Known at one time as the "Valley of Heart's Delight," Santa Clara Valley once overflowed with abundant agricultural riches. Before the cultivation of this beautiful valley, the land itself provided richly for its original Native American inhabitants, the Ohlone.

The Ohlone lived in villages scattered throughout the Santa Clara Valley and lived peacefully for more than 1,000 years before the arrival of Spanish Explorers in the late 1700's. Gaspar de Portola and Father Junipero Serra discovered the region while looking for Monterey Bay in November, 1769. Life in the area changed dramatically with the arrival of the Spanish and in 1777 the Valley's first mission and pueblo, Mission Santa Clara de Asís was established along the banks of the Guadalupe Creek.

After nearly a half-century of Spanish rule, the Mexican Revolution in 1821 brought an era of Mexican leadership. "Manifest Destiny" and the lure of gold brought American explorers, and in 1850 California was admitted to the Union. The County of Santa Clara was one of the original 28 counties of California and San José became, for a short time, the capital of the nation's 31st state. The Valley's fertile soil provided perfect conditions for agriculture. In the 1850's grain crops flourished, followed by orchards of prunes, apricots, peaches and pears. Acres of prized vineyards covered the Valley. Fruit processing developed into a major local industry and remained vital to the economy throughout the 1940's and 1950's.

The Bay Area has always attracted its share of new waves of people--Dust Bowl migrants of the 1930's, postwar veterans who received their discharge papers in California and chose to stay, emigres fleeing war or hardship in their native lands, sophisticated traders, business entrepreneurs, technical experts, and many more. Gradually, ideas came to be the area's lifeblood, as aerospace and electronics manufacturing replaces orchards and packing plants. Universities and businesses grew. Today, the County of Santa Clara is known as "Silicon Valley," the birthplace of the high technology revolution.

The County of Santa Clara celebrated its 150th birthday in February 2000.