Brief History of Campbell

The landscape of our rich Santa Clara Valley has undergone dramatic changes over the past 200 years. For centuries the Ohlone lived in the rich grass and oak filled valley. Fishing in the numerous streams, hunting the abundant wildlife and gathering acorns from the thousands of oak trees, the Ohlone lived in seasonal villages.

The Ohlone way of life was changed forever with the founding of Mission Santa Clara de Asis and the Pueblo de San Jose de Guadalupe in 1777 by the Spanish. The Ohlone planted fields of wheat for the Spanish to sustain the vast herds of cattle that grazed the valley floor. When Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821, the land was divided into vast ranchos and cattle roamed freely throughout the valley. The “Californios” utilized the land mainly for raising livestock. With the discovery of gold in 1848 and the coming of statehood, many newcomers began migrating to the fertile Santa Clara Valley.

In 1851, five years after arriving in California, Benjamin Campbell purchased 160 acres of former Mission grazing land. He then traveled back east to Missouri to marry his sweetheart, Mary Louise Rucker. Benjamin Campbell led a wagon train back to Campbell, California. The Campbells, like many others, soon built a farmhouse and began growing wheat. Their tree-lined driveway to the Campbell ranch house is now Campbell Avenue.

In the 1870s, as fruit orchards sprung up throughout the valley, the Campbells and other ranchers granted the South Pacific Coast Railroad a right of way through their land to help transport crops to outside markets. In 1886, with the building of a small depot called “Campbell Station,” the town became a hub of activity. In 1888, Ben and Mary Campbell started to subdivide their land, eventually becoming downtown Campbell.

The completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 allowed Santa Clara Valley farmers to open up the agricultural market to consumers back East. Fruit orchards and small family farms became a way of life in the valley. Campbell became known as the “Orchard City.” Its economy and population began to develop around the thriving food-growing industry.

As early as 1887 many local orchardists began to pool their crops to sell to packers in the Santa Clara Valley. By banding together in cooperatives, farmers found they could weather the ups and downs of a fickle economy. In 1892, the Campbell Fruit Growers Union formed. Grower-owned companies and cooperatives became the industry standard. By 1917, Campbell’s two main cooperatives, the Campbell Fruit Growers Union and the Campbell Farmers Union Packing Company were absorbed into the statewide California Prune and Apricot Growers Union (which was widely known as Sunsweet).

Vast improvements in commercial canning methods occurred during the 1890s. The town was becoming renowned for its fruit products and some of the finest canneries in California. By 1900, the advent of new canning machinery was making mass production a reality. While family–run orchards still surrounded the town, canneries and drying yards provided work for hundreds of people, creating an economy that helped the tiny town grow and develop.

In 1952, the City of Campbell finally voted for incorporation. Today, Campbell proudly retains its small town identity. The valley orchards have given way to highways, homes and high tech industries. Through all of these changes the people of this valley – their energy, creativity and industry – continue to make Campbell a part of the “Valley of Heart’s Delight.”