Location: About City of San Jose...
San Jose has a rich history filled with ethnic diversity, much like the people that live here today. For thousands of years before the arrival of European settlers, the area now known as San Jose was inhabited by several groups of Ohlone Native Americans. San Jose was founded in 1777,
the oldest civil settlement in California, by colonists led to California by Juan Bautista de Anza. Originally a farming community, San Jose provided food for the military forces in San Francisco and Monterey. During the California Gold Rush period, the New Almaden mines just south of the city were the largest mercury mines in North America. With the fall of the California Gold Rush, people turned to agriculture for their livelihood growing prunes, apples, apricots, cherries, peaches, and pears. In 1849 San Jose became the capital of California, but the city was not able to accommodate all the legislators and the capital was moved to Monterey. In 1850 San Jose became the first incorporated city in the sate of California.
The rise of Silicon Valley from the 1930s to the 1990s brought a successive demand of military and commercial ventures for electronic and biomedical products. In the 1950s the semiconductor industry was born. Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation became the first firm to manufacture exclusively in silicon. The world-wide-web explosion began in 1995 with Netscape, and several other globally recognized companies got their start in San Jose, including Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Apple, Cisco, Adobe, and eBay. Today the Silicon Valley is known everywhere as the center of the computer and software industries.
San Jose, the Gateway to the Bay Area, is the third largest city in California, the 10th largest city in the nation, and the safest “big city” in America. San Jose is conveniently situated 45 minutes south of San Francisco and 1.5 hours north of Monterey. San Jose is rich in history and cultural diversity and is recognized as a city of innovation and entrepreneurial success.
San Jose has Broadway shows, operas, symphonies, ballets, and ethnic artists who perform nightly. Enjoy the innovative and multi-ethnic restaurants and premium shopping within the 300 store discount shopping mall. Visit the 150 beautiful parks and gardens and the 20 local wineries.
Come to San Jose and have a wonderful time at the ESA/SER International Joint Annual Meeting.
Click here to see a map of San Jose.
