About Pleasanton, CA

Until World War II, the Valley remained mostly an area of ranchers and farmers. There was a temporary influx of workers and soldiers, which was followed by a somewhat more permanent development. This was the result of the increasing growth on the San Francisco Bay area and the Cold War. Commercial growth and high tech research attracted numerous new residents to the Pleasant California area.

More than 5,000 years ago the first Native Indians arrived. The wetlands in the Valley supported a rich diversity of plant and animal life. The Ohlone Indian tribe learned that it was important to use a light touch when managing the landscape. This met all of their requirements every year.

New Challenges were brought by the white pioneers. The Spanish introduced large herds of cattle and agriculture. This made the Ohlone Indian tribe cowboys and farm laborers, which drove most of the wildlife out of the area. The Valley soon became a land for grazing cattle.

In 1772, a Spanish soldier names Captain Pedro Fages first saw the Amador-Livermore Valley. Some 50 years later in 1826, the discovery was made by a man named Jose Amador, who brought the Valley its first settlement. As the result of the abandonment of the California Mission system, large parcels of land were awarded to Spanish families.

At that time Pleasanton was known as Alisal, which was located on one of the primary main routes to the gold fields and rapidly came to be a stopover for minors and merchants minors who were looking for the Mother Lode. In 1850, a man named Augustine Bernal became the first white pioneer in the immediate region of Pleasanton. Mr. Bernal constructed an adobe house he built on Foothill Road. He resided there for the majority of his life and played an important role of building aspects, that included the racetrack that brought to Pleasanton the Alameda County Fairgrounds.

In 1851, a man named John Kottinger arrived and named the settlement Pleasanton in honor of a distinguished General in the Civil War, named Alfred Pleasonton. However, a much more appropriate name was the result of a spelling error by a recording clerk in Washington D.C. In 1869, the community was ensured of a future when the transcontinental railroads arrived in Pleasanton. The population of the community was a mere 500 people although it wasn’t long before it started growing.

Thoroughbred horse breeder and ranchers were drawn to the abundance of water and favorable climate. This was soon followed by vineyards, hop fields, and dairy farms. It wasn’t long before Pleasanton became the home of the oldest horseracing track in the county and the agricultural center for the Amador Valley. The hops were grown locally and were sought by some of the largest producers of beer producers in the Europe and the U.S., which made the community famous internationally.

The year 1894 brought the incorporation of Pleasanton. By 1900 the community was flourishing, and had three luxury hotels, the Ruby Hill Vineyard, the Pleasonton Hop Company, and the Bank of Pleasanton. Main Street was a hub for community and business activity. However, agriculture didn’t totally vanish. Pleasanton was soon to become a modern community.

Some enterprising men that included a man named Henry Kaiser was determined to realize the potential of gravel and sand that was below the surface of the Valley, by 1930. One of the most profitable and enduring industry in the Valley was the gravel industry during the last 50 years. From the 1960’s through the 1970’s there was a rapid growth in the population of Pleasanton. By 1979, the majority of the land in the community was the home of businesses schools, and homes, rather than grapes, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

In the history of Pleasanton, there was a dramatic change in 1982. In the 850 acre Hacienda Business Park, ground was broken on the first building. The park was constructed on swampland that had formerly been considered as a location for a large mobile home park. However, Pleasanton was the home of corporate giants.

Pleasanton celebrated its 100th anniversary as a city in 1994. Both visitors and residents were able to look back on 100 years of exceptional progress.