newsletter is published four times a year by the MOUNTAIN VIEW HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION P . O . Box 252 , Mountain View , CA 94042 www . mountainviewhistorical . org
MVHA Board of Directors
President : Pamela Baird Vice-President : Robert Cox Secretary : Jamil Shaikh Treasurer : Melissa Rusch Past President : Nicholas Perry Historical Data : Gill Lane Membership : Lisa Garcia Newsletter : John Cortez Director-at-Large : Carol Donahue Director-at-Large : IdaRose Sylvester Director-at-Large : Vacant
Newsletter Design & Layout by Nicholas Perry
MVHA Board of Directors Email : info @ mountainviewhistorical . org
President ’ s Message
By Pamela Baird MVHA President
Celebrating 70 Years !
Pamela Baird
This year marks seventy years since the founding of the Mountain View Pioneer and Historical Association . Although the ” pioneer ” nomenclature is no longer used in the identification of MVHA , it is still the official name of the organization .
When the founding members coalesced to form the group in 1954 , there were many descendants of the early families that settled in the area living in Mountain View . The group initially proposed that only members of families that settled in Mountain View prior to 1900 ( i . e ., “ pioneers ”) would be eligible for membership . Evidently the founders decided that this requirement would be too restrictive and opened the membership to anyone living in Santa Clara County and willing to pay the membership fee .
The group wanted to note the history of people , schools and events in Mountain View . Early efforts included the erection of historic markers around town , including one noting the famed cherry tree located on the former Bubb ranch . The tree was used as a marker for early settlers ( See photo above ). Another marker , still standing near Rengstorff Avenue and Central Expressway , commemorates the original location of the original homestead of the Castro family , the namesake of Castro Street and owners of the vast Mexican-era Rancho Pastoria de Las Borregas . The last descendent of the Castro family to live in Mountain View , Miss Mercedes Castro , was granted an honorary lifetime membership to our organization when it was founded .
In the 1950s the entire Santa Clara Valley was changing rapidly . In 1950 the census pegged the population of Mountain View at 6,563 people . In the next decade the population exploded to 30,889 residents . Part of the expansion was because the city added surrounding unincorporated areas into the city limits . But a great deal of the growth was due to the subdivisions added to accommodate the returning GI ’ s and their baby boomer children , the growth of technology ( Fairchild Industries ) and agricultural services ( Ferry Morse ).
The appearance of Mountain View was much different than today . A road atlas from 1952 shows the Mountain View airport ( see the article in this newsletter ) located where the soon to be developed Monta Loma neighborhood is now located . Many roads did not connect to other roads , as they ended in orchards and fields . Some major roads , like Middlefield , Ellis and Shoreline , did not exist .
Thanks to the foresight of these “ pioneers ” the importance of the history of Mountain View was recognized . It is still the goal and mission of MVHA to continue this legacy of documenting and preserving our history .
— Pamela 2